How to Turn Your Garage Into a Safe and Cozy Place to Hang This Fall
This past summer, the outdoors provided a much-needed outlet for safe socializing during the pandemic. Now, as the weather cools, many of us are investing in our backyards and patios to keep the fun going. But with unpredictable temperatures, plus rain and snow, some are looking to the garage as the next place to hang out safely with a little added warmth.
Though the outdoors is still best, a garage can be a viable option, says Lindsey Leininger, a public health scientist at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth college and chief educator of Dear Pandemic, a public health site. "It's certainly safer than [socializing] inside, as long as the garage doors are open and air is circulating," she says.
Leininger suggests thinking of garage hangouts (and really all social interactions) through the Dear Pandemic SMART framework: Space (always maintain six feet), Mask (keep it on), Air (always have the garage doors open), Restricted (keep it to a small number of people), and Time (keep it short).
So how do you turn a space usually used to store cars and household items into an area that's safe and stylish to hang out in?