This weekend, take a drive around a nice neighborhood and
look at their garage doors. What works? What doesn't? Which
styles go together?

By asking yourself these crucial questions, you can
determine if the new garage door installation plan you have
is a good one or not. Don't make the mistake of thinking
any house can pull off a black door- or that an
ultra-modern façade would look great with French
country doors!

On the other hand, sometimes bold contrast really works for
a home. You might be able to pull of some bold hues with a
more demure-styled house, or just classy white doors with
windows while your house itself is more interestingly
colored.

Also, don't forget about paneling! Whether or not certain
parts of the door are raised may seem like a trivial thing,
but it can really make a difference in the depth and
classiness of the front of your home. A house that has had
recent garage door services and has intricately patterned,
raised panels on its façade will pop more than a house
with flat white (or even worse, dirty-white) garage doors.

Of course, for the bold (and maybe less economical) of
homeowners, there's always the chic, no-nonsense look of
paneled, frosted glass. While these kinds of doors are
pretty rare, they really add a little zing to any
modern-looking or post-modern home, transforming what could
be thought of as austere into a paradigm of art-nouveau.

If you consider yourself more adventuresome than most, you
might want to try out some interesting colors. Go for a
zesty yellow or a dark, rich red. Don't shy away from deep,
luxurious greens or a delicate, light peach! And the great
thing about color is that you can add or subtract without
having to get an all new garage door installation.

Beware, though- not all materials were created equal. Some
will take to coloring better than others, and some will
have nicer textures for different homes. Some, like steel,
really shouldn't be made with raised paneling at all. Make
sure to consult with an expert about what kind of door you
have and what kind of options that leaves you for
redecorating.

If you're concerned all of this might break the bank, think
of it instead as a creative, relatively cheap way to
increase the curb appeal of your home and raise it's
listing price. If you're actually in the process of
selling, this may actually turn out to be a lucrative plan!