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“The doctor must have put my pacemaker in wrong. Every time my husband kisses me, the garage door goes up.” – Minnie Pearl

Your garage door can make or break your home’s curb appeal. If you are ready to change the look of your home, then consider upgrading your home with a new garage door. Instead of choosing a basic metal door with no design, consider something unique. Choose a color other than the standard or add glass panels. Your garage door should complement the colors and architectural design of your home. 

These garage door ideas will help you do more with your garage door.

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1. Brown Garage Door

Choosing a sectional garage door in a brown color will look good with a house that already has earthy tones on the exterior. Then your overhead door will match the rest of the home by complementing the colors that are already present.

Add a custom look to your home by choosing a shade that compliments the colors already present. This could be a soft tan color or one that looks more like rust. Hold the paint chips up to the natural stone on the exterior of your home and see how it changes its look. Choosing the right color will bring out its beauty, while the wrong color can actually dull the look of the stone.

2. Roll-Up Garage Door

A roll-up garage door is a practical and space-efficient option for homeowners. This type of door operates by rolling up around a drum located above the door opening, offering a compact solution for garages with limited headroom.

Roll-up garage doors are typically made from durable materials like steel, making them a sturdy choice for both residential and commercial properties. The design flexibility allows for customization in terms of color and finish, making it easy to match the exterior of your home. Roll-up doors are also known for their low maintenance and high-security features.

3. Sectional Garage Door

The sectional garage door is a popular choice, known for its versatility and modern appearance. Composed of panel sections connected with hinges, these doors bend and move along a track as the door opens and closes. The design allows for a variety of window and color options, making it easy to personalize to your home’s aesthetic.

This type of door is space-efficient, opening vertically and requiring no extra space outside to operate. Sectional doors provide excellent thermal insulation and are ideal for keeping your garage temperature regulated.

4. Double Garage Doors

Double garage doors are an excellent solution for larger garages, designed to accommodate multiple vehicles or a spacious workshop area. These doors can be a statement piece for your home’s facade, offering an array of design options from traditional to contemporary styles. They can be customized in a variety of materials, including wood, steel, and fiberglass, to complement your home’s exterior.

Double doors also offer the convenience of a wider entrance, making it easier to move large items in and out of your garage. When choosing a double garage door, consider the added weight and ensure your garage has the appropriate support and a powerful enough opener.

5. Glass Garage Doors

Glass garage doors are a stunning and modern addition to any home, bringing a sleek and contemporary edge to your garage. These doors are typically made from a combination of glass panels and a metal frame, offering both elegance and durability. The glass allows natural light to flood into your garage, creating a bright and inviting space.

Glass garage doors are perfect for homeowners looking to blend indoor and outdoor living spaces, especially when used as a partition for living areas or patios. While offering aesthetic appeal, it’s important to consider privacy and insulation factors when opting for glass garage doors.

6. Contemporary Garage Doors with Glass Elements

If your home has a modern design, then you need a contemporary door to match. The majority of fiberglass garage doors tend to look generic and the same. You can give yours a modern feel with frosted glass panels. These windows are typically located at the top of the door. This adds decor without sacrificing security.

If you want an ultra-modern look, consider replacing your current door with an all-glass garage door. It should be frosted glass to prevent anyone from being able to see into your garage through the glass door. Consider one with multiple panes and a solid frame. The smaller glass panels will be easier to maintain.

7. Dark Garage Doors for Light Homes

A dark garage door is a beautiful contrast to a light-colored house. The contrast between light and dark creates visual interest and increases the design aspect of your home’s exterior. While you could paint your garage door the ultimate dark color, black, this will be hard to maintain. Choose a dark color that will also last for your garage door design.

Black or very dark gray garage doors tend to be used most often on modern homes. However, black carriage-style doors can give your home an interesting design. If you aren’t ready to commit to black or gray, consider other dark colors, such as navy, dark green, or maroon.

8. Gray Garage Door Shades

Gray is everywhere in modern design, so it’s no surprise you will easily find grey garage doors. Some garage door manufacturers have several shades of grey to choose from. The shade you choose will influence your garage door style.

You can buy a basic panel garage door that will appeal to the majority of future homeowners. However, if you want to have a more energy-efficient door, consider an insulated garage door. The front will look like every other raised panel door, but the back will have a thick insulation layer.

9. Metal Garage Doors in Steel and Aluminum

A metal garage door is durable and strong, making it a smart choice for your garage. You have the option of choosing from a steel garage door or aluminum garage doors. Steel doors are heavier and more durable. Aluminum doors are more affordable and lightweight.

The garage door material you choose will depend on your budget and how much wear and tear you expect your garage door to see. In addition to the door, you will likely have an aluminum frame around the opening. This cladding finishes the look of your garage door and helps your doorframe to last longer.

10. Paint Your Garage Door

Most garage doors are a standard color of white, tan, or grey. This makes the most sense for most attached garages because the neutral color gives you the more freedom when choosing the color of your home. They also help your home retain broad curb appeal.

However, they aren’t your only option. You can paint your garage door a custom color. When choosing your garage door color, think about the impact that color will make on your home. The garage door takes up a lot of visual space, and the wrong color can be overwhelming. If you want to create a unique design, you could choose two or three colors. Then use one for the main areas and another accent color for the recessed panels.

11. Keep It Rustic With Wood

If you love the farmhouse and rustic look, you can add a wood door to your garage. However, a wooden garage door is expensive and heavy. A better option is to create a custom garage door by using faux wood. This lets you have the look of a carriage-style door without the weight or expense.

