Tovey (at left) and Steed (at right) did their best to incorporate homey elements while keeping — and celebrating — the industrial edginess of the space, as seen in their garage-meets-dining-room here.

"The appeal of living in an old auto garage and designing with that aesthetic in mind was fun and different," Steed says. "We probably won’t ever live somewhere quite like this space again. It is our first place living together, which we will always remember."

The bedroom maintains a gritty appeal, with gray cinderblock walls, concrete floors and exposed fixtures. The American Oil sign had been left outside the apartment when the couple moved in.

Corrugated fiberglass panels attached to plywood on steel framing make up the bedroom walls. The closet door is weathered steel and slides on a track attached to the ceiling.

"Our favorite spot is the bedroom," Tovey says. "It’s the most comfortable space in our home, and it’s where we unwind."

The couple sanded old military boxes found at Smith and Edwards, coated them with polyurethane, stacked them up and added simple baskets to create a dresser.

A steel surgical sink is the main focal point in the bathroom. To contrast the steel fixtures, Steed and Tovey brought in different wood elements, like another military box from Smith and Edwards.

Steed welded two schoolbus seats from his grandfather to form a bench in the mudroom. The shoe rack is a repurposed set of utility shelves the previous owner left behind. Steed and Tovey give the owner credit for a big portion of the space's design aesthetic.

Rug: Tandy Leather

A large dining table given to the couple dominates the former garage area. Slide-up doors open to a patio.

Steed also uses this space to work on his motorcycles. "It's the perfect distraction from homework," he says.

Steed and Tovey salvaged, refinished and repurposed most of the design elements and furnishings from military surplus stores and scrap yards.

Steed made the coffee table from reclaimed wood, which he then painted.

This metal Tanker desk came via an online local classifieds site for $17.

The plywood bedroom walls form a wall in the simple kitchen. A large mirror and antique sign add color. The commercial sink and prep counter came from a restaurant supply store next door.