Drive home a dreamhouse design by shifting gears and focusing on the attached garage.

Today's residential garages are occupying more square footage and often are the primary way of entering and leaving a home, says educated aerospace engineer and co-author of the Rogue Engineer blog, Jamison Rantz. Jamie Rantz is the other half of the husband-and-wife design and contractor team that chronicles building their Ann Arbor, Michigan, dream home together.

"The garage doors take up a lot of real estate on the front of our home," Jamison says. "With so many garage door options available, why wouldn't you find doors that complement your home's architecture and design?"

Homeowners don't have to settle for builder's grade, windowless garage doors. Manufacturers are rolling out new garage door options that are more insulated and energy-efficient with eye-catching styles. Viewed less as a commodity and more as an integrated architectural element by consumers, garage door manufacturers have revved up sales with new designs, such as the carriage-house style.

The Rantz home features a 900-square-foot drive-through garage with doors that enhance their modern farmhouse's curb appeal and functionality. They drove up the design factor by having two steel American Tradition Series carriage-house style garage doors made by Haas Door, based out of Wauseon, Ohio.

Painted in "cool black" with a wood texture, these steel doors shed light on the Rantz's design with specialty glazed glass windows installed along the top of the door. Insulated steel garage doors are energy-efficient, low-maintenance and won't crack, warp or split when installed properly. Hinge-straps and door pulls can be the finishing touches that elevate a garage door from a standard to stellar design.

The Rantzes also included a second garage door on the back wall, which opens to a large yard and enables them to drive through the garage, as needed. A high-end commercial grade garage door -- with all-glass panels -- acts like a large picture window that can be raised and lowered, Jamison says.

"The glass-paneled garage door allows tons of natural light into the space and truly showcases our outside view when we're inside the garage," he says. "This full-glass door is a showstopper to guests."

More and more, homeowners are using their garage as additional living space, whether it serves as extra storage, a man cave or an entertaining area, says Ben Weiss, a San Diego-based design consultant with California Closets.

"Because not everyone has the luxury of a large home with a basement, you have to be organized with the space you have," he says. "The garage is a natural ingress and egress point of the home, and for many, it's the drop-zone, when people are transitioning from outdoors to indoors."

Businesses -- like California Closets -- and manufacturers are rolling out garage organizing options that transform it from a catch-all to a well-designed car-park.

"When I design a garage space, I ask people how they live," Weiss says. "Things that go in and out of the trunk of a car need to have a space closest to the garage door. A refrigerator in the garage should be near a countertop. The more a design makes practical sense, the more likely you are to keep it organized."

No matter the level of garage upgrade, Weiss says the first step to any home organizational project is to first clear away the clutter. That means donating outgrown sporting gear, disposing of unused hazardous chemicals and discarding broken items that will never be fixed.

After everything is off the garage floor, making the space functional starts from the ground up. Badly broken concrete flooring may need to be re-poured, but creating a clean surface can be as easy as installing an epoxy floor coating or laying interlocking, reinforced polypropylene tiles, designed for heavy-duty garage usage.

A track wall system -- which features grooved channels like store display walls -- features modular shelving, hooks, bins and cabinetry that can slide into place without using nails. Get in the zone by creating different zones for a garage's use:

-- Tool Time -- Start with a tool bench to anchor the space and mount most-used tools onto the wall or into easily accessible, clearly labeled drawers or cabinets.

-- Car Parts -- Store motor oil, coolant and filters together in a cabinet that's out-of-reach by pets or children.

-- Sporting Goods -- Ball-handling skills are easily practiced when bins are affixed to the wall. Hang up everything from baseball bats to golf bags, with individual lockers for each child as an option for personalized storage.

-- Storage Bins -- You only have to look up to create even more storage opportunities. Vaulted garage ceilings can mean constructing a permanent platform to keep bins off the floor for good.

A garage can be an open door into the family that occupies the home, Weiss says. "How the garage looks and functions conveys a message about the rest of the home," he says. "Plan a garage purge once a year to get rid of things you no longer use and make room for the things you do."

For the Rantz family, their garage is also getaway to host their rambunctious children's parties, where it doesn't matter if things get dropped or spilled.

"Because we built the garage with radiant in-floor heating and the doors are well-insulated, I believe we could actually live in our new two-car garage," Jamison says. "Our garage is always comfortable, even in our cold Michigan weather."

