Sprucing up garage and need advice

[Mike]

We have a large, two-car, drive-under garage. It's separated into two bays, each with its own overhead door and divided by exposed framing that runs the length of the garage from an external walk-through door to the door to the rest of the basement.

We're trying to spruce up the garage's rather ratty appearance, and I'd thought about drywalling the exposed framing walkway as part of the project, but my wife has put the kabosh on that. Are there any downsides to painting that framing, and does anyone have any ideas about how else we might make such a walkway appear less unfinished without closing the walls up completely and making the space feel much smaller than the wonderfully large space that it currently is?

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Yes. In three years she will want another color.

Is the framing structural? If not, remove it. If it is try putting anything (drapes, cardboard) on the walls just to see how it will be "closed in" and if it makes you claustrophobic. Keep in mind that it is a garage and any wall covering must be non-flammable. My suggestion is just a temporary measure to see if it feels too closed in must be removed.