Mike,
I've been struggling with the same questions as I've worked on my oversize garage. I looked at tons of photos of other garages and didn't see any that looked just right for me. They seemed to fall into seven categories:
- Multimillionaires with such fabulous cars the garage was deliberately kept understated.
- Regular garages with one cool car and some inexpansive, haphazard decorations.
- Two-tone garages with a darker color from the waist down and near white above.
- Garages with expensive floor coverings (e.g., black and white squares).
- Garages that look like they will soon be on the show "Pickers" because of all the old signs, tools, etc.
- Garages that replicate the look of the Pickers garage but have all new, replica signs, clocks and gas pumps.
- Garages that are more about entertaining friends than working on cars.
I am a pragmatist who is much more interested in function, cost and ease of use than flash and style. So my approach has been mostly to eliminate those things I don't like and go with what was left. I went with white walls and ceiling to make it easier to see. I added red and gray stripes wrapping around the room just below the ceiling for a splash of color that matches my cars. I plan to hang some large Hoosier racing tires as a reminder of my track days. In addition to my Cobra I have an old Corvette, so I found an old photo of a Corvette and Cobra racing. I plan to have the photo made into a mural size print that will decorate one wall. I expect the rest of the decorations to go up slowly as I only want stuff that has some special meaning to me. ... I'll post some photos as it nears completion. I'd love to see more of yours as you progress.