If you aren’t ready to replace your garage door, consider painting your current one. Start with brown paint in the shade close to the type of wood you want to emulate. This could be a dark chocolate brown or something lighter and closer to a camel color. Then use one to three brown shades in the same family, but each darker or lighter than your first shade. Use these to create the wood grain and texture.

12. White Garage Doors for a Bright Facade

White doors are crisp and clean looking, helping to brighten up the look of your entire home. In addition, this helps to improve your home’s curb appeal. You could choose the color white for any type of door, from fiberglass to wood carriage doors. They could even be on your detached garage.

You can easily do a garage door makeover by painting your current garage door white. Start by using fine-grit sandpaper to rough up the surface of the door. This will help the paint to stick better. Then use durable outdoor paint to apply a thin layer of paint to the door. It’s better to do several thin coats than one thick coat. This will help prevent it from easily scraping off.

“A man’s home is his castle, but his garage is his sanctuary.” – Unknown

Virtually every garage is improved by the addition of a workbench. Even if you aren’t a DIY project fanatic, it’s helpful to have a strong surface for the various small projects every homeowner encounters.

A work bench also adds useful storage space to the garage, serving as the hub of your garage organization plan. If you don’t have room for a full built-in garage workshop, there are dozens of portable workbench and folding workbench designs to fit your space. Take a look at these and other options in our collection of great garage workbench ideas.

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1. Embrace Sleek, Modern Workbench Designs

Today’s modern work bench designs are not like your grandfather’s. Sleek brushed metal wall units with a bench in the center can be custom built along your garage wall. Visit your local home improvement store and purchase modular cabinets, drawers, and worktops to design your own DIY workbench.

While metal is perhaps the most modern garage workbench design material, wood can also be finished in a modern furniture style. Modern design embraces minimalism and simple lines, and most workbench plans fit this definition.

Make a simple DIY workbench design appear more modern by painting it and any connecting cabinetry in one solid matte color. Black, charcoal, and navy blue are good dark modern hues and coordinate well with any kind of metal workbench frame and wood worktop. Paint pegboard the same color for more clean visual continuity.

2. Optimize Your Space for Power Tool Storage

Power tool storage is another element to incorporate into your workbench plan. Designate specific shelves to hold your miter saw, circular saw, shop vacuum, and other large equipment. Even if you don’t own any power tools yet, leave enough room in your garage storage system to build a collection.

A table saw takes up a lot of room, so designate its own work surface to keep it from taking up too much of your primary work bench. A half-height shelf attached to the side of your garage workbench is also a good place for a large saw, especially if the top of the saw is level with your primary work surface.

Drills and other handheld power tools can be hung on pegboard over your garage workbench to free up other storage options. Drawer storage is great for small power tools, hand tools, screws, and the like. The ultimate garage workbench drawer is deep and wide, with a heavy duty plywood bottom.

3. Maximize Your Garage with Compact Workbench Solutions

If you only have room for a small DIY workbench, don’t despair—you can do a lot with a simple workbench plan. Watch this video to see how you can use plywood and 2×4 lumber to create a small workshop bench in about one hour:

If you add casters to the legs, you will be able to roll your new mobile workbench outdoors on nice days.

If having a rolling workbench isn’t a priority, a corner workbench might be the best use of limited garage floor space. If you add a shelf or two beneath a sturdy workbench worktop, you can double your storage space. Close the ends of your unit with plywood and attach hooks for hanging tools, power cords, and other woodworker necessities. Or fill the ends with pegboard for an adjustable tool storage solution. You can also add extra worktop space by including a collapsible workbench surface that folds out of the way when not in use.

4. Discover Space-Efficient Workbench Designs

When space is limited, you need every space saving solution you can find. Folding workbenches and rollable workbenches on casters are two types that take up little room when not in use. This video shows an easy DIY folding workbench that you can make in just a few hours:

If you’re shopping for a pre-built heavy duty workbench, look for models that include pop-out work surfaces. Some styles have worktop extensions on all four sides to essentially quadruple your workspace without extending the amount of floor space you need.

5. Enhance Your Workbench with Smart Storage Options

If you frequently use your workbench, you might begin having problems storing all your tools and equipment. Garage storage solution products abound, from pegboard to shelf units, from wall-mounted cabinets to heavy duty rolling toolboxes on casters.

Extend your wall storage space by attaching a layer of three-quarter inch plywood to wall studs. This creates a continuous surface for easily mounting storage shelves and containers. Because it’s fastened to the wall studs, you end up with sturdy workbench storage over a wider area. 

Look up to greatly expand your garage workbench storage options. Ceiling mounted shelves can hold a surprising amount of gear, perfect for tools or materials that you don’t use often. If you already keep a lot of items in heavy duty plastic storage bins with lids, hang a track on the ceiling that allows you to slide the bins in and out.

6. Innovate with Wall-Mounted Workbench Styles

A wall mounted garage workbench is a great option for really tight garage spaces. Simply purchase—or make—a basic foldable wall-mounted workbench, making sure that each bracket is securely attached to a wall stud. You can look online for a free workbench plan that fits your needs, or check out this $150 foldable wall workbench video:

Add storage above and around your wall mounted garage workbench by installing drawer cabinets and shelves. Because most builders only put one electrical outlet in a garage, you may need to hire an electrician to install more outlets above your wall mounted garage workbench.