The new front door
By Mimi Vanderhaven
A home’s front entrance may be elaborately decorated, featuring impressive wooden doors with decorative stained glass underscored by a welcome mat bearing the family name—usually with an inappropriately used apostrophe-S at the end. Still, insists Chad Gleske, co-owner of Ohio Garage Interiors, the garage is increasingly the main entryway into today’s home.
“The garage is becoming the new front door,” Chad observes. “That’s why more people are beginning to look at their garage from an aesthetic perspective. It’s a visitor’s first impression.”
Chad and his dad, Scott, began to address the growing trend 11 years ago when they established Ohio Garage Interiors. Since 2006, Chad and Scott have de-cluttered and enhanced thousands of Northeast Ohio garages with their high-end polymer floor coatings, durable cabinets and organization systems.
Now, Chad announces, the company is custom designing and building all of its own garage cabinets—and all of the cabinets they install will be a perfect fit.
“We made a big investment in a high-end CNC (Computer Numeric Control) machine and expanded our production facility so we can make our own cabinets in house,” Chad says.
“The stock cabinets we had been installing were rugged and beautiful, but we were a little limited in what we could customize. We can now feature more colors, designs and unique styles, perfectly measured and built to exactly fit your space.”
Unlike cabinets you might find in a home improvement store, Ohio Garage Interiors’ cabinets are extra wide—up to 48 inches—to more conveniently store tools, toys and yard amenities, and are constructed from a tough, thermally-fused melamine, Chad emphasizes.
“They have a high-end decorative appearance,” he says. “We are also introducing a new stainless steel wrapped outside door.”
Ohio Garage Interiors, Chad insists, is a true family business.
“We are hands-on in every installation to make certain the finished product is always the way we would want it done in our own homes,” he assures. “All of our installers are employees—not sub-contractors. It’s a matter of employing knowledgeable, experienced people to ensure the highest quality of work.”
The garage, Chad says, is not only becoming the main entrance for most homes, but in many cases it’s the biggest room in the house.
“Unfortunately, sometimes it isn’t properly utilized because it’s cluttered, dirty and the floor is chipped, pitted and stained,” he laments.
“Whether you have a single-car detached garage or an attached multi-car space, our flooring and organizational systems can help you to reclaim your garage as a useful and valuable storage area, work space or even a large, versatile party room.”
You might start with the floor.
Unfortunately, the porous concrete floor in your garage begins to deteriorate the moment it comes in contact with the road salt that symbolizes Northeast Ohio winters, Chad says. A tough, attractive polymer floor coating from Ohio Garage Interiors, on the other hand, isn’t affected by salt, water or oil.
“Salt, dirt and grime won’t hurt our floors,” Chad insists.
“Cleanup is a snap. You simply get the hose and rinse the dirt and salt away. Our product is a colored vinyl flake that is broadcast into a clear coat. Unlike a stone epoxy product, our coating is not porous, so water, oil and other liquids can’t seep in and settle between the coating and the concrete. Our coatings are actually four times stronger and more flexible than standard epoxy. They offer a contemporary, attractive finish that can stand up to spills, stains or the extreme temperatures associated with the garage environment.”
Floors are available in hundreds of colors and patterns, including imitation stone.
Once the floor is done, the next step might be to keep the clutter off of it. That’s where Ohio Garage Interiors’ custom cabinets and organizational systems come in.
“It’s so nice to pull the car in and see nothing but stylish, clean cabinets,” he says. “Our cabinets are attractive enough to be in the house, but are designed for the storage demands of a garage.”
The inch-thick adjustable cabinet shelves can withstand the toughest garage conditions, Chad promises.
“They are mounted directly to the studs so they are secure and solid, and they are situated six inches off the ground to inhibit water and pests,” he says.
Ohio Garage Interiors can enhance its cabinets with handy and convenient wall hangers and other storage solutions that keep tools, yard equipment and gardening supplies organized and easy to access.
Chad and Scott personally design every garage system. Using CAD software, they can show customers 3D images of exactly how their enhanced garage will look, before the installation begins.
You can begin to de-clutter––and de-stress––your life and improve your guests’ first impression of your home by scheduling a consultation with Ohio Garage Interiors. For more information, visit OhioGarageInteriors.com. To schedule your no-cost consultation with Chad or Scott, please call one of the following numbers:
• Cleveland East 216-767-6363
• Cleveland West 440-520-9370
• Akron/Canton 330-835-8111