Ugly House Photos

Design Through the Decades - part 64

Homes in the 1990s and 2000s in Phoenix underwent changes in parking design:  garages increased in size, garages were used for other reasons beyond protecting cars, and garages became part of the architecture.

The 1990s - Parking:

The standard 2-car garage in Phoenix homes continued in the 1990s.  And garages continued to dominate the overall architecture of the home: they were the first and often the only thing you saw upon arrival.

Since lot sizes were smaller in the 1990s, driveways were sometimes sacrificed.

Homeowners began to demand more storage space in their homes, so homebuilders took action.  Three-car garages emerged in the 1990s and became standard in Phoenix by the late 1990s.  Most Phoenicians then used the third parking bay for storage.

In a few neighborhoods with the smallest of lots, a shared driveway to 3, 4, 5, or 6 homes was created.  Homeowners’ Association rules prohibited anyone from parking on the driveway so that all neighbors could enter/exit their driveways easily.

The 2000s - Parking:

A problem emerged in the 1990s with parking:  vehicles were getting larger and longer.  The standard 18-foot-deep garage was not deep enough or tall enough for SUVs and trucks.  So in the 2000s, many cities in the Phoenix metropolitan area changed the building code to require 21-foot-deep garages.  Problem solved.

Also, front-loaded garages disappeared from many 2000s homes.  The garage was not the dominant feature at the curb.  Homes stretched from left to right rather than front to back.

Three-car garages were standard in most Phoenix homes in the 2000s.  Homeowners wanted the third parking bay for storage.

Sometimes the 3-car garage was broken up into a two-car garage and a separate one-car garage.  The one-car garage could be used for boats, ATVs, ski jets, storage, or for a regular car.

As interest rates dropped and home financing became looser in the mid-2000s, builders threw in all the extras they could and buyers responded.  Four-car garages became very desirable in the 2000s.

By the mid-2000s, garages and garage doors underwent a design change: they became part of the architecture of the house.  Designer garage doors appeared as seen at this 2007 Phoenix home.

Designer garage doors and custom driveway at a luxury home in Scottsdale.