First of all, the attractiveness of your garage door is not something that should be overlooked. Not only do all your neighbors see it regularly, but if you needed to sell your home tomorrow, what would be the first thing potential buyers would see when they visited your residence? The garage door, of course!
Real estate agents are often heard saying that the architecture of your home is the reflection of your style, your values and your sense of aesthetics. As the garage door can represent between 25 and 40% of the façade of your home, it should be obvious that it should blend beautifully with your architecture.
Furthermore, it may seem trivial, but start by liking your garage door! In the same way that you doubtlessly fell in love with that brand new car you just bought. That being said, here are some suggestions that will help you “love” your garage door.
Keep it clean
Just like you are proud of your car and take care of it, your garage door needs to be washed a few times during the year. One easy way to remember is for every time you wash your car or truck, take a few minutes to give your garage door a good washing. Not sure how to do that? Basically, 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. Nothing more complicated than that. If you would like to know more on this subject, for instance, how to remove grease stains, read this text.
Why not a new coat of paint?
Want to rejuvenate your door? This is a good time to do it… But you don’t know where to start? If you have a sectional door in metal that already has a paint finish, but you would like to change the color, follow these instructions.
Here are a few tips:
- Most of the major paint companies provide a design center to help you coordinate your exterior home colors. Here are at least three of them:
- Tastes differ, but let this garage door guy give you some advice :
- If you have a double garage door, approx. 16″ wide, stay away from dark colors because from the street, people will only see the garage door and overlook the rest of the home’s architecture. Instead, try a light color.
- For a single door, 8″ or 9″ wide, there are not many restrictions, so go with your tastes. However, avoid overly bright colors.
- Depending on the style of your house, we suggest painting your front door with a color that will stand out, and is different from your garage door. Add other decorative elements to the door or on the porch.
What about adding some decorative windows?
This is likely a good way to freshen up its looks. Moreover, this addition of windows to your garage door can be viewed from two angles, the practical and the aesthetic.
From the practical side, it will allow natural light to enter your garage so that you no longer have to stumble around in the dark looking for the light switch… very useful! As for appearance, if you’ve recently changed your front door and chosen a style with the latest in decorative windows, this is the right time to coordinate these eye-catching elements for a “put-together” look.
One point to keep in mind – if your current garage door doesn’t have windows and you are planning on adding them, this will have an effect on your spring (counterweight) system. For further information, read this.
Have you thought about exterior decorations for your garage?
There is another way to highlight the beauty of your garage door and that’s by installing interesting decorative features around it. For instance, a pergola with a vine coaxed to grow up it would be a warm and welcoming focal point.
Another technique to enhance the garage door is by adding exterior accent lighting either in the soffits over the door or with wall lanterns on each side of the door, both showcasing the door handsomely. If your home has a carriage-house style, one or more lights like those seen in the 60s, placed over the door, will give a vintage look that is sure to impress friends and family. Trust your intuition and take a look at the different ways to do it by visiting a site like Pinterest.
And what about those special occasions and holidays?
So you’ve decided to use one or more of our tips for sprucing up your garage door. That’s great! But you’re not finished. Your garage door itself requires some of your time, if only to be sure it continues working properly. Don’t worry; this won’t take much of your time.
If you find you need to change your whole garage door system…
Then go ahead and contact us toll free at 815‑692‑6690 when it’s convenient for you. We know garage doors and door openers from top to bottom and thus will be able to advise you and explain the best choice to make to fit your needs. As well, we can email you a quotation if you’d like.
Another option is to meet us directly at our showroom. For choosing a new garage door that really suits you, why not try our Design Centre? Or go through our image gallery to get some inspiration.
Add new comment