September 28, 2018

Tips for Boosting the Personality of Your Garage Door

Tips for Boosting the Personality of Your Garage Door

Maybe you read the title and thought that garage doors don't have personality. Yet, the looks of a garage door should never be ignored because it is such a huge part of the overall appearance of the home. It is what you, your neighbors and visitors see upon arrival, and so let's look at ways to improve the personality of your garage door.

To begin with, what is your home's style? What sort of architectural style was used in the designing of it? Did you realize that the garage door is part of it? In fact it represents around 25 to 40% of the façade of your home. It should complement and match the architectural style.

Next, consider if you like it. Yes, you have to start by liking your garage door to the same degree you like everything else about your home. You can start to like the door a bit more using these tips:

Keeping it clean

Are you a car washer? If so, then you should probably also become a garage door washer. This is best if done a few times per year and you can even wash it down when you wash your vehicle! It takes minutes to hose it off and scrub it and you can use the same solution that you use to lather your car, rinse it well, and if you would like the garage door to keep its shine, apply a liquid wax. That's it, and if you want to learn more tips for cleaning a door to remove grease or stains, read this text.

Have You Thought About Some Paint?

Another great way to spruce up the door is to give it a brand new paint job. However, you need to do it right. If you have a sectional door in metal that already has a paint finish, but you would like to change the colour, follow these instructions.

Red garage door
  • You can also head to the websites for the major paint makers to see what they suggest in terms of paint, techniques and colours. Most even have Design Centres to help you match paint to the existing colour of a home. Visit these sites for help:
  • You can also take this expert advice:
    • Avoid dark colours on double garage door, approx. 16' wide. Why? Because so much of a dark colour will make it so that all people see from the street is the garage door because the dark colour is so overwhelming. Instead, opt for light colours on larger doors.
    • Avoid overly bright colours on single doors, 8' or 9' wide
    • Try painting the front door with a colour that will stand apart but which is different from the colour of the garage door.
    • Add other decorative elements to the door or on the porch.

Consider Windows

Of course, if you want to improve the look of the garage door, adding windows is a great idea. They offer aesthetic and practical benefits that just cannot be ignored.

The aesthetic benefits are that they let you match the door to the looks of the windows of the home, and can coordinate them in many ways. Practically, the windows improve the amount of natural light inside, preventing problems with working or moving around in the garage.

If you do add windows, though, you will need to consider the impact this has on the counterweight or spring system. For further information, read this.

Adding Exterior Accents

We already suggested adding some decorative elements and two of the most effective are:

A pergola with a vine or rose climbing up and over the door, or

White garage door
Exterior lighting

Adding exterior accent lighting to soffits over the door or via wall lanterns on each side of the door. Both will accent the door and give you a lot more character and light. If a home has a carriage house style, the lights can actually add a rather authentic, and vintage look. Go online for inspiration and look at sites like Pinterest for some help.

Adding exterior accent lighting to soffits over the door or via wall lanterns on each side of the door. Both will accent the door and give you a lot more character and light. If a home has a carriage house style, the lights can actually add a rather authentic, and vintage look. Go online for inspiration and look at sites like Pinterest for some help.

Exterior lighting

Holiday and Seasonal Decor

Of course, you can also decorate the door and surrounding area based on seasonal events like Halloween, Christmas, the Super Bowl, NHL finals, even just spring and fall. If you are already someone who decorates the front door for these special times of year, why not just extend this expression or artistic element to the garage door area, too? Again, you can use online inspiration from sites like Pinterest to guide you in the right directions; the site is overflowing with ideas for decorating both your front and garage doors.

Don't Forget the Significance of Maintenance and Repair

If you are committed to using some of the tips we've supplied, don't forget one of the most important of them all - doing regular upkeep and maintenance on the door and door opener. Garage door maintenance can be done once each year and takes only a very short amount of time to do properly. You'll want to examine the opener, spring system and the door itself. You can actually have experts do it for you and save you the time and effort.

Change it All if Needed

Did this all lead you to the conclusion that you need to replace the door and/or the opener. If so, feel free to contact us at 905‑569‑9133. As experts in garage doors and door openers our team is here to advise you and explain the best choices for your specific needs or goals. We are happy to send out an email quotation, and we also encourage you to try out images of your home with many new doors using our Design Centre? Or go through our image gallery to get some inspiration.

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