How to Make Your Garage Door Fit in the Landscape of Your Home Naturally

Whether you are in need of a garage door repair, are considering replacing an old door, or just want to refresh and better harmonize the look of your home's front exterior, you can greatly improve your home's curb appeal by improving your garage door.

Although a garage door repair could involve nothing more than restoring the door to its pre-damage state, those interested in upgrading their door's design do well to combine the desired upgrade into the same visit as the repair call.

Here are three major considerations in making your garage door to better fit in with and enhance your home's overall decor:

Choosing the Material

There are numerous pros and cons of different garage door materials on the market today. If you are installing a new garage door, you may be swayed by any of these advantages/disadvantages, but you may also want to use the same or similar material to that used on other parts of your garage and house. 

For example, if your home has more of a "rustic" look, with cedar shakes and an abundance of trees, bushes, plants, and flowers in and around the house, the beauty of natural wood would be a fitting choice. But if your exterior has a more "refined" look, an attractive stamped steel garage door might do better. Those with aluminum or vinyl siding covering their house and garage may want to go with a matching aluminum or vinyl garage door.

Here are some of the major benefits of the various garage door materials available today:

• Wood: This is the most traditional, most natural, and most easily customized garage door material. It is generally very affordable and can be easily re-painted or fixed up should a garage door repair become necessary.
• Steel: Steel garage doors are extremely durable and minimize or even eliminate maintenance needs. Steel's major benefit is its superior strength, making it ideal for high-wind or otherwise rough-weather environments.
• Aluminum: Aluminum is rust-proof, and its lighter weight puts less pressure on automatic openers. It is also very low maintenance and fairly inexpensive. 
• Vinyl: Vinyl doors are excellent at creating a weather-tight, leak-proof seal and being very energy efficient. 

Choosing the Color

There are two basic strategies when it comes to color selection for garage doors. The first and most widely used is to make the door blend in with the rest of the house and garage by avoiding colors that draw too much attention to the door. In certain custom-designed architectural situations, however, the garage door may be purposefully made to stand out as a decorative centerpiece.

To blend the door in with the landscape, use the main house color for the garage door and not the trim color or a contrasting white. Make the door trim the same color as the house trim. Avoid using the same color as the shutters or the front door. Also, avoid painting the door in multiple colors.

To make the door stand out, choose complementary colors, match window trim colors, use white with a dark-colored house, or choose black, crimson red, or a dark green on a light-colored house.

Choosing the Style

There are many ways the design of your garage door can complement that of your home. The size and direction of door sections can match or contrast with that of the home's siding. The presence of windows in the garage door will fit well into a home with numerous windows. Design patterns can be simple and elegant or intricate and complex. 

We can say that, in general, more "traditional" homes match the garage door closely to the home's style and blend it in, while more "contemporary" designs tend to use the door to make a unique design statement. 

However, you can also "create" style by surrounding your garage door with greenery, overhead dormers, (in the back yard) decks/patios, and attractive cobblestone driveways. Thus, you have to plan how the door style will fit into the overall landscape as well as how it will align with the style of your home.

Renew Your Home's Look

There is no better time to correct any stylistic imperfections with your garage door than when you are already investing in getting a new garage door installed or taking care of a needed garage door repair. However, a color and design change may well be worthwhile for your garage door even as a stand-alone, special project; and certainly should be a part of a general renovation to give your home's exterior fresh curb appeal.