My partner wants a garage workshop; I want to put a car in the garage

We bought a house with a one-car garage and immediately assigned it two full-time jobs.

My partner builds furniture as a serious hobby. In our old rental, he worked on a folding table in the driveway and packed tools into a closet after every project. The garage was supposed to be the first space where he could leave a workbench set up.

I imagined parking inside. We live in an area with summer hail warnings and icy mornings. I pictured loading groceries without standing in weather and getting into a car that did not need scraping.

Both visions fit inside the phrase “we finally have a garage.” They do not fit inside the actual rectangle.

For the first few months, the workshop won by momentum. The bench went against one wall, then lumber storage appeared, then a rolling tool cabinet occupied the space where the driver's door would open. My car remained outside. When I raised it, my partner said the setup could be moved for storms. We tried once. Clearing the floor took ninety minutes and moved half the tools into the dining room.

I do not want his hobby reduced to a box because parking is conventional. I also do not want indoor parking treated as an optional fantasy after it influenced our purchase.

We marked the car footprint, door clearance and a safe walking route with tape. What remains can support a shallower bench and mobile storage, but not large projects left assembled. Another option is seasonal priority: workshop most of the year, parking during the stormiest months. A small backyard shed could hold materials, although it would add cost and would need to be evaluated properly rather than treated as instant square footage.

The argument improves when we discuss functions instead of ownership. He needs setup time, tool access and project storage. I need weather protection and predictable car access.

How would you divide a one-car garage between two legitimate uses? Is a convertible layout realistic, or does constant conversion guarantee that the more difficult setup quietly loses?