‘Why invest in a gem like a Ferrari or any high-performance car and not showcase it in a glorious setting?” Philippa Thorp, an interior designer, asks. Thorp is a petrolhead with a passion for classic and luxury cars.
“Luxury garages are an increasingly popular trend and certainly something I’m seeing in most of our projects now,” the founder of Thorp Design, an architecture and interior design studio, says.
“We recently designed a garage for a client who has a passion for exquisite motors. The garage isn’t just a storage space, but somewhere he can immerse himself in the beauty of his prized possessions, while enjoying them from the desk in his home office [there is a glass wall between the garage and the office],” she says.
A Thorp Design garage with glass wall
RICHARD POWERS
“The garage features a concealed kitchen and toilet behind custom bookcases designed to display a wonderful collection of car literature. It’s also eco-friendly with solar panels on the roof and Tesla battery packs concealed in the joinery,” she adds.
“Clients just want to enjoy their cars against a backdrop that allows the vehicles to be the jewel of the room. I’ve seen many luxury iterations and each space has been painstakingly considered, with intricate details. In this particular project we incorporated polished plaster on the back wall — a raw yet architectural choice that contrasted with the gloss of the cars — while curated lighting enhanced their visual appeal and specially commissioned doors fortified the structure without compromising its aesthetic,” Thorp explains.
For her next project she is taking the concept to an even higher level by designing a “celebratory” glass box to house an Aston Martin, creating a transparent showcase for the owner’s prized possession.
Other designers and developers are experiencing similar demand from their most discerning clients. Laurence Holder, bespoke director at the property developer Octagon, says: “We worked with a client recently who had a fleet of 12 classic cars. They were his absolute pride and joy. His home ‘showroom’ was filled with fibreglass pods for each individual car, and was housed next to the leisure suite with glass walls so the collection could be viewed from the pool, spa, sauna or games room. It made quite the impact.”
ND Studios’ garage with illuminated ceiling
ANDREAS VON EINSIEDEL
“In the realm of home design, garages are seldom the focal point, but we were tasked with doing just that for a current project,” Natascha Dartnall, director of the design practice ND Studios, says. “The garage encircles a games room with glass windows, transforming the client’s car collection into a colourful art display. The garage itself is a spectacle, featuring an illuminated ceiling, dynamic turntables and a full wall of TVs.”
At No 1 Grosvenor Square, a luxury development in Mayfair, the owners of the 44 apartments can store their cars in the Vault, an automated parking system straight out of a James Bond film. David Lampe, general manager of No 1, explains: “Drivers enter at street level and park their vehicle in a large bay. [After they leave] the vehicle is whisked four levels underground, before it’s parked in one of the 47 bays.
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“The Vault’s intelligent design works by moving and storing vehicles on an innovative pallet system, learning the patterns of usage for different cars. For example, if a resident retrieves their vehicle every Tuesday at 9am, the Vault will send it back to the top the night before, reducing the waiting time for the driver.”
The Vault’s smart system uses automatic number plate recognition and is password-protected for maximum security. It’s no wonder owners of expensive cars are reluctant to leave their wheels on the streets — 130,903 cars were stolen in England and Wales between October 2022 and September 2023, according to the Office for National Statistics. The Vault offers vehicle owners peace of mind you can’t put a price tag on.
A Rolls-Royce on a turntable in a garage by Alexander James Interior Design
Janine Stone & Co, a luxury residential property specialist that has just launched a refurbishment service for wealthy individuals buying properties up to £50 million, has just completed work on a privately owned, 2,000 sq ft property in London. “We designed a large subterranean swimming pool with a garage system that extends below the property,” explains Gideon Stone, the company’s co-founder.
“The garage has an automated stacking system designed to take up to 14 cars and store them below ground. The system allows the owner to select the car he wants to be brought up and automatically shuffles the vehicles until the correct one is sent up in the lift. And the set-up allows one of the cars to be displayed in a glass box in the basement pool area.”
It doesn’t stop at smart lifts, gallery-like spaces and structural glass walls for those with the space and means. Also on the wish list are velvet-lined walls to protect that pricey paintwork, integrated LED lighting and custom cabinetry to organise tools and accessories in style.
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Holder says luxury garages now command as much interior design work as the homes they’re attached to: “Garages of this calibre are often an extension of the home in terms of finishes with similar tiles or porcelain floors as the interior, along with underfloor heating and reinforced floors,” he says.
“Good lighting is key — spotlights are popular — as well as weather-sealed, roller-shutter doors that help to control and temperature of the garage. Electric charging points are, of course, gaining popularity, with extraction systems for exhaust fumes and ventilation systems becoming increasingly more energy-efficient.”
All of which is sure to rev up any self-respecting petrolhead.
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