How ironic it is that the most overlooked aspect of a home’s appearance is often its largest—the garage door.
So often, when homes are undergoing the process of planning and construction, a great deal of thought is given to almost every other element, from the landscaping of the yard to the color of the roof’s shingles, while little attention is paid to the garage door.
Drive through most neighborhoods and you’ll see what our minds have become accustomed to blocking out—the garage is simply an eyesore, something we ignore when evaluating the appearance of a house.
It doesn’t have to be this way!
Today, even with homes built long ago, garage doors can be updated to reflect your personal styles, colors, and nuances .
Garage doors can be as individual as any other element of your home’s elevation and façade. You can complete your home’s décor with the perfect garage door.
Your Home Reflects Who You Are
We are fortunate indeed to live in an age in which our personal possessions can be an expression of ourselves. From our hairstyle to our shoes, virtually every aspect of our appearance communicates to others who we are as individuals.
This reality is all the more apparent when it comes to our houses.
When we drive through any neighborhood and gaze at the homes along either side of the street, we immediately recognize what is important to each family and each homeowner.
We know who values beautiful landscaping, who is into a simple basic design, and who takes real pride in the attractiveness of their home.
Indeed, each element of our home’s front-facing appearance makes a comment on our personal preferences, and together all those choices hold hands to become a full expression of how we have chosen to be seen by folks who travel through our neighborhood.
There are 2 important questions to ask at this point.
The 1st is, what do I want my home to say about me?
This is really a question about your choice of style, a choice that evolves from your deeply held personal values. We all have inner standards and principles that impact our decisions, often in ways we don’t simply recognize.
And, in ways we don’t realize, our stylistic choices reflect what is most precious and important to us. We will find we are clearer in our decision-making processes if we are aware of those most precious values.
It’s extremely important to engage in self-examination, to look at ourselves in the mirror, express our true standards, and ask how our decisions reveal them.
The 2nd question is, does the appearance of my home express what I want it to say about me?
Chances are the choice you made in the structure and style of your home—whether you recognized it at the time of purchase or not—is a good expression of what is precious to you.
When it comes to our home’s design, however, there is one aspect that often fails to live up to the homeowner’s design standards. Sadly, it is often the largest single element of a home’s front-facing appearance, and that’s the garage door.
Small investment, big return!
The good news is that a mismatched garage door can be replaced, and, in the process, the appearance and value of your home can be enhanced.
Best Look Return!
Garage doors can be personalized in a remarkable number of ways. Well-built, quality fitted doors come with a surprising array of stylistic options and variations.
Because it often is the largest single element impacting a home’s visual appeal, many homeowners have discovered that upgrading the garage door creates an entirely new, satisfying look for the entire home and setting.
Replacing the garage door, as it turns out, is one of the easiest, least expensive, and most impactful ways to increase the curb appeal and worth of your house.
Best Money Return!
In fact, the National Association of Realtors reported that if a garage door is attractive, as well as having a neat, well-organized interior, you could sell your residence faster and even get a better offer or close to the asking price on its sale.
They also noted you could ask up to 4% more if your garage door leaves a favorable impression on visitors.
Additionally, a 2018 report by Remodeling Magazine in its “Cost vs. Value” article indicated that replacing one’s garage door gives the best return on investment.
Around 98%, in fact, making it the highest value among the 21 renovation projects evaluated.
So What’s Your Style?
Never have there been so many different basic styles of house design or available options to enhance that style.
To get a handle on the subject of style, we’ll focus on just 3 categories:
1. Traditional
2. Modern/Contemporary
3. Country
You like this look? These are 9x7 Garage Doors, in Classic Mix Pattern and Desert Sand Color
The most common architectural style in Canada!
They are constructed from a blending of the various regional styles found throughout the country.
It’s often said that traditional homes have “classic designs” with simple visual elements, likesymmetrically placed windows,simple rooflines, and minimal ornamentation of the house itself.
You like this look? These are 9x8 Garage Doors, in Prestige XL Pattern , Moka Brown Color and with Cachet Windows
The basic stylistic value underlying traditional homes is the owner’s desire for the home to stand the test of time.
It’s not too much of a stretch to say that traditionally designed homes are meant to be elegant and comfortable at once.
You like this look? These are 9x7 Garage Doors, in VOG Pattern , Black Color, and with Right Side Harmony Windows
Contemporary homes began to emerge in the late 20th century and became prominent after 1970.
These homes tend to feature:
- Bright, natural lighting
- Geometric lines
- Open floor plans
Modern architectural designs are often asymmetrical, with curved or angled lines drawing the eye to the nuances of the overall design.
