Sofia Palacios, 22, moved into her family’s detached garage after a new house in January created a room shortage for her frequently visiting grandparents. She split the space into a bedroom and a studio, while her family continues living in the main home—witho
In January, when Sofia Palacios’ family settled into a new home in San Diego, the plan for bedrooms quickly ran into a familiar problem: her grandparents visited often, and they liked having a place to stay.
Palacios, 22, said her family had been renting a home before the right one came along a few blocks away.. That new house had four bedrooms—enough in theory for each of her parents and her two sisters to have their own space.. But the regular rhythm of grandparents’ visits changed the math.. Palacios said the family wanted her grandparents to be able to come and stay as much as possible. which led her to an unusual solution.
She converted the detached garage into her own space—using one half as her bedroom and the other half as an art studio and study—so her grandparents could stay in the main house.. The garage is not attached to the home. and Palacios described it as keeping her close while also freeing room inside for her extended family.
“Anytime we go out with friends. we just kind of get going on how much we love my parents. ” Palacios said. adding that her family is central to her life.. She and her two sisters still live with their parents. and she said they prefer staying nearby rather than moving out on their own.. Palacios said her parents don’t charge them rent. and she described their home as a place where they can talk without feeling pressured.
“It’s a safe place to come home to,” she said. “My parents are never overbearing. They’re never intrusive. They’ve always just allowed us to come and talk to them whenever we’re ready, and they take an interest in our lives without being judgmental of what we’re going to tell them.”
The garage bedroom came with tradeoffs, but Palacios said the balance works for her.. Her garage door faces an entrance to the house leading to the laundry room.. The garage has a sink. but no bathroom or kitchen. meaning she has to walk to the main house to use the restroom. shower. or make food.. Palacios said that routine is “annoying” after sunset: she has to unlock her door. step across a dark alley. unlock the door to the main house. go to the bathroom. and then repeat the trip back.
During the day. she leaves the garage door open and moves in and out of the main house as she would if her room wasn’t a stand-alone garage.. Palacios also said the family’s daily routine still includes being together.. “We eat dinner together probably every night,” she said.. She said her sisters sometimes come into her room, adding that she thinks only her dad knocks.
Inside the garage. Palacios designed a layout that lets her move between tasks without feeling fully separated from the rest of family life.. She said the garage began as a blank space, which gave her freedom to arrange it.. She placed her bed close to the doorway, which she described as convenient for late-night bathroom trips.. Her nightstand sits in the corner, with a dresser across from the bed.. She also set up white cabinetry to store much of her clothes directly across from the doorway. and she used rugs and a chair facing the bed to help the bedroom feel separate from the rest of the space.
For her studio and study area. Palacios kept the other half open and used natural light as part of the design.. She said the garage has two large doors, including a glass-paned door leading to the patio.. That doorway, she said, makes the area especially suitable for her artwork.. She stores most of her art supplies in built-in cabinetry along the walls and uses the corner opposite for painting or pottery work.
Although she doesn’t have a kitchen in the garage. Palacios created room for basic items. including an espresso maker and a mini-fridge.. She said she and her sisters share a love for the gym and sometimes “fight over the proteins” they buy. and that having her own mini-fridge helps her keep some items private.. She also set up a multipurpose desk under the only window in the room. using the bottom cabinet for school materials and the top drawer for makeup supplies. with a covered mirror on top so the desk doesn’t feel like only a vanity when it’s not in use.
Comfort and practical issues also shaped the setup.. The garage has a fan but no central AC or heat.. Palacios said she has a small heater for winter and plans to get an AC unit for the summer.. She noted that besides the lack of a bathroom. dust collecting in the space is another complaint. though she said she has no bigger issues.
She said the sink comes in handy because it lets her wash her face and brush her teeth without always trekking to the main house.. Palacios installed open shelving near the sink for her products and kept toiletries in a drawer dedicated to them.. She also put prints on the wall to add personality to the corner.
The backyard access turned out to be one of the most enjoyable parts of the arrangement.. Palacios said a wall surrounds the yard and that she felt she had plenty of privacy.. She said she hung curtains at her grandfather’s behest. though they had to be hung from the outside so they wouldn’t interfere with the garage door’s opening mechanism.. She said she especially likes that the glass door leads straight to the yard and that it feels like an extension of the space when it’s open.
“My sisters tan out there sometimes because that’s where we get the most sun,” she said.. “I’ll have the door open and be working. and they’ll be tanning and talking to me.” She also described an irritation she hasn’t fully solved: she said it was “so annoying in the winter” because crickets kept slipping through the bottom of the space. and she ended up having to adjust to sleeping with them through the night.
The decision, Palacios said, has helped her family keep a closer rhythm with her grandparents. She said her grandparents are visiting more often and staying longer, and that she believes providing a private place motivates them to spend more time with the family.
“Having the peace of mind that they can come and stay here and have their little space, it motivates them to actually come,” she said. “I think it’s motivating them more and more to stay longer and longer, which was the goal.”
In that same January shift. her bedroom and studio arrangement also connected back to the earlier concern that the house’s four-bedroom layout couldn’t easily accommodate frequent visits—once Palacios moved into the detached garage. she could keep the main house set up for her grandparents.. The arrangement holds together through the daily routine she described: she joins her family for meals. steps into the main house for bathroom and food at night. and uses the garage’s layout—bed by the doorway. studio by the glass-paned door to the patio—to keep her work and daily life close to home.
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