Old, dilapidated, unmechanized? Yes. Infinitely more charming than rows and rows of nondescript overhead doors of today? Yes! These wood-built, lashed doors are what the best of garage doors try to look like today.
The thing about garage doors is that they are considered a bit of an eyesore, a part of the suburban landscape that is a necessary evil. Whatever your philosophy about urban sprawl, if you have a garage, make the most of this sizable portion of your home’s profile. The garage is the proverbial “broad side of the barn” and it is style space that you are ultimately “using” or “losing.” Renovate, Inc. thinks you should make that big blank canvas count when it comes to your home and putting its best foot forward.
This very large Mediterranean style home took advantage of the necessary placement of its garage doors (it has another identical door on the opposite side, probably a luxury double). Rather than sacrificing a massive amount of front-facing elevation by camouflaging its garage doors in the same color of the stucco, this smart owner or designer embraced the frontality. They kicked it up a notch, as we like to say, by installing stained wood (or a stunning facsimile) paneled doors. Nice way to bloom where you’re planted!
Not all camo’ jobs are bad. As long as it doesn’t look like the house is pretending it doesn’t even have a garage. Here is an example of beautiful garage doors painted to blend into the house’s facade.
Whether you love your home’s innate character or not, following the lead of the original architecture will increase its resale value immensely. And if you don’t love it, why wouldn’t you want to maximize your investment when you ultimately buy or build the real dream home?
Here is a perfect example of a garage door that “only a mother could love.” I happen to be that Mother… This door has obviously seen better days, but there is no denying that it is fancy. It was created for this home, a mid-century beauty with excellent stylistic qualities. I wouldn’t scrap this garage door for the world and neither should you, regardless of how much you might hate it. It works with the house, and some buyer somewhere would describe it as a ‘gem.’ Thank good sense that these homeowners know what they have. Let’s hope it gets a good spiffing-up really soon!
Here’s another garage door success story, except this one is either shiny and new or maintained impeccably. This modern style, horizontally-oriented door suits this modern home perfectly. Here are some more views of the home.
The idea is, whatever is happening with your garage’s face, think about how much of your home’s appearance it actually accounts for and make that impact count. Like most other parts of your home, you can make the most of it or you can kind of just let it languish. And if you are just letting it languish, it might be time to ask yourself if you actually need it!
More garage doors to talk about:
