A bold, formidable presence at the front of your home, your garage door is the first thing that any potential visitors or passers-by will notice about your residence. Garage doors are often the largest entryway to most homes, rendering them as the most noticeable part of the building. But despite their hulking stance, garage doors shouldn’t be an eyesore. Indeed, selecting the right color and design for your garage door can significantly enhance the appearance of your entire house.
But where to begin? It’s never easy to determine which garage door color will work for your particular home. Often it is important to take into account the neighborhood in which your household is located, and the style and design of the house itself. No one wants the title of ugliest garage doors in Boston! So we have three key suggestions for homeowners. These should help to trigger some inspiration, and ultimately help you to choose the right garage door color for your home.
1. Match Up The Right Parts
According to Steel Line when giving your garage door a fresh lick of paint, it’s often a good idea to match it up with the same shade of the house itself. Matching the garage door color up with the front door, porch door, or shutters can really draw attention away from the home itself; emphasizing your doors to the point where they can look out of place. On the other hand, painting your garage door the same color as your home has several benefits, drawing focus away from the garage door itself and also creating the illusion of your home appearing bigger than it actually is.
In a Boston neighborhood like Beacon Hill where many of the streets are lined with red brick homes, try to match up the color of your garage door with that of the bricks. Not only will this make your home look like a solid part of the neighborhood, but it will also prevent it from standing out in all the wrong ways.
Occasionally, painting your garage door the same color as your front door may have its benefits, and in neighborhoods like Downtown Boston this is often a popular choice of style. In a neighborhood where this is the norm, painting your garage door the same shade as your front door might not be such a bad idea.
2. Stick To One Shade
In many cases, painting your garage door one color is the best course of action. Clashing colors are unlikely to work in most cases, and may even reduce the value of your home. Many homes with multi-colored garage doors often repel potential buyers, as they immediately adopt a negative approach when they first see the house, and then consider the high costs of having to refurbish them. Keeping your garage doors remaining in one consistent and solid shade is usually the best course of action, and in many cases, it looks more professional.
There are certain areas in Boston that like to pride themselves on experimenting with different shades, such as South End. Whilst this area consists mostly of Victorian houses, certain parts showcase splashes of clashing colored garage doors. This is a very personal choice, and more often than not it’s best to stick to one shade, but remember to take the area around you into account whatever you decide to do.
3. Make Your Garage Reflect Your Personality
A person’s home often acts as an extension of their personality, and given that garage doors hold such an aura at the front of the home, they can speak volumes about what the inhabitant of that household is like. This is why it can be a good idea to make your garage reflect your own personal traits. Paint it in the kind of style that reflects the sort of person you are.
For those who consider themselves to be larger than life characters, you don’t necessarily have to hide behind a plain garage door either. Certain neighborhoods in Boston, such as Charlestown and North End, boast a wide variety of loud, dazzling garage doors, and in these parts, it might be more appropriate to experiment a little and use some brighter colors. In neighborhoods like these, giving your home’s garage door a good splash of color can really work, as it matches up with the often brightly-colored houses that line several streets.
It’s always a good idea to consult your landlord/realtor/letting agent before making any changes, as they will have a good idea of what colors can work for your particular home and with regards to the surrounding neighborhood. Always take your area into account when looking to give your garage doors a fresh lick of paint, and remember to choose carefully and wisely. It’s an important decision, as garage doors often dominate the appearance of your home.
