The 1958 House and Garden living-garage concept. Property of Mr. and Mrs. Fred M. Zeder II, Greenwich, Connecticut. Designer: Spalding Waggener.

Today's automobiles are not only designed to be looked at but, as H&G's Living Garage proves, they are easy to live with. The 1958 Lincoln Premiere shown is one of the larger American models. Yet it takes up only a fraction of the garage space, leaving plenty of room for a buffet table. Despite the presence of the auto, the Living Garage bears not the slightest resemblance to the conventional garage. Both its materials and its colors are those you would expect to find in the house itself. The vinyl-coated nylon awning, the soft brown quarry tile flooring, the walls of glass and the Citron yellow Panelyte walls-all are combined to transform the garage into a delightful living area. Under the same roof, too, is a playroom which lies between the garage and the house. Once a little used service yard, it now is a center for children's parties, TV, informal entertaining.

Because the Living Garage is designed to be inviting, convenient and durable, it is the perfect place for informal entertaining. In the playroom, floored in ceramic tile of several beige shades, a bar-soda fountain serves the children and adults equally well. It is finished in flame-colored Panelyte, and has a Whirlpool built-in ice cube maker. Up four steps in the garage proper, buffets can be arranged for almost any number of guests. And they can be prepared without running back and forth to the kitchen, thanks to an ingenious mobile cooking cart built to H&G's specifications by General Electric. Both doors and top open on piano hinges to form a handsome and efficient work center. The unit, in Citron and Dove Gray, stores 8 G.E. appliances which can be plugged into outlets on a control panel.

With so much newly created space (1350 sq. ft.) the owners of the H&G-designed Living Garage enjoy facilities that would be impractical, if not impossible, inside the house. Along one wall, for instance, there is a plant shelf with a long tray 6" deep built into the countertop. Here, plants can be potted and seedlings started. Below the countertop is a generous row of cupboards for storing such gardening needs as plant foods, pots and hand implements. Cut flowers can be arranged and watered at a built-in sink. The same wall also includes a cupboard section in which the owners keep auto cleaning materials, tools and, delectable contrast, a selection of General Foods' Gourmet Foods. Sound planning incorporated these utilitarian cup- boards as well as a tool room nearby without detracting from the interior good looks.

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source: House and Garden Magazine | April 1958