Revving Up Garage Design

Go to HaasCreate.com to upload a photo of your home and virtually click through garage door designs before buying.

Go to CaliforniaClosets.com or call 888-336-9707, to request a free garage organization consultation.

Subscribe to RogueEngineer.com to follow the Rantz family's adventures as they build their dream home in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Today's gas fireplaces are hot with cool designs. Flames that leap from realistic-looking logs, tranquil stones or ceramic glass can warm up any home design.

Last year, nearly 800,000 gas fireplace units were shipped from manufacturers to retailers in the United States and Canada, according to the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association (HPBA), based in Arlington, Virginia.

"The gas fireplace has evolved beyond the traditional hearth in the family room," says John Crouch, HPBA spokesman. "You can have the convenience of an instant fire in the fireplace by using a simple remote."

Extinguish any notion that a gas-burning fireplace's options are limited to dismally fake logs placed into an existing masonry firebox. With flames that rival a wood-burning fire, today's contemporary and sleekly designed gas-burning fireplaces can be built directly into a wall.

To achieve the look of cool combustion, many homeowners are turning to a zero-clearance fireplace made of metal with a masonry lining. This fireplace is a self-contained unit that gives homeowners a viable option to add a gas-burning fireplace to their house without a conventional hearth, chimney and flue.

"Many homeowners have zero-clearance model fireplaces installed at eye level in the wall for a modern minimalistic look," Crouch says, "Technology is such that direct-vent fireplaces can actually be part of a wall, acting as a transition from indoors to outdoors, or from one room to another."

Gas direct-vent fireplaces eliminate the need for a chimney and flue and are vented through a horizontal pipe that exits through an outside wall. On front-sealed glass models, all of the air needed for combustion comes from outside the home.

If you find yourself getting fired up for the colder weather, Crouch says today's gas-burning fireplaces can heat up a new or existing home. "A fire in the fireplace just naturally becomes the focal point of a room," he says. "Some gas-burning fireplace units aren't just decorative, they can act as zone heaters."

A sealed-combustion gas-burning fireplace doesn't draw air from a home, and some models can output the heat they generate back into the house. "Not only do you have the beauty of a fire," Crouch says, "but these gas fireplaces have remotes equipped with a timer and thermostat."

Before becoming consumed with an inferno of ideas for fireplace features, Crouch says it's best to involve a professional installer certified by the National Fireplace Institute (NFICertified.org). "You want to consult a local professional to ensure the fireplace feature you want will work in the space," he says. "A certified fireplace professional will make sure it is installed according to the manufacturer's specifications, because you are still dealing with gas and fire."

With enough planning, a fireplace can be located nearly anywhere inside or outside the home. A bedroom's design can be metaphorically set ablaze with a see-through fireplace feature with flames that dance on colored crystals or glass. A see-through fireplace can be floor- or wall-mounted, to serve as a home's hot spot.

Outdoor fire features are a quickly growing segment of fireplace installations, according to Crouch. "Having a fireplace outside is just a natural way to create a warm space for gathering or entertaining," he says. "A fireplace doesn't have to throw heat to be inviting and is always welcoming, no matter the time of year."

Today's gas-burning fireplaces are made to look beautiful with or without the flames dancing, whether they're turned on or off. A dramatic log set arranged in a vertical bonfire fashion serves as a transition to outdoors when placed into a large see-through fireplace wall unit. Nonconventional media used in fireplaces can also have a tranquil effect. Flames emerging from fire-safe rocks or colored crystals/glass -- and not logs -- emulate an Eastern influence.

Still considered the heart of the home, the kitchen can house a hearth when a traditional fireplace can be reimagined into a "fire place." Emulating a kitchen island, a contemporary hearth can be horizontally set onto the floor, which becomes a cool place for families to chill out with flames dancing in a sealed combustion chamber set beneath a countertop.

No matter where a fireplace is located, expect it to bring an elemental experience to your home. "I think being drawn to a fire is in a human's DNA," Crouch says. "Even though the technology and style of fireplaces is changing, a person's reaction to gathering around a fire is still a visceral part of the human experience."

Go With Gas

Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association, HPBA.org. Search the STORE LOCATOR under RESOURCES tab for qualified dealers.

Danish "hygge" is huge in American homes embracing a Scandinavian style. The Danish word, pronounced “hoo-gah,” translates to a feeling of coziness, which is evident in Nordic design, says interior designer Bjorn Bjornsson, whose eponymous firm is based in New York City.

