Garages are multipurpose spaces. You keep your car there, store your garden and lawn equipment, and probably do some of your DIY projects there as well.
The right kind of storage is very important in how your garage looks and functions. When considering which garage cabinets to get, don’t just think about aesthetics; also consider how well they’ll hold up in the garage and whether they are ideal for your particular needs.
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Best Garage Cabinet Ideas
Here are some of the best garage cabinet ideas you can incorporate in your garage.
1. Best Cabinet For Most Garages
Metal cabinets are the best for garages. They can bear the weight of heavy tools, full paint cans and other items you are likely to store in the garage.
They are also best suited for the uncontrolled climate of a garage – large temperature variations, high moisture levels etc.
There are different qualities of metal garage cabinets. They are categorized based on the gauge of the metal used. The lower the gauge, the thicker and stronger the metal is.
20-24 gauge steel cabinets are good enough for most garages, and they are not too expensive.
My favorite pick is the NewAge Bold Series 7 piece set. It’s made with 24-gauge steel that’s powder coated to keep out rust. It’s not exactly heavy duty but it’ll do for a majority of homeowners.
It includes cabinets, height-adjustable shelves, a stainless steel or bamboo worktop and even a backsplash (with or without lights).
I also love the look of these NewAge cabinets. The gray finish adds a nice modern touch to the garage.
If this 7-piece set isn’t big enough for your needs, NewAge has an even bigger set with the same gray finish, a backsplash and a worktop.
2. Garage Cabinet On Wheels
A rolling garage cabinet has several advantages.
You can move it to where you need it most (e.g. if you are working on a project outside and need your tools nearby), it makes it easier to rearrange your garage, and you can easily move it when cleaning the garage.
My favorite rolling cabinet is the Seville Classics UltraHD Steel cabinet. The manufacturer doesn’t specify what gauge it is. But based on its weight capacity (600lbs) and comments from customers, it’s probably between 18 and 24 gauge.
Customers say it feels sturdy but not quite heavy duty. It’s perfect for your everyday tools, DIY items, and other garage supplies.
The Seville Classics cabinet measures 36” wide, 18” deep and 72” tall. So it’s quite tall, giving you plenty of space for storing stuff. The tall and narrow design makes it especially perfect for small garages with limited space.
The 5” wheels roll smoothly on the floor. There are brakes on two of the wheels.
As for organization, the cabinet has four shelves, with three of them being removable and adjustable. Each shelf has a weight capacity of 150lbs.
Lockable double doors ensure your tools and supplies are safe and out of reach for kids.
3. Wall Mounted Cabinet
A wall mounted cabinet is handy if you don’t have enough floor space for another cabinet, or if you just need a compact cabinet to improve your garage organization.
The Craftsman wall mounted cabinet comes with a garage-perfect red and black finish. It is made from steel, but it’s not heavy duty. Craftsman says the total weight capacity is 200lbs (100lbs per shelf).
So I recommend the Craftsman cabinet only for storing your smaller tools and a few supplies such as chemicals and paints.
One upside of the Craftsman not being heavy duty is that it’s lighter, and thus easier to mount on the wall yourself.
It comes ready with holes at the back and mounting hardware. All you need to do is assemble and mount it.
The Craftsman wall cabinet is 28 inches wide, 12 inches deep and 28 inches high. By the way, the double doors are lockable.
4. Garage Cabinet For Nuts & Bolts
A regular garage cabinet is not the best place to store small parts like nuts and bolts. A dedicated hardware and craft cabinet like the Akro-Mils 10144 provides much better organization and easier access.
The Akro-Mils 10144 cabinet is all-plastic, which is okay since it’s designed to hold small parts. The plastic frame is hard and durable.
Set within the frame are 44 drawers in different sizes. The cabinet comes complete with bins for each drawer, so you don’t need to buy anything extra to use this cabinet.
The bins are perfect for storing small hardware like bolts and screws. They are also great for storing and organizing your crafts supplies.
By the way, Akro-Mils has other smaller and bigger versions of this cabinet, ranging from a 16-drawer cabinet all the way to a 64-drawer option.
You can place the cabinet on the ground, on a worktop or mount it on the wall. There are keyholes at the rear for easy mounting.
5. Heavy Duty Garage Cabinet
If you want a garage cabinet that can hold lots of heavy tools and hardware, I recommend a 16 gauge or lower metal cabinet.
The Durham heavy duty steel cabinet is made with 14 gauge steel, making it one of the strongest garage cabinets you can find.
In addition to its extra-solid build, I love how much organization it provides. Instead of just empty shelves inside, the Durham heavy duty cabinet comes with hook-on bins in the main cabinet space as well as on the inside of both doors (176 bins in total).
The bins are different sizes so you can store everything from nuts and bolts to heavy power tools. Each door has a capacity of 650lbs.
The Durham heavy duty cabinet measures 48.1” wide, 24” deep and 72” high. It’s very heavy and doesn’t have wheels, so make sure you assemble it where you plan to keep it.
It also doesn’t have legs, so you may want to consider building a platform for it to get it off the ground.
6. Safety Cabinet For Garage
If you have any hazardous or flammable chemicals and products in your garage, don’t store them in a regular cabinet, or worse, on open shelves.
A safety cabinet, also called a flammable cabinet, is the best place to store items like fuel cans, brake fluid, paint thinner and varnish.
Safety cabinets are designed. Not only does it warn people that its contents are dangerous, it also separates hazardous items from other things in the garage.
My favorite safety cabinet is the Durham 1030ML-50. It’s a bit pricier than many other safety cabinets, but it’s made with thicker steel (16 gauge) and has multiple safety certifications including OSHA, NFPA 30 and FM approval.
The Durham 1030ML-50 has a 30-gallon capacity and measures 43” wide, 18” deep and 50” tall. It has a single removable shelf inside.
The cabinet is finished in bright yellow, making visibility easy in the garage. It also has a large ‘FLAMMABLE’ sticker on it. The heavy duty double doors are lockable.
7. Garage Open Cabinet
It’s not always that you need to hide items behind a closed cabinet. An open shelf cabinet can provide easier access to tools and other items.
It also adds a nice industrial look to your garage.
Garage shelving racks tend to have a higher weight capacity than traditional closed cabinets, making them a great choice for things like power tools, tool boxes, batteries, gym weights (if your garage doubles up as a gym) and other heavy items.
The Raybee 72” garage shelving unit has a total capacity of 2000 pounds, or 400 pounds for each of the five shelves.
The rack measures 31.5” wide, 16.5” deep, and 72” tall. It fits in small spaces while providing plenty of vertical storage space.
The Raybee shelving rack is versatile. You can adjust the shelves up and down or remove them completely. You can also divide the rack into two separate racks, which is handy if the top shelf is too high for you.
Other Garage Cabinet Ideas
There are plenty of other garage cabinet ideas. But the ones I’ve mentioned above will meet the storage needs in most garages.
Other ideas to consider include an overhead storage rack, a 2-in-1 garage workbench and cabinet (like this 72” long bench from Sinda), a tool cabinet with slide racks (this one from Durham is great) or a rolling garage tool chest like this one from Craftsman.
Whichever kind of cabinet you pick, make sure it’s well built, it can handle the weight of whatever you want to store in it, and that it gives you some flexibility in how you organize your items.
Looks are certainly not as important as functionality, but a nice looking cabinet can make your garage feel a lot more welcoming.
