When I was a kid, my parents considered purchasing a loft with same level parking. Architectural Digest-Maserati Design Driven contest winner Holger Schubert has taken that idea one step further...
He actually parks his car inside his home, inside his living room even, where it can be admired by visitors. Of course, this is in LA where cars are an integral part of our lives. We could see where it might be particularly useful (in inclement weather perhaps) though we think it'd be more effective if the car was electric, or at least a hybrid, to avoid leaks and fumes. For more pictures, click here
What do you think? Would you want to park your car inside your home?
[image: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times]
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If I had that car and that living room . . . of course I'd park it in the room.
but why?
Eh, no. Think of all the stuff you drive through and over on a daily commute. I'd rather not have dirt, nails and dead animal in my living room. This guy's car looks like more of a "show car", so he probably doesn't drive it much.
I did see a website for a condo building in NC with car elevators. Your car is right next to your unit, and you drive in the elevator to get in and out. Pretty cool (unless the elevator is out).
wow. simply wow. First the book binding being pointed inwards, now a suggestion that we park our 100k italian sportscars in our living rooms, so we may gloat about our choice of vehicles to all visitors, or when alone, sit in our chair as the man in the picture does, and simply stare in admiration of our excessive purchase.
what ever happened to realistic and reasonable design suggestions on this site?
There is something oddly sad about this idea.
I drive a Yaris, and I would park my car inside. Maybe I am a geek, but I think my car is adorable.
I enjoy cars, and appreciate their aesthetics (particularly classic cars from the early '50s), but I don't get this at all. I would never want a car in my living room.
This guy must have REALLY liked Ferris Bueller's Day Off....
Looks more like a status symbol thing than a marker of convenience.
No. I don't even wear shoes inside. Why would I want to drive a car into my living room?
What kind of chairs are those? They're really nice.
hmmm...lets see....
tracking mud, dirt, and germs into my home? no thanks
unfathomable amounts of engine exhaust polluting the air quality in my home? no thanks
conspicuous consumption? no thanks
pretentiousness? no thanks
this just isnt my cup of tea.
lol @ this post and at the headlights being left on
Somebody's compensating.
I love how you say "Would you like to park your car inside your home?" like it's a reasonable question, like "Would you put out fancy towels in the guest bathroom?"
@ Libberator, as long as he doesn't repeat Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Those glass windows make me nervous, especially since it appears they overlook a cliff...deja vu.
It's all fun and games until someone asphyxiates from the carbon monoxide fumes
"We could see where it might be particularly useful (in inclement weather perhaps) though we think it'd be more effective if the car was electric, or at least a hybrid, to avoid leaks and fumes."
Seriously?!
If my outdoor parking situation were such that it were a necessity, yes, I'd have no problem parking the car in my house. I once considered buying a condo townhouse lacking a garage, where I would have had to park my motorcycle in the living space.
Haha yes, I glanced at this and thought "Bueller? Bueller" too.
I have to agree with HeyNowTex, the thought of rolling road kill into my living room - not even a little appealing.
Yeah, my dirty, dented SUV would look fantastic in my tiny rental living room! /sarcasm
@Author
This was misleading. This is an enthusiast's GARAGE that happens to look like a living room. It is not the house. Take a look at the original article which states that this was part of a garage competition. Some of the other pictures make it clearer that this is more of a garage than a living room.
@Everyone who is against this
I respect what you wouldn't do it but can you at least understand why this is so appealing? To me cars are a work of art - industrial art if you will. Huge exotic car posters are like Rembrandt prints to this 3d - original work of art. One of the coolest parts of this is that it serves a dual purpose... it doubles as a transportation vehicle. This is how I view my cars and why it's so satisfying to. If it was simply about getting from point to point with no aesthetic value, I'd get a banged up but functional sub-$1000 car... but to be honest, even that could be a piece of art.
So my desire is to do this as well. It wouldn't be for guests. It wouldn't be for compensation. It would be for me.
By the way, I've seen other garage/house images and this one appears to be very well done. I wonder if it was built for the car or the car was purchased for the garage since the color combination and general Euro style seem to go together.
@ ACanOf — the chairs are Dodo recliners by Toshiyuki Kita
And just to play devil's advocate:
There's not much to worry about the fumes.
"To avoid exhaust fumes when the car is started, Schubert built a hydraulic ramp into the floor. The ramp tilts up about six inches at the front, enabling the car to roll back across the bridge and into the street before it’s started."
I wouldn't worry much about tracking dirt in, you're not going to drive the thing around your kitchen. And you could theoretically leave your shoes in the car, avoiding them touching the floor of your home completely!
And besides, it'd make unloading groceries a breeze.
But honestly, all I know is I should never let my husband see this. It'd give him too many crazy ideas.