"Sunlight and warmth are precious commodities during the winter in Scandinavian countries," says the native Icelandic designer with Danish heritage. "Homes are built to allow in maximum light and accessorized with cozy throws and rugs."

But to focus solely on the light, bright and white elements in a Scandinavian-style home is to miss the essence of a Nordic nest. While this iteration of a minimalistic design has wide appeal, Bjornsson says to capture the Scandinavian spirit, one must go beyond natural wood accents, leggy furnishings and a pared-down color palette.

"Americans are desiring a Scandinavian-style design aesthetic in their homes, but often what they're missing is the functionalism component," Bjornsson says. "Nordic homes are generally small, but every bit of space is put to use, with furnishings that serve many purposes."

To truly nestle into a Scandinavian-style home, one must first clear away the clutter, Bjornsson says. "If you can, walk through your home without any furnishings in it and observe the light. Let the house talk to you, with an eye to bring the outdoors inside," he says. "Resist the temptation to fill up the home with stuff. A true Scandinavian home is filled with people, not possessions."

The overall Scandinavian style can be viewed as both uncluttered and contemporary. There are common elements throughout a Scandinavian-designed home that use simplicity and functionality, complemented with a light color palette, blonde woods, organic patterns and natural fibers, says Abbey Stark, senior interior design leader at IKEA-US.

Swedish-founded IKEA designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture and home accessories while being one of the most accessible contemporary home-goods retailers in the world. "Scandinavian design is an innovative approach to honest and timeless design," Stark says. "Our Swedish roots influence everything we do through product development ... design is about simplicity and not being overly complicated."

In true Scandinavian style, form follows function. Stark says spaces are planned with function as the foundation of every design, so everything in the home should have a purpose.

Living Light

Keeping it light is a way of life in a Nordic home. Not only are walls painted white, but also, uncluttered areas keep spaces light and airy.

All shades of neutrals are welcome, Bjornsson says, to reflect the waning light during the deepest snows in winter, and also to celebrate the sunlight of summertime.

"Window coverings are either nonexistent or very simple, as you don't want outdoor views to be obstructed," he says. "Tending to indoor plants and having a roaring fire in the winter further enliven a home."

The Kitchen

A Scandinavian-style kitchen is about having beauty on the outside and organization on the inside. Cooking should be fun by having everything exactly where you need it, Stark says.

"The kitchen is the heart of the home, and we are always looking to create the perfect setting for a Fika with family and friends," she says. "Fika. It's a little Swedish word that packs a lot of meaning. On the surface, it refers to taking a break with a cup of coffee and a biscuit or treat. But the tradition of Fika spans countless generations, and in that time it has come to embody fundamental values like togetherness, equality and simplicity."

The cabinetry in a Scandinavian-style kitchen is both accessible and functional, with simple panels that can be covered with chalkboard paint for little artists. Potted herbs give life to the kitchen window and also can be used by the cook when preparing meals.

The Bedroom

The bedroom is meant to be a retreat and place to get a good night's sleep, Stark says. Traditional Nordic bedrooms tend to be smaller than their American counterparts, and are made for rest and recharging.

"The idea is to create a space to relax with cozy bedding, window treatments for light control and task lighting centered above the bed to nestle in with your favorite book," she says.

Common Living Areas

The living room is designed to create a playful, multifunctional space for the family to gather for movies and games. Creating a neutral color palette with furniture allows textiles and rugs to add personality to the space.

The dining table isn't sequestered into its own room that is used only during fancy dinner parties, Bjornsson says. It is set for mealtimes, a communal place for homework, craft projects and friendly card games. "The dining table is the perfect example of a singular piece of furniture having many functions," he says. "In a Scandinavian home, there's always a place at the table, no matter what's going on."

Child's Play

In Scandinavian design, children are integrated into every part of the home, Stark says. "The design should be approachable for children to play and explore by building forts out of blankets and throw pillows," she says, "and being a part of baking cookies in the kitchen."

The foundation for Scandinavian form is comfort, Bjornsson says. "There is a deliberateness in design, because of its simplicity," he says. "A Scandinavian style can be achieved if you're willing to live simply -- with nature and with one another."

A Nordic Nod

-- BjornBjornsson.com

-- Request an IKEA digital catalog at IKEA.com.