A Delaware woman has completed an extensive DIY renovation in her parents’ garage, turning the bare space into her own cozy abode, packed with sweet and soft personal touches, from funky vintage furniture to ‘boho’ beachy’ wall art.
Savannah Shockley24, drew inspiration for the project from the converted garage apartment she rented out last summer in Fresno, California – a living arrangement for which she went viral on TikTok in 2022.
Last fall, when she returned to her native Delaware, the singer decided to put her own spin on the concept by moving into a garage on the lot of her parents’ newly purchased home in the town of Lewes on the Delaware Bay.
From there, Savannah – along with her fiancé, brother, uncle and a few friends – she converted the bare quarters into a bohemian studio apartment that exuded what she described to DailyMail.com as a “cottage vibe.”
Singer Savannah Shockley, 24, decided to renovate her parents’ garage herself and transform the bare space into a cozy shelter
The space is full of personal touches, from trinkets and crystals to keepsakes from family members
Savannah’s ‘love’ for ‘natural colours’ was a strong source of inspiration for the interior design
A vintage, pyramid-shaped dresser from her uncle is among the more eclectic pieces of furniture in the room
The house her parents had just purchased, seemingly thrown away by the previous owners, had a stained glass panel now installed in the garage.
Savannah said there were “hints of heavenly things”, including “little stars” and “moons”, reflecting her interest in astrology
The process started with a trip to Home Depot, where the group spent a total of $1,500 on materials — just $100 more than what Savannah and her fiancé had previously spent on their old rental each month.
From there, they installed two walls in the garage, defining a 2,500-square-foot area that would become Savannah’s living and working space.
They finished the walls with layers of insulation and drywall, fully establishing the parameters of the room. For flooring, they laid down wood-patterned vinyl panels from Lowe’s.
Savannah recalled that the group worked on the project “all day,” “from the moment we woke up until nightfall,” for the better part of seven straight days.
‘We really wanted to finish it. We were so excited, so we just kept going,” she said.
Once the basic construction was complete, Savannah chose a sage green shade to paint the walls.
‘We didn’t even know what color we were going to do at first, but we just thought, “Okay, I want to do something relaxing and fun.” And in the end we went with sage green. So I was happy with the color.”
Although there are no plumbing or major appliances in the garage, her family’s main house is just steps away.
The garage stands as a separate structure next to the house that Savannah’s parents recently purchased
When creating the living and working space, the group created two new walls in the garage
The process included adding insulation and finishing the surfaces with drywall
The total cost of the renovation came to a frugal $1,500
Although there is no indoor sewerage, Savannah uses the bathroom in the main house, just steps from the garage
Savannah decided to paint the space a shade of sage green. She saw it above
The extension was finished with a vinyl floor with a wooden pattern (in the photo the floors are partially finished)
The total renovation took the group about a week. Above is a look at the finished product
‘Everyone loves it!’ Savannah gushed about the end result. In the photo you see the furnished living area
Savannah, the frontwoman of her eponymous The Savannah Band, keeps a variety of musical instruments within easy reach in the garage
‘We have a refrigerator and a microwave here. But we also use their kitchen when we need to,” Savannah said of the setup, which is both separate yet directly adjacent to her parents’ home.
When it came to decorating, Savannah took an eclectic approach, bringing together an assortment of vintage furniture with neutral-colored wall art and warm lighting.
“I love the natural colors,” she said of the interior design.
For example, an elongated, pyramid-shaped dresser came from her uncle, who had had the piece “forever” before giving it to her parents, who “had no room for it.”
“And I thought, ‘Oh my God, I’ll take it,’” she said.
Elsewhere, a stained glass window was found now installed in a window frame in the garage ‘like some kind of outside, near a shed’ – apparently left by the house’s previous owners.
‘I thought: cool. Let’s use that in this room somehow,” Savannah said.
‘It looks so beautiful during the day. I like the color effect. The sun comes right through it. But it also adds privacy; you don’t really need curtains,” she added.
Other details are a good reflection of Savannah’s personal aesthetic and history, she said.
“It seems very earthy, soothing and natural,” she said of the decor.
‘Then hints of celestial things – little stars, moons, things like that. I love astrology,” shared Savannah, who is an Aries-Taurus cusp.
“I really like the sailboats, it reminds me of home,” she continued, referring to a large painting of sailboats hanging above one of the sofas.
‘I like a boho-beachy vibe. I live near the beach. When you walk in, you feel peaceful and serene.”
A painting of sailboats above one of the couches reminded Savannah of “home,” she said. “I live near the beach,” the Delaware native explained
With that, Savannah explained that there was plenty of room to display or otherwise store items of personal significance that she had collected over the years.
For example, she first purchased one of her candles when she started dating her now fiancé six years ago: “They’re two people, and they’re hugging each other… They look like candles with two flames. We always said we were each other’s twin flames and I found it a week after I met him.’
Furthermore, “I have a lot of little crystals, trinkets and little gifts on my shelf, and shells that I’ve collected.”
“I have little angel wings on the wall. My mother has always given me angel wings since I was young…so I have two hearts with angel wings,” she continued.
‘I have my ukulele on the wall and nothing but guitars ready. I like having things like that too, so it’s easy to pick up an instrument, just start on my keyboard, things like that.”
She went on to say, “I loved decorating it, it was definitely my favorite part.”
As the frontwoman of her eponymous The Savannah Bandthe living situation is also harmoniously attuned to the modern suburbia tradition of musicians rehearsing in garages.
“It’s a good place to make music and just get inspired, look around and have a nice atmosphere,” she described.
“I’ve had friends over a lot since we built it. We’ve had jam sessions. And everyone loves it!’