This Plain White Garage Door Got a Carriage-Style Look for Under $40
Replacing a two-car garage door for its appearance alone can turn into a four-figure project. Debbie from Debbiedoo’s wanted the carriage-door look but had a standard white metal door that still worked.
Her solution left the door, panels, tracks, and opening mechanism in place. Two Crown Metalworks decorative hardware kits cost $18.97 each, bringing the material total to less than $40.
No faux windows were added because the existing door was not suited to them. Instead, black handles and hinge straps were positioned across the white panels to create the carriage-door effect with hardware alone.
