Exterior Painting Ideas For Your Garage Door

Posted Jul 20, 2016

Your garage doors are workhorses; not only do they open and close at the touch of a button, but they do a lot of heavy lifting for your curb appeal as well. Often times, before they wear out or stop functioning, they stop working with your home’s exterior design by appearing dingy and beat up.

Before you go replacing them at an unnecessary cost, take a look at what our painters can do to refresh your ho-hum garage doors. Before we get started, you will need a basic understand of the different types of garage doors you may be working with, as well as the three major players in exterior color schemes.

Garage Door Basics

The type of exterior paint you use for your garage door depends largely on what it is made of. Most modern garage doors are made from either wood, steel or aluminum. Wood garage doors cannot be beat when it comes to enhancing your home’s curb appeal and they can be stained to give you unparalleled customization. They are, however, the most expensive option. This is why many homeowners opt for steel or aluminum, which are less expensive and can be combined with composite materials to create a durable affordable finish.

A Crash Course In Exterior Design Elements

Now that you understand how your garage door materials affect your refinishing strategy, you need to understand the basic components at work in your home’s exterior design. When it comes to painted or colored surfaces, there are three major players: Your siding, your trim and your accents (generally your shutters and doors). As a rule, you want to accentuate the positive and interesting architectural features and downplay the functional, yet less attractive components.

Your garage door generally falls into the accent category and is functional. but not attractive. As you read on, however, you will see that there are exceptions to this rule.

Blend It In

If you have a standard garage door on a home that is full of lovely character and charm, your best bet is to blend it. Paint it the same exterior paint color as the trim around it, or use a neutral color to allow it to blend into the brick of your home. Simply put, you don’t want too many different elements competing for the eye’s attention in the curb appeal drive by, so it is a good idea to let your garage door fade into the background.

Highlight It

If your Boulder, CO home is short on focal points, you can use savvy design and exterior paint to create visual interest on your garage door. You can go with a two-tone look, pulling from your home’s siding and paint colors, or use a darker gray paint color to create faux windows along the top.

Faux-Wood Stain

If you do not have one of those lovely wooden garage doors, or the cash to purchase one, you can use a gel-stain to create the look of wood on your composite or metal garage door. This will give your home a more natural element without the huge price tag.

Here at Karen’s, we love to use exterior paint and home design to create custom curb appeal that matches the style and personality of our clients. From garage doors to front entryways, your Lafayette, CO house should feel like home when you pull into the driveway. If this is not the case, give us a call and one of our painters will come over for an estimate and consultation and create a home exterior design that is both stunning and unique.