Written by Patricia Gay
from Acorn OnlineIn front of a film crew, a master builder walks around
a showcase garage extolling the virtues of stamped steel cabinets. He spies a hook affixed high on a wall, grabs it with both hands, lifts himself up, and swings back and forth to demonstrate the hook’s strength.
The scene is not unlike something from an episode of “Tool Time,” the fictional show-within-a-show from the old series Home Improvement. But this scene is not fictional.
The
garage is real and located on Timber Mill Lane in Weston, at the home of Hy and Susan Pomerance. The master builder doing the swinging is Karl Champley, a home improvement expert and host of the shows Wasted Spaces and DIY to the Rescue on the DIY (Do It Yourself) cable network.
Mr. Champley and crew set up shop at the Pomerance garage around 4 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 1, and generated a series of live broadcasts that aired on TV and radio throughout the morning and early afternoon.
The subject of the broadcasts, each 10 to 15 minutes in length, was how to turn garage sale profits into garage improvements, in honor of National Garage Sale Day which is Saturday, Aug. 9.
With the Pomerance garage serving as a backdrop for the broadcasts, viewers and listeners from New York, Los Angeles, and across the country were offered tips from Mr. Champley on how to organize a successful garage sale and use the proceeds to fix up their garages.
Sleek garage The Pomerances’ garage measures 20 feet by 20 feet and contains 400 square feet. “Really, it is just a standard two-car garage,” Mr. Pomerance said while watching Mr. Champley in action.
But the garage’s look and design is anything but standard. From floor to ceiling, the space has a sleek appearance, with silver floor tiles and matching silver lockers and cabinets. There is even a matching silver refrigerator, called a “Chillerator,” in the space.
To achieve this look, the Pomerances gave their existing garage, which was a plain and open space, a facelift and makeover. “This was the last room in the house that we renovated, and it was well worth it,” Mr. Pomerance said.
The Pomerance family moved to Weston two years ago from San Diego. A former sports psychologist, Mr. Pomerance is the global head of talent management at UBS investment bank. His wife, Susan, runs a jewelry and Judaica business called Yofi.
With two growing sons, Aaron, 13, and Ilan, 10, the Pomerances faced a dilemma. They loved their home, but needed more space.
Active in sports, the boys were accruing all kinds of equipment, including bikes, skis, baseball bats, and football gear. Their bedrooms couldn’t handle it all.
Not wanting to move, the Pomerances decided to create more usable space by renovating their garage.
“It’s like creating extra square footage to the house,” Mr. Pomerance said.
He got an idea of what he wanted to do by visiting a Sears store in Danbury. There he came across a system of modular cabinets and shelves designed specifically for garages, manufactured by Gladiator GarageWorks by Whirlpool.
Mr. Pomerance then contacted Potomac Garage Solutions to help design and install the system in his garage.
After the garage was emptied, the company laid new floor tiles and installed six locker-size cabinets, six wall boxes, shelves, baskets, hooks, and a heavy-duty Chillerator that can withstand extreme temperatures in an unheated garage.
After a fresh coat of red paint in areas not covered by the new system, the space took on a new existence.
Karl Champley is hooked. —Patricia Gay photo
Bikes, scooters, mops, and bats all hang neatly on the walls, while the new silver cabinets store Mr. Pomerance’s tools, cleaning supplies and painting equipment. The Chillerator holds a supply of cold beverages.
“Our garage has transformed into a fantastic space for the whole family,” Mr. Pomerance said.
The family recently had a pool party for Ilan’s birthday and used the garage as a locker room. “We had 30 boys use the space to change, and it worked out great,” Mr. Pomerance said.
Champley’s spots The finished makeover was such a success that a representative from Gladiator asked the Pomerances if they could broadcast Mr. Champley’s spots from their garage. Happy with the results, the Pomerances agreed.
The garage makeover was right up Mr. Champley’s alley. As the host of Wasted Spaces, he helps homeowners transform unusable basements and garages into areas that provide practical storage and living space. In an episode airing this week on DIY, he helps a couple build a storage shed and cabinets in a small garage space.
A seasoned television personality, Mr. Champley had no problem handling the fast pace of Friday’s live broadcasts. One minute he was on TV in New York, the next he was fielding calls from a radio show in Phoenix.
Each spot moves quickly. With the garage as a backdrop, Mr. Champley, in his native Australian accent, discussed clutter with a television host, while Mr. Pomerance watched on a television outside under a tent.
“Clear the clutter in your garage and you’ll find more square footage in your home,” Mr. Champley said. “If there are items you haven’t used in 12 months, they should be cleared out. Give them to someone who’ll use them.”
He advised viewers to hold a garage sale, especially in light of National Garage Sale Day. “It’s a great way to clean your house and make some money, and it’s something the whole family can do together,” he said.
Anything not sold at the garage sale can be donated to charity, he said, and he mentioned that Habitat for Humanity will come to the home for items that don’t sell in the garage sale. “They come in a truck, pick everything up, and it works out fine for everyone,” he said.
Mr. Champley then advised viewers to reinvest their garage sale money back into their garages. He pointed to the cabinets and floor in the Pomerances’ garage to show how a plain garage space can be transformed.
“
Now you can feel proud of your garage,” Mr. Champley said.
After several broadcasts in a row, Mr. Champley took a short break and munched on some fresh fruit. Originally from Australia, he and his wife, Diane Matthews, moved to Los Angeles in 2001. Their little son Kai is well known to TV viewers as Baby Bob, the chipmunk-cheeked, smart-talking baby on the Quiznos Sub commercials.
But just as Mr. Champley started to relax, he was called back to the garage as the next set of broadcasts was about to begin. A talk show host in Miami tells him how nice the Pomerances’ garage looks, and once again, it’s show time.
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