Motorheads will get a kick from this converted garage in Lyon’s 7th district is bursting at the seams with character, thanks to its colossal steel-framed windows and exposed ceiling rafters.

The building is close to Parc Sergent Blandan in Lyon and was renovated in 2017. Its open floor plan has been optimised to create space for three bedrooms via the insertion of a mezzanine level beneath its soaring pitched roof.

There’s a cellar beneath the main level, which has exposed brick, sanded floors and timber rafters that recall the building’s former life, while an old Parisienne-style bistro bar repurposed as the kitchen.

This quirky addition isn’t the only reclaimed feature: a metal Eiffel-style spiral staircase connects the ground floor to three bedrooms above. Cabinetry from the building’s previous life is also reused along with reclaimed timbers for added authenticity.

Steel-framed glass opens onto the Lyon property’s courtyard garden, and there’s a terrace that offers a sunny spot for sunbathing.

The converted garage – for sale via Espaces Atypiques for €945,000 – hasn’t entirely downed its mechanics tools either: it still houses a workshop, hung with vintage signs and fitted with a mechanic’s platform for car lovers to work in their own sacred space.

These live/work Antwerp lofts offer a radical scale for living in the heart of the city