Choosing a style of garage door to complement your home is a significant decision. The right choice will keep your garage warm in winter, make it more energy-efficient, add to your property value, improve security and enhance your curb appeal.

Fortunately, there are different types of garage doors available to suit any design aesthetic while meeting your functionality requirements. With a wide range of material options, you can find a garage door style that suits your home.

Browse this garage door style guide and discover expert tips for finding the right fit.

How to Choose the Right Garage Door Style for Your Home

You'll find a wide range of garage door styles for various home designs. To choose the right one for you, consider:

Curb Appeal: Most garage doors are visible from the road, making it critical to find the most aesthetically pleasing one. Try to look past the doors alone and imagine what they would look like from the front of your house. With simple photo editing software, you can even superimpose an image of the design you like onto a photo of your home.
Functionality: Beyond looking beautiful, garage doors also serve an essential purpose. Remember to choose garage doors that meet your needs, whether you're looking to use less energy or keep your valued belongings safe.
Compatibility: When you shop around for different styles, consider each one's compatibility with your home design and garage structure. You wouldn't want to fall in love with a garage door design that won't fit with your garage.
Budget: Remember that some materials are more expensive than others, so your budget might dictate what you choose. Generally, wood garage doors are more expensive, while steel garage doors are more affordable.

Find the Perfect Garage Door for Your Home's Architecture

Depending on your home's architectural style and design aesthetic, various garage door types will work for you. Keep the considerations we mentioned above in mind as you embark on your selection. Here are some of the most popular architectural styles and the garage doors that suit them:

1. Garage Door Styles for Ranch Homes

Ranch-style homes are known for their open-plan, single-story design, often connecting seamlessly to outdoor areas. A ranch home, also known as a rambler, typically features natural materials such as brick or wood. These homes feature open-concept layouts and low-pitched roofs, creating a simple, modern look in harmony with nature. Some features of ranch-style houses include prominent overhangs and eaves, sliding barn doors, picture windows and large living areas.

Choose elegant, classic garage doors to complement a ranch-style home. Wood carriage house garage doors pair beautifully with the rustic aesthetic of a classic ranch home. In contrast, steel doors with windows are a popular choice for more contemporary ranch-style designs.

2. Garage Door Styles for Craftsman Homes

Craftsman or bungalow homes are a picturesque architectural style popularized between 1910 and 1930, following the 19th-century Arts and Crafts movement. The defining characteristics of a craftsman house are its low-pitched roofs and wide eaves that stretch past the exterior walls to create covered porches. Craftsman porches are known for their prominent trimmings and detailing, such as tapered support columns and natural siding. You can also expect to see stained-glass windows in many craftsman-style homes.

Since this architectural style is bold and detailed, carriage house or barn-style garage doors will complement craftsman or bungalow homes. Choose garage doors with window inlays and recessed panel detailing for traditional craftsman houses. Alternatively, opt for aluminum and glass to accentuate more contemporary designs.

3. Garage Door Styles for Victorian Homes

There are various styles of Victorian homes, depending on the period during the 1800s when they were built. However, many Victorian homes feature similar design elements, such as steep roof pitches, prominent gables, bay windows, asymmetrical facades and wraparound porches. Victorian-style houses also often feature ornate details, such as stained-glass windows and decorative wooden trim. Exteriors are bold with bright paint colors, while the interiors are dark with detailed woodwork, fireplaces and rich tiles.

Match the intricate woodwork of your Victorian home by selecting wooden doors with intricate details and ornate hardware. Carriage house garage doors with windows will complement a Victorian-style house's ornate charm.

4. Garage Door Styles for Mid-Century Modern Homes

Mid-century modern homes prioritize clean lines and functionality, often featuring open-concept interiors and sleek, minimalist facades with flat rooflines. These homes typically sprawl out across a wide, single story. Oversized windows connect the interiors with nature and encourage outdoor living. Vaulted ceilings and exterior paneling create balance and symmetry.

When choosing garage doors for your mid-century modern home, opt for minimalist designs with simple hardware. Steel garage doors will complement the sleek lines of a modern house, while minimal glass details and negative space offer visual interest.

5. Garage Door Styles for Contemporary Homes

While contemporary homes often feature similar design approaches to mid-century modern architecture, contemporary design pushes the boundaries with unique shapes and dramatic finishes. Contemporary architecture prioritizes minimalism and consists of clean lines, open-concept layouts and mixed materials. Neutral color palettes offer simplicity, while asymmetrical windows add visual interest and introduce natural light.

Modern garage doors pair best with contemporary homes, featuring clean lines and asymmetrical windows. Choose modern garage doors in wood or steel and complement them with minimalist hardware. Frosted or tinted glass adds to the contemporary aesthetic and increases privacy. Keep your garage doors sleek by avoiding detailed trimmings and bright colors.

6. Garage Door Styles for Farmhouse Homes

Modern farmhouse homes combine practical design with comfortable features that offer families a simpler life. These homes feature steep, gabled roofs and prominent porches, often in natural materials like wood or stone. Modern versions of the farmhouse home have clean lines and large windows to connect the structure to the outdoors. Farmhouse homes also utilize neutral color palettes to create a warm and welcoming aesthetic.

If you want to accentuate your farmhouse's cozy charm, choose wood carriage house garage doors for a traditional aesthetic with modern features. Recreate the rustic appearance of barn doors or complement a more contemporary farmhouse style with metal and glass.

7. Garage Door Styles for Colonial Homes

The key feature of a colonial home is its symmetrical facade, complete with double-hung, multi-pane windows evenly spaced around a centrally located front door. Colonial homes typically have two or three stories made of wood, stone or brick. Steep, sloped roofs highlight a decorative entrance that leads to a central hallway.