This focus is accentuated by the use of definitive colors and textures—that may be subtle, but not bland, often intended to make the eye aware of space as much as what the space contains.
Moreover, the Contemporary style is defined by the balance of forms, purity of lines, and simplicity .
You like this look? These are 6x8.5 and 16x8.5 CALIFORNIA Garage Doors, Black Aluminum Frame, and with Satin Glass Windows
You like this look? These are PRINCETON P-21 Garage Doors (X-Shaped Overlays), Chocolate Walnut doors & overlays, and with 8 lite Panoramic windows
Third, the architectural style category we call “country” is typically most prevalent in communities that are not in large urban areas . But “cottage” or “vacation” style country homes have made many inroads into suburban areas.
Country homes can generally be described as open and airy, withlong rooflines, porches, dormers, andeaves. A good deal of woodwork is often employed with country style architecture.
The main thrust of such homes is to express hospitality and openness.
The garage doors for such homes will be especially distinct and made to look like swing-style doors from yesteryear. They use decorative overlays in an A, V, or X shape, to create a deluxe barn-door effect or they are perfectly square.
You like this look? These are Vantage SHAKER-CS LONG Garage Doors , Dark Walnut Color door & overlays, windows with Stockton Insert, and decorative hardware
So why choose a boring & plain panel door when there are so many choices?
As we discover in so many of the popular home refurbishing television programs, as owners, we can upgrade and even change the style of our homes.
An easy step towards this is to replace our garage door with one better suited to our own taste.In fact, here at Overhead Door NFLD, we offer 38 different door designs in 12 colors, and more than 100 window possibilities.
Colors – Should You Brighten Up or Darken Down?
Beyond the style of your home, the color of your new garage door can be used to focus the vision of viewers toward the house and toward any specific element .
Color can be used to complement or contrast the other base and trim colors of the home to make a definite statement or to remain understated.
Neutral colors, like Claystone, Sand, or even White, often serve the purpose of pointing the observer’s eye to other elements, such as surrounding decoration elements or the landscaping.
The rules that we know about Black versus White when it comes to clothing—black is thinning and white makes us look heavier—also apply to the color or our garage doors as well.
So, if the double garage door seems to take up an inordinate amount of space along one side of the house, replacing it with a black door will have the visual effect of making it appear smaller.
Black, along with other dark colors, has become quite trendy.
Black garage doors have the virtue of merging well with traditional, contemporary, or country architectural styles of construction.
Love this elegant look? This is an EASTMAN E-11 Garage Door in black, with overlays, and 4 Lite Panoramic Windows.
Ironically, black works well with a stone or faux stone finish, since they lend a monochromatic theme to the design.
By the same token, however, black garage doors also provide a daring and beautiful contrast to houses with red brick or white siding finishes.
Importantly, one consequence of having a black garage door—one that absorbs all the rays of sunlight that shine upon it—is that it tends to be warmer than other doors and often that heat transfers through to the interior of the garage.
Another trend is the current interest in dark faux wood finishes.
Current door designs enable these doors to closely approximate the appearance of actual wood. However, unlike wood, these doors are coated with baked-on polyester paint and will not age or fade like actual wood.
Here are the 5 most popular faux wood colors
Why Windows Are Your Clearest Choice?
Nothing adds more interest to the design of a door than the placement of its windows and the style of its glass. Today’s garage doors can be installed with windows placed in a variety of locations around the door, with glass that is as intriguing to look at as through, and with a multitude of possible decorative inserts.
There are 3 distinct choices to make regarding your garage door windows
1. Window layout: You can decide where the windows will be placed in the door.
The traditional design is a row of horizontal windows across the upper section of the door. Now you also have the option of different types of “harmony” windows that are stacked vertically to the right or left side of the door .
2. Decorative inserts: These faux frames are installed on the exterior side of the windows so they can easily be removed. They come in many different varieties, giving the impression of cleverly, carefully cut mini-windows.
3. Glass type: Many different types of glass are available that allow you to determine how much light comes through, how much interior visibility is available to those outside, and how much energy you wish to conserve.
Open the Door on Your Garage Choices
You can expect a garage door to last more than 20 years.
Replacing your garage door can make a truly substantial change in the overall appearance of your house. And compared to the house reconstruction we see on TV, replacing garage doors is not expensive at all!
At Overhead Door NFLD , you’ll find knowledgeable, committed, professionals who can help you to make your best choices.
Call us at 709-368-7222 for free advice and friendly service.
You prefer shopping on-line first?
Grab your cell phone and visit our Design Centre .
Once you design your favorite garage doors, you can request emailed quotes.
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