10 Garage Design Ideas to Elevate Your Home Exterior
By: Britteny
Garages often get overlooked during the renovation process with areas like the main entrance typically taking center stage. But a well-designed garage can offer as much of a curb appeal boost as the perfect color palette or an inviting front porch. With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of our favorite garage design ideas. From simple upgrades to larger projects, this roundup has ideas to inspire every homeowner.
Keep reading to discover our top garage design ideas that will transform your home exterior.
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#1 // Surround it with stone
In addition to painting the brick, our designers added a section of stone around the doors of the garage pictured above. The stone perfectly complements the gray brick, black gutters, and white trim and looks lovely juxtaposed with the wood used on the doors and awning. We carried the stacked stone through to the fence and planter box to create cohesion throughout this space.
Here’s another example of a great use of stone siding to highlight the home’s garage. We used vertical siding rendered in Benjamin Moore’s Iron Mountain for most of the home’s exterior but recommended light stone siding around the garage to create contrast. Black accents throughout tie the entire design together and connect each level of the home.
#2 // Combine cladding materials
Combining cladding materials is one of our favorite ways to add interest to a façade. In the design above, instead of leaving the entire exterior brick, we used stacked stone around one section of the garage, as well as on the wall surrounding the entry area. The use of different cladding material makes the areas stand out in a subtle way. The brown shades of the stone also work well with the wood garage doors.
#3 // Embrace a two-tone color palette
Embracing a two-tone color palette is another effective way to add interest to your exterior. The siding on the home above is rendered mostly with Benjamin Moore’s Sweatshirt Gray, but a portion of it around the larger garage door is painted with Ballet White (also by Benjamin Moore).
#4 // Add a pergola or awning
The garage pergola is growing in popularity — and for good reason. We love incorporating this design element into our work because it’s an easy way to add character to your home and dress up your garage. The wood pergola above stands out against the white brick but ties in well with the wood lintels and front door.
For the garage above, we suggested a metal awning instead of a pergola. In addition to the awning, stone and shingle siding and a wood door completely transform this garage. Wall lanterns and planters on both sides of the door complete the look.
#5 // Coordinate with your siding
To make this home’s entrance a focal point, we used vertical wood siding for the area rather than the same stucco seen elsewhere in the design. We rendered the garage door in a similar material to create a sense of cohesion. Modern house numbers above the garage and lanterns on both sides of it help elevate this section of the home.
#6 // Match your garage door and front door
If coordinating your garage door with your siding seems too matchy-matchy, consider aligning it with your front door instead. In the design above, we paired a wood double entry door with large glass panes with a wood garage door with windows that run along the top.
Below, we provided another design option for this homeowner, again with coordinating front and garage doors. This time, we selected a contemporary front door with a black frame and a black garage door to match.
# 7 // Add dormers
To make the façade of this garage more visually interesting, we added dormers with white vertical siding that mirrors the new garage doors. A section of light stone siding, a landscape-lined driveway, planters, and copper light fixtures aid in the transformation.
# 8 // Add some accent pieces
To dress up the garage area on the home above, we added a wood gable accent that ties into the door. We used the same accent above the window on the right side of the house and a similar piece above the wood entry door.
This home also features wood accent beams above one garage door and the windows on the right side of the home. The awnings above the garage doors also feature wood accents. Elsewhere on the exterior, we used wood for the lintels above the windows, the front door, and the structure displaying the address plaque.
The two black garage doors seen above each feature wood lintels overtop that tie in with the wood used elsewhere in the design. Above the lintels, we placed identical light fixtures. We also placed planters to the right and left of the doors to help frame the garage.
# 9 // Have fun with color
We love incorporating pops of color into our designs. While we usually do this with a bold front door, sometimes, as demonstrated above, we also suggest less traditional hues for garage doors. We rendered the garage doors in Benjamin Moore’s Slate Blue, which we also used on the front door, balcony railing, and privacy screen.
The home above has a garage door rendered in one of our favorite blue exterior paint colors — Sherwin Williams’ Needlepoint Navy. We love how the hue both pops against and plays well with the gray siding.
#10 // Glass garage door windows
Late last year when we shared our design trend predictions for 2024, we mentioned that glass was going to grow in popularity as a building material. While we expect to use full walls of glass in plenty of our designs this year, we also anticipate incorporating a lot more mostly glass front and garage doors.
The home above features two modern glass garage doors with aluminum frames. Rather than transparent glass, we used a mirrored option for privacy.
The coastal-style home above also features garage doors with large panes of glass. This style garage door harmonizes well with the large windows and front door that is mainly glass.
Designer-approved garage design ideas
From playing with paint colors and building materials to incorporating accents like a pergola or awning, there are so many garage design ideas worth exploring. Your garage can have a major impact on your curb appeal, so nailing its design is crucial.
We hope this roundup of our favorite garage design ideas has offered you plenty of inspiration for your own home exterior project.
Eager to implement one these garage design ideas? Or perhaps there are other aspects of your home you want to update. Either way, our team of expert exterior designers is here to help. Designing your dream home and bringing it to life is easier than ever thanks to our design services. Begin your exterior design project today.
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