To perfectly complement your colonial home, choose traditional wood garage doors for timeless charm. You can also select classic designs in more durable and energy-efficient materials like metal — as long as you prioritize traditional design elements, such as panel inlays and windows.

8. Garage Door Styles for Cape Cod Homes

Cape Cod homes may look similar to colonial houses but are distinctly different because of their height. A Cape Cod home is typically only one to one-and-a-half stories and features a central chimney. These homes often have wood siding and dormer windows with wooden shutters. Cape Cod houses are usually rectangular, with the front door centered on the facade.

If you have a Cape Cod home, choose traditional garage doors with raised wooden panels and symmetrical details. Wood carriage house doors also complement Cape Cod homes with their symmetrical panels and windows.

The Most Popular Garage Door Styles

You may notice a few garage door styles that frequently appear as recommendations, regardless of your home's architectural style. Depending on whether your home is classic, timeless or sleek, different styles of garage doors will complement it best. The most popular garage door styles are:

The Classic: Traditional Raised-Panel Doors

Traditional garage doors feature symmetrical, raised panels that offer depth and visual interest. Raised-panel doors provide a classic aesthetic and add the finishing touch to colonial, craftsman and Victorian architectural designs. Traditional garage doors are available in wood, steel and aluminum, but wood offers the most classic look.

Select the material that best meets your needs. Wood offers greater insulation and can be customized to match wooden window frames perfectly, while aluminum is rust-resistant and can withstand water damage. Pair traditional garage doors with vintage-style hardware to enhance the classic charm of your home.

The Timeless: Carriage House or “Barn-Style” Doors

Carriage house garage doors resemble barn-style doors for timeless charm. By utilizing barn-style design features, such as cross-bracing, decorative windows and panel overlays, carriage house doors combine a timeless aesthetic with convenient overhead functionality. Choose rustic hardware to evoke a vintage aesthetic, and consider tinted windows for enhanced privacy and light balance.

Barn doors are a popular choice for farmhouse-style homes, but also complement the timeless aesthetic of craftsman and Victorian houses. Carriage house garage doors are available in wood and steel to offer long-term durability.

The Sleek: Modern Flush-Panel and Full-View Glass Doors

Modern garage doors feature simplistic details and clean lines to enhance a home's minimalist aesthetic. These sleek garage doors combine fashion and function for a contemporary look. Flush panels offer a structural design with bold finishes, while glass allows natural light and highlights outdoor views.

Choose modern wood doors for natural insulation or select steel for enhanced strength and durability. Modern garage doors with tinted windows offer privacy, while clear glass is a popular choice to increase natural light and accentuate outdoor features. Sleek, modern garage doors beautifully complement contemporary and mid-century modern homes.

Comparing Garage Door Materials

Most garage door styles are available in a wide range of materials. The best option for your home depends on whether you need durability, curb appeal or a combination of the two. Discover the most popular garage materials and compare their benefits:

Steel: The most durable, low-maintenance choice of material is steel. These doors can withstand the daily wear and tear of a busy garage and won't dent or deteriorate as quickly as other materials. Steel doors also offer enhanced safety and require fewer repairs and replacements.
Wood: Wood garage doors are popular for their visual appeal. While these doors provide natural insulation, wood often requires regular maintenance to remain durable. Wood garage doors are also customizable, so you can match the existing wooden details of your home.
Composite: Faux-wood and composite doors are a popular choice for their superior durability and low maintenance. Made from reinforced composite plastic and supported by metal backing, composite doors offer the benefits of steel doors with a beautiful finish. Composite garage doors offer practicality without compromising curb appeal.

Features to Consider When Choosing Garage Doors

When choosing new garage doors for your home, consider more than the style that suits your design and architecture. Ideally, garage doors should include practical features to enhance your daily life, such as:

Insulation and Energy Efficiency: Well-insulated garage doors make your home more energy-efficient by keeping cold and hot air from creeping in. While wood and steel offer the best natural insulation, you can add insulation to most modern garage door materials for improved energy efficiency.
Safety and Security: Regardless of the material you choose, modern garage doors offer enhanced safety and security features, such as integrated alarms. Many garage doors also have safety features that prevent them from opening and closing unexpectedly, reducing the risk of damage to the structure.
Smart Technology: Many garage door openers have smart features for increased convenience and security, allowing you to operate and monitor them remotely via the internet or connected apps.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you still have unanswered questions, explore some frequently asked questions about garage doors:

What is the Most Popular Type of Garage Door? Raised-panel garage doors are the most popular choice for their practicality and cost-effectiveness. Carriage house doors are also a popular low-maintenance choice with high aesthetic appeal.
Should a Garage Door be Lighter or Darker Than a House? Your garage doors can either be light or dark, depending on your existing structure and architectural style. For the best curb appeal, match your garage doors to your trim or siding color.
What is the Lifespan of a Garage Door? Depending on the material and frequency of use, most garage doors last between 15 and 30 years. Steel doors are the most durable option.
How Often Does a Garage Door Need Maintenance? Staying ahead of issues is the best way to avoid damage and downtime. We recommend annual maintenance on your garage doors, but busy households should consider general maintenance every six months.

Ready to Find Your Perfect Style?

Your garage deserves More Than A Door. The perfect garage door for your home adds value, looks beautiful and functions with your lifestyle. Request a complimentary consultation from Smoker Door Sales to discuss the best styles for your home. If you're not sure where to begin, look through our project gallery for inspiration.

Your Essential Garage Door Style Guide