Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Sep 11, 2025

An Unused Garage Is Transformed Into a Light-Filled Backyard Studio

An Unused Garage Is Transformed Into a Light-Filled Backyard Studio

An inspiring renovation gives new life to a San Francisco family's old, unused garage.

When San Francisco-based architect Beverly Choe took on the project of re-envisioning an old garage (once used as a carriage house that had become a dark and empty space), she sought to create an open and meditative backyard studio where a family can easily retreat to work, relax, and create-with a goal of making it a "box of suffused light." The result is a light-filled space that feels airy and minimal yet personal, thanks to elements that add warmth, including rugs and decorative items, such as greenery and handmade ceramic vases.

We talked to Beverly Choe about the transformative process of turning a barren backyard space into a secluded getaway just steps from the main house.



The process of converting the garage to a studio took one-and-a-half years from initial sketches to final completion. The design and permitting portion took five months, and construction took another year.



For this project, Beverly was "inspired by the infinite capacities of light" and worked to turn the small, dark garage into a bright studio by floating a skylight over the exposed structure. The light chimney works to capture sunlight while the exposed beams serve to minimize glare-which is important since the family will be reading, working on computers, and painting in the studio. The placement of oak casework works as a springboard from which light can further bounce, creating "a multilayered, ever-changing lightscape within the space." It also helps "thicken the space" with light.



The main studio was designed to be open and flexible, as the family will be using the space for painting, reading, remote work, and relaxing.



One of the biggest challenges Beverly faced was having to work around the existing building's form, which couldn't be demolished due to the structure's semi-historic status. The original space felt oppressive and seemed disconnected from the rest of the yard, so Beverly decided to build down, up, and out in ways that conformed to the San Francisco Planning Department's regulations. They built down by excavating half of the back part of the yard by almost two feet, which in turn allows the studio to have a taller, more pronounced presence in the yard.



Beverly maintained a sense of openness and created visual continuity between finishes through the use of oak panels to articulate the western wall of shelves-the seams of which align with the floor boards to create a continual visual flow.



Shown here is the "before" state of the now-renovated studio when it was an unused carriage house/garage.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
×