Choosing a new garage door to install on your home is an important decision. After all, your garage door’s exterior contributes to your curb appeal and thus your home’s value. So before settling on a garage door design, read this post!
Although it seems straightforward at first, you will soon discover the many insulation, color, style, and hardware options for garage doors. I mean, if you’ve spent any amount of time on Pinterest, you know there are thousands of choices available. So how do you know what will best suit the design of your home? In this post, we are going to walk through the three types of garage door styles. These include traditional, carriage house, and modern. An understanding of these three styles will help you decide which will best complement your home’s architecture.
Traditional Garage Doors
Traditional style garage doors are by far the most popular choice for American homes. People choose them because they blend seamlessly with most all types of home architecture. Traditional is an especially popular choice for the timeless designs of Cape Cod, Ranch, and Colonial style homes.
The trademarks of a traditional style garage door focus on clean, simple lines. In particular, this means symmetrical panels that run horizontally across the sections of the door. They also have rectangular, raised paneling. Beyond panel design, many people choose to add windows across the top sections of the door. This is a great option to add natural light and a touch of uniqueness to your door.
In terms of choosing a material for your new traditional style door, you have several choices. For a standard door, steel is a great option. It’s durable, long lasting, and easy to clean. Any major manufacturer can paint the door in your choice from hundreds of different colors. Or, steel doors can be finished with a faux wood overlay. This is a gorgeous option to get the easy maintenance of steel and also the beauty of wood. If you would prefer a real wood garage door. They can also be custom built in a traditional style to your specifications.
Although traditional style doors are the most popular, that doesn’t make them cookie-cutter or uninspiring. They have a wide range of color, window arrangement, and material versatility. Consider the two photos below to start thinking about if a traditional door is best for your home.
Carriage House Garage Doors
Carriage house garage doors are also a popular choice for homes all across America. Because they are styled after 18th and 19th century carriage houses where people stored carriages and horses, they have a classic beauty. For Cottage, Farmhouse, or Victorian style homes, carriage house doors are a beautiful addition. In fact, this style is becoming more and more standard for many types of home architecture.
Within carriage house style garage doors there are three varieties for customization. When choosing a new garage door in this style, consider custom wood, carriage stamp, or carriage overlay doors.
Custom Wood Garage Doors
For real wood carriage house garage doors, a custom wood exterior is beautiful. From paneling to window openings to wood grain, you design the entire door. If you have a specific vision for a new door, this is a great way to achieve exactly the look you want.
Carriage Stamp Garage Doors
A carriage stamp garage door has a design that is similar to a traditional door. With both, recessed paneling runs horizontally to give depth to the exterior. But with carriage stamp, manufacturers add elegant, curved hardware and detailed window openings. These two additions create a lovely visual impact for your new door.
Carriage Overlay Garage Doors
The last variety of carriage style is a carriage overlay design. Manufacturers create this when they add X or V sections to your door. The additional sections can create a rustic or modern barn style exterior to match your home. Also, you can have the cross sections painted the same or a different color than your door. This is an excellent opportunity to create contrast or complement two major colors in your home’s exterior.
With each of these carriage house styles, you will have a broad range of window and hardware varieties to choose from. From arched to multi-paned, you customize your windows. In terms of hardware, your handle and hinge options will complete the look of an authentic carriage house door. Beyond design, you also select the material of your door from faux or real wood. As with traditional style doors, faux wood is a steel door that looks like wood. This is a great way to achieve the beautiful texture of wood without the price or maintenance. On the other hand, you can also customize a real wood garage door in any of the above carriage designs. Real wood even brings you a step closer to that historic authenticity of early carriage house doors.
No matter your particular new garage door vision, carriage house style doors have the variety to meet it. Their timeless elegance complements the exterior of almost any home. Start browsing carriage house garage doors with the two photos below.
Modern Garage Doors
Modern style, in general, originated in the early 20th century. Simplicity, monochromatic colors, and natural light mark this style. These attributes also transfer to the design of a modern garage door. If you have a Farmhouse Modern, Mid-Century, or Contemporary home, this is the garage door style for you.
Although modern design focuses on simplicity in lines and colors, it is still the most versatile style. For materials, garage doors can have glass, metal, faux wood, and custom wood features. A bold mix of glass and metal fixtures is an especially popular design choice. For example, a full-view glass door with steel framing is a stunning option.
Following the idea of simplicity, accessories and paneling are plain. In particular, accessories like hardware are not added. Windows are used frequently but in unique configurations like vertical or right-angled openings. Also, when you choose full-view windows, the glass can be frosted, colored, or clear. Lastly, paneling is flush to keep the lines clean. Although the descriptions of these features may seem plain, you can choose a bold use of color, section design, or window openings. This means you can customize your door to make it completely unique to your home.
For a garage door style that you can customize to your specifications, choose modern. It’s clean lines and use of natural light are perfect to make a statement piece that complements your home. View two of the modern, full-view glass garage doors we have installed below!
With a better understanding of the garage door styles available, you can make a more informed decision about your new garage door. No matter the design you choose, Sunwest Garage Door can make your vision a reality. Contact us at 714-528-5670 to get a free quote on a new garage door! We complete new garage door installation and garage door repair for the Anaheim Hills, CA area.
Also, view our Gallery to browse more options for new garage door installation.
