Our Experts Talk About Current Garage Door Design Trends

Garage door design has evolved from simple wooden doors to highly customizable styles that reflect current trends. Popular choices include all-glass garage doors for a modern, sleek aesthetic; all-black garage doors for a bold, luxurious look; and wood-look garage doors for a warm, natural vibe. Each design offers unique benefits but also comes with drawbacks, such as security concerns with glass, heat retention with black doors, and higher costs with wood finishes. Understanding these pros and cons can help homeowners choose a garage door that enhances their home’s curb appeal while fitting their long-term plans.

In our industry’s early days, garage doors weren’t very sophisticated. They were primarily made of wood and built to a pretty basic design standard, and the only real customization option was what color you painted them after they were installed.

Today’s garage doors come in a dizzying array of styles and finishes. Many offer so many customization options that you could fit every home in a neighborhood with the same model door and still never see two doors that look the same.

And, as with any product where its aesthetics are part of its value, garage doors experience trends and fads. Sometimes, these trends live for years or even decades. Sometimes, they vanish almost as soon as they start.

This month, we’re examining three specific design trends that are currently popular in garage doors. Our experts share their thoughts on each, including its pros and cons, to help you decide which trends are right for your home.

All-Glass Garage Door Designs

Owners of homes across the country have made the all-glass garage door a more common sight, especially in higher-end homes with a modern design aesthetic. Made from high-efficiency glass and usually treated with a semi-reflective coating, glass doors provide a sleek and clean look that fits right in with the strong lines and monochrome palettes of most modern architecture.

Glass doors offer some other advantages beyond their contemporary look. Most notably, they provide exceptional visibility, allowing homeowners to see an expansive view of what’s going on outside. For homes in unique settings with spectacular views, a glass garage door design can serve as an additional window. We often see these doors installed so that parents can stay comfortable inside while keeping an eye on the kids outside – especially in home school situations where one or two adults are supervising a larger group of children.

Another common use case for glass garage doors is situations where the garage is being used as more of a showplace than a storage place. Collectors of vintage or exotic automobiles, people who display heirlooms or artifacts in a dedicated display space, and other homeowners who use their garage for more than just a place to park the car can all enjoy the benefits of an all-glass garage door.

Those advantages do, on the other hand, come with some disadvantages. Glass garage doors are not nearly as secure as their solid counterparts. To gain entry, all an intruder has to do is find a medium-sized rock and give it a toss. So, it’s vital that homeowners who choose glass garage doors also find some additional security measures to keep their possessions safe.

Glass garage doors can also be dangerous. They’re not as sturdy as wood, steel, or fiberglass doors. When an all-glass garage door is open, an incredible amount of weight pulls down on the center of each door panel. A tiny flaw or accidental impact can cause the panel to shatter, raining broken glass on the entire garage.

If you purchase an all-glass door, make sure to choose one with tempered glass. Tempered, pre-stressed glass is a safety feature – just like the windows on your car, if a tempered glass door breaks, it will shatter into small, round pieces that are less dangerous that the razorlike shards created by regular glass.

All-Black Garage Door Designs

Another trend that’s been gaining traction for some time is another contemporary look, the all-black garage door. The all-black look is sleek and understated, providing a bold contrast to a lighter-colored home or a hint of elegance to a house with a darker exterior.

Black is associated with luxury, so these garage door designs are currently a boost to a home’s curb appeal, increasing the apparent value of the house. At the very least, homeowners who choose a black garage door give the appearance of keeping up with trends and making home decisions based on current styles.

Unfortunately, as with all design trends, this one has some downsides, too, including their higher cost. Two of those downsides come from the nature of color and how it works. When we look at something, its color is determined by the colors of light it reflects vs. the colors it absorbs. A white garage door reflects all of the colors of light and absorbs none. In contrast, a black garage door reflects very little light and absorbs most of it in the form of heat.

That leads to two problems: the more heat your garage door absorbs, the more it will release into your garage. In a Georgia summer, the difference between a white garage door and a black one could mean a difference of several dozens of degrees inside the garage itself. Additionally, the more heat your paint absorbs, the faster it will fail. While paints and finishes have improved immensely over the years, black objects exposed to direct sunlight are the quickest to fade, crack, and peel.

Most manufacturers will not offer warranties against fading paint or warped metal on black doors unless the installer ensures that the door won’t be exposed to long periods of direct sunlight.

Finally, garage doors are a significant investment. Most design trends as specific as this one don’t live for very long, so think hard about your plans for your home before choosing a black garage door. If you’re planning on being in the house for a long time, you may want to consider a more traditional option that will have more staying power rather than choosing a trendy look that could appear dated in just a few years.

Wood-Look Garage Door Designs

If glass and black designs look highly contemporary, wood-tone designs cover the entire spectrum of garage door designs, from very traditional carriage-house looks to more modern flat designs. Wood tones are warm and natural and fit in well with homes that use more natural finishes like stone, multitone brick, and sidings like lap, Dutch lap, and board-and-batten.

Wood gives a warm and inviting look that’s open and accessible. In a traditional home, wood finishes mesh perfectly with classic design elements. In a more modern-styled home, wood provides a touch of nature and helps contrast the rest of the home’s less traditional elements.

Wood-look garage door designs, too, have a few shortcomings. Like black doors, they tend to be dark and absorb a lot of light. This additional heat leads to a hotter garage in the summer, which can seriously impact your home’s energy bills. They’re also a more considerable upfront expense, costing considerably more than other door designs.

Finally, make sure to take a hard look at your plans for the next few years before deciding on a wood-look garage door. Just as with black doors, wood-look garage door designs are a current trend but may not last long. The manufacturer is likely to eventually change the design colors and get rid of certain wood tones, especially ones that aren’t popular. Be sure to ask your door company if the wood tone you want is popular; by staying with more frequently used options, you’re more likely to be able to find replacement panels should you need them in the future.

Come See These Garage Door Designs and More at Macon’s Only Garage Door Showroom!

A garage door is a significant investment, and you don’t want to buy it sight unseen. Fortunately, Overhead Door of Macon-Warner Robins operates Middle Georgia’s only garage door showroom! At our Macon location, we have display samples of almost every door we sell, including several full-size samples and a fully installed, working model. Our knowledgeable garage door experts will be happy to show you around and answer any questions you have about our products or services.

Call Overhead Door Company of Macon-Warner Robins at 478-474-4347 to schedule a showroom visit!

Areas We Serve

No matter where you live in Middle Georgia, Overhead Door Company of Macon-Warner Robins is ready to help provide you with the garage door solutions you need!

• Macon
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