If you are painting your home, replacing the garage door, or just looking to increase your home’s curb appeal, you should give some consideration to the color of the garage door. Should it match your front door? We’ve done some research on this, and we have some answers for you.
There are a variety of thoughts about whether the garage door should match the front door. Some designers argue the front door and garage door should match, while others think exactly the opposite.
Considerations for matching include:
- It creates a uniform look.
- Matching garage and front doors can give a more welcoming appearance.
- In some cases, you can increase curb appeal by matching your garage door and front door.
Considerations against matching include:
- By matching the garage door and front door, you may de-emphasize your entryway.
- You may draw attention away from other design details of your home in some cases if your garage door and front door match.
- Large garage doors can overwhelm the home if they match a front door that contrasts with the siding color.
We discuss the advantages and disadvantages below, plus give some situations when each works better. Please keep reading!
Should The Garage Door And Front Door Match?
The garage door often makes up a large portion of the front of your home. This makes the color of the garage door uniquely important to the look of your home. Some people will automatically go with white as their garage door color since it is the color most garage doors are when you buy them. This makes it an easy choice, but it isn’t always the right choice for your home. Let's consider whether to match or not.
Matching
Matching your front door can draw a bit of attention to both the entrance and garage, or it can push both into the background. If you paint both your front door and garage door a more muted color, you wind up with something like this home:
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Here your eyes don’t get too hung up on either; rather, take in the entire home easily. This may or may not be ideal for your home. It creates a more uniform look and could arguably make the home more inviting, but it also de-emphasizes the entryway.
Consider a definitive, bold match. The garage door and front door both catch a lot of attention, making the rest of the home a little less noticeable. Yet because they match, the home still has a consistent and cohesive look.
Not Matching
Your eyes can’t help but go to that bright front door featured below. It draws your eyes away from the garage door and to the entryway. This can be good in some cases, such as when the entryway is not otherwise obvious or blends in. You can also do the reverse and draw attention to the garage door by painting it a bolder color while leaving the front door muted. The problem with this is that the other details of the home become harder to notice.
So you can see, it depends on your goals. If you want a more cohesive look for your home, then matching the front door and the garage door is a good idea. But if you are trying to draw attention to your entryway, or if your entryway is less conspicuous because of your home design, you can draw attention to it by painting your front door a bold color and painting the garage door a muted color or the same color as the siding.
Should Garage Door Match House Or Trim?
Many designers say that your garage door should match the front door color, especially if the garage door faces the street. There is a competing thought that says the front door should be a different color to stand apart and draw people to the entrance. And there are yet others who think the garage door should match the siding or the trim.
Sometimes you want the front door to stand out and be the focal point. In that case, try matching the garage door to the other exterior doors on the home or the trim color. If you want your garage door to blend in, consider painting it to match the siding color. This will let other details of your home stand out more, instead of eyes going to the garage door.
If a home is a large home without variations to the architecture or color, you may want to match the garage door to a trim color to break the home's color. Similarly, a white door can be a welcome break against a darker home.
What Color Should The Garage Door Be?
The color of your garage door is a big decision. You can go for a bold color on your garage door to draw a lot of attention, you can match your front door, or maybe you just want some ideas of what others are doing. Below are some of the most common colors chosen for garage doors.
White
White is a classic color that works with most home designs. You can find most garage doors prepainted white when they are new, so it’s also an easy color from that aspect. It isn’t loud, doesn’t call attention to itself, and just works for most exterior color schemes. It’s hard to go wrong with white.
Black
Black is another classic color. It works especially well if your front door is black, the house trim is black, or if shutters or other features are black to tie it in. It’s a bit bolder than white but can add a little class. This color also works especially well in modern home designs.
Walnut Brown
This works especially well with a lighter brown brick home or with a beige home. Stay close to the walnut and away from other browns to avoid looking outdated.
Gray
A light gray can feel like white but isn’t quite as sharp and jarring against darker homes. On lighter homes, gray gives a more modern look than white. Both light and dark gray can give your home the look of a high-end design, and they both can add curb appeal in a lot of situations.
Darker grays can give you a similar look and feel as black does, though it is slightly less jarring and contrasting. This is especially true against a white or light home. While black can look too stark against a white home, a dark gray may soften that while still looking modern and classy.
Beige
Beige works well with similar color siding. It also works great against a natural stone home or a brick home. It won’t stand out like some of the other colors; it just blends and adds a comfortable feel.
Dark Green
A dark green garage door works really well on a stone or brick home. It brings a touch of nature to the look. Dark green also looks great on more traditional homes. When you go with a green garage door, it is best to stick to the darker shades, or it can look dated.
Red
Red works great against brown bricks or homes with lighter siding. A bright red can make a bold contrast and draw attention, while a dark and rustier red can blend in with some homes and look more traditional. While red is bold, it can work on a wide range of homes if you are daring enough to give it a try.
Should You Paint Your Garage Door?
It would be best to paint a wood garage door every few years to protect it and maintain its appearance properly. While some people stain wood garage doors, most people paint them. If you have stained wood doors, there is no reason you can’t paint them if you want to change the look.
For metal garage doors, you need to consider the condition of the current finish. Metal garage doors usually come from the factory coated with a very durable finish. If there is no damage to the finish, then there is no reason to paint them. Nothing is stopping you from painting them, either, if you want to change up the color. Just make sure to prep the surface well and apply a durable paint.
In Closing
Whether you paint your garage door to match your front door depends on the look you are going for, as we’ve discussed. Sometimes you can call attention to a garage door's details or draw eyes to the front door by painting them in different colors. You can also paint both doors to blend, allowing other features of the home to take center stage. The choice is up to you, and there is no wrong answer.
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