This is a garage? OK, now I'm officially disgusted with this fellow.
ha, some hilarious comments on this
Jann,
I100% agree with cars as art. And I guess it makes a little more sense to create a lovely garage to admire one's art (as oppose tot he living room thing). So..I'll take back my comments (except the conspicuous consumption part...its still an impossibly expensive, in-your-face indulgence)
@plumeria
it's mood lighting!
It looks like that guy is sitting in a seat plucked out of a mini-van. Also, is he watching his car on the flat-screen as well? LOL.
Um.......no.
I think this would be great if:
1. The car is very special and is seldom, if ever driven and
2. if it was in a large rec/game room or heavily themed basement (like a soda fountain or movie theatre theme)
In a living room, it is kind of ridiculous. I love my cars, but not to act as furniture.
I seem to recall a vintage photo layout from House Beautiful back in 1960 depicting a brand-new Lincoln Continental on display in someone's living room...
...and how appropriate that the guy in this pic is watching "Ferris Bueller" - the scene where the Ferrari is in the glass "garage" (really the living room of a house near Chicago)
Oh, I should have read the article first. So it IS a garage. my mistake. In that case, why not? Thumbs up or down, y'all have to admit that the tilting platform to control exhaust is pretty genius. I think everyone needs to keep in mind that this is a "Dream garage" so I dont think the winner was worried about where to put the recycling bins or his golf clubs-just the car.
Consider it a room within a room. When the wife and kids get on your nerves, you can get into your car and shut them out. I am sure it is comfortable enough. Then again, if you have a house like that, there probably is a room of your own you can retreat to. Also, just getting it into the house probably requires the engine be running, and that would really stink up the place.
The only good uses I can think of for this is never having to scrape ice off the windshield or never getting in a sun-oven EVER again... mmm actually, that's not such a bad idea... but I think they made something for that... called garages... I think... but I think now Design Star's making them living rooms or family rooms... or something... I dunno... this makes as much sense as that. lol
"when Cameron was in Egypts land...let my Cameron go....."
The headlights were not left on they were turned on on purpose. It's a common rule of photography that any light visible in a photograph be turned on. It just looks better.
I would suggest that this guy probably loves his car even more than most of you love your crocheted ottomans, so why shouldn't he keep it where he can see and enjoy it at all times. I thought one of the cornerstone bits of AT advice was to fill your home with the things you love and that make you happy. That is what he did.
Just because he thought (way) outside the traditional decorating box doesn't make him wrong.
This is so LA.
where can i get a sofa like that??
I would never... but hey, we're always looking at radical design ideas and outliers. This is just one more interesting picture to ponder. I don't think anyone's suggesting we should embrace the hyperconsumptive lifestyle shown here, or seriously consider working toward a living room/garage combo. I'm shopping Craigslist, but it's fun to see people's widely varying ideas. It's just toying with design.
hahahah.... look at that douche. Dbaggery at it's finest.
I'm laughing tears! This is to much!
I would love the house and the car and the view and the car in the house with the view.. sigh.
People still use cars for transportation?
I'm not against the idea, but really in this instance its just wanky.
What a tool.
Um, is this a joke?
"People still use cars for transportation?"
OMG can I borrow your teleporter??!!?!
this is totally hot. as explained above, it's a garage that just happens to be nicer than most of our living rooms. if i had the moola, hell yeah i'd do it! sexy car.
is this out of reach / out-of-touch with most readers? yes! but how much of the stuff we wet-dream about on here isn't?
One word: douche.
two words....rain....mud
This garage is the "sprinkle star dust... click your heels three times... and open your eyes" girly version of my brother-in-laws garage - his beloved Holden, wall of tools, old sofa (that the dog has chewed to pieces), stereo, mini-tv and finally the bar fridge. Ahhh smell the testosterone.
Obviously, apartmenttherapy is not the target audience for this and quite frankly, from the comments left by some readers here, are a few steps below on the social, economic, and evolutionary ladder to fully appreciate this.
The Robb Report, apartmenttherapy is not.
Hahahahaha the shot of that dude staring at his living-room car with its headlights still on is the best thing I've seen this morning. I particularly enjoy the fact that the seating is placed for maximum car-viewing pleasure.
Italian cars are fickle beasts that like to break down. It would really suck having to get that thing towed out of the living room, I suppose you would have to push it out first.
You can reflect your taste and design style throughout your home without parking your car in you living room. If your that full of yourself and car, park it out front for guests to see or make a car port that you can view from a deck/porch of which you have guests. idk... The living room is not a car showroom, it looks like a dealer.
if ur a car lover, and loves modern architecture and design there shouldn't be a question of WHY you would do such a thing.
@ caslab: "I particularly enjoy the fact that the seating is placed for maximum car-viewing pleasure." lmao! This post was mildly funny, but your comment was the capstone.