Scott,
I have been following this thread for a while and I must say how impressed I am by your work, vision, and your Camaro!! Love it!!
So, having said that, I am not ashamed to say you have inspired me to completely reno my own garage. I am also not ashamed to say that I will copy the soffits, the color scheme, and the floor (I originally wasn't going to do the floor as I bought and applied the cheap epoxy you get from the big box home improvement store and due to the cost of the new floor paint as well). I also like how you did the cabinets and the counter tops so I am copying that as well. About the only thing I am not copying is the sweet Camaro since that would end up with me in divorce court...lol! Besides, I want a nice sport-touring bike to go alongside my M109!! Can't have everything!! lol
So, I think I will be reaching out to you for some advice, lessons learned, and other suggestions you may have (and from anyone else who cares to chime in as well...). That is, if you would be so inclined as to offer up any more than what you so aptly have in this thread. ;-)
I cannot over-state what effect your hard work did to motivate me...as you can see from the below "BEFORE" photo, my garage and my personal garage tidiness habits needed help!! Don't hold the 150 bales of hay against me though or it would have looked far less messy...but we have 2 horses and the wife bought some emergency hay at a fantastic price before the drought prices drove hay through the roof and saved us a bunch of $$ (4-500 dollars minimum!!) so I can't really complain.
BEFORE:
So, for some advice...
Do you feel the floor is holding up well over these few years now that it has been down and had traffic, etc.?
How are the counter tops holding up?
I am seriously considering these lights for the soffits instead of the regular incandescent...I love LED lighting and these are fairly equivalent in price...thoughts?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/5W-5x1W-LED...=&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
What other lessons learned do you have for those of us starting out with our own reno adventures?
I will start my own thread so as to not hijack this one when I actually get started, which for the most part will be after Christmas (I promised my wife I wouldn't impact the holiday budget...but I do already have my garage heater!! Picked it up for $250 and it works like a champ...will be painting it black to match the decor though...

) As you can see, I bought it from a lady who still had it in her garage so I was able to see it in action...but it is now in mine on the floor.
Thanks for sharing...and letting me copy...you know what they say...copying is the highest form of flattery!
Chip