I'm not a huge fan of a garage being simply an over-decorated display case for a car. But that doesn't mean it's not a place that deserves some thought being put into its design and use. My little two-car will never make it into a luxury lifestyle magazine, but it's been worked out as a kind of 'multi-use tool' for the car and other stuff I do.
I did all the work myself, including setting the tile and digging the pit for the lift. The total budget, including the floor, cabinets, benches and lift was less than $3,500. Everything in the place is second-hand, re-purposed or home-made.
It's not any kind of lottery winner's dream, but I think it's a good example of throwing ingenuity and hard work at a problem instead of just money.
You can see the lift in operation in the video Petrolicious did.
Link.