This Modern Home Trend Is Dividing Homeowners, And It’s All About the Garage

Much like fashion, decor styles can come and go. That can mean everything from how you decorate your home (farmhouse chic) to the architectural style of your property (midcentury modern). And while some styles are considered timeless, there are some styles that some people would like to see retired.

If you’re even remotely online, you know that one of those styles includes the type of architecture that involves making the garage the focal point of the home.  A September post from Threads user @wastingtimewithbravo went viral after she shared a photo of a new-construction home that was being built with a large garage.

“I urge people to stop building garage-focused homes,” she captioned the picture. “Bring back the front porch!”

It seems like the Threads user was not alone in her feelings, since the post quickly received more than 34,000 likes and more than 1,300 comments. Many of the commenters agreed with the post, even if there were a few who defended the design. 

People Shared Their Own Photos

 

 

View on Threads

 

If you’re not familiar, the “garage-focused” houses that the Threads user was talking about include those where the garage takes up a large portion of the front of the home, as opposed to having the garage entrance on the side of the property where it can’t be viewed from the street. 

People immediately started sharing photos of their least favorite garage-focused houses in support of the post. “At least there’s more than just the front door and the garage to that one,” one person captioned a picture of a home that appeared to be mostly garage. “This eyesore right across from me is way overpriced for this neighborhood. Almost double any other house on the street.”

Another person shared a picture of their home, which featured a front-facing garage as well as a porch. “I still have a front porch,” they captioned the snap.

An Architect Explained Why This Happens

Someone claiming to be an architect weighed in on the style, confessing that they also hate the design. “But zoning laws, small lots, cost of macadam are the reasons this is ubiquitous,” they wrote in part. 

“You need more land to have a side entry garage,” another person wrote. “It’s all about maximizing the lot.”

According to House Digest, having garages out of sight originates back to the time of horses and carriages, since those used to be stored in a separate building. When more modern garages came to be, they typically ended up in the back of the home, and they were usually accessed by a rear alley. 

Modern homes are built with space constraints, convenience, and profit in mind. Not only that, but the outlet says that front-facing garages typically work better with modern layouts. That being said, it’s clear from this Threads post that there’s an appetite for the older designs where the garage doors remained out of sight, out of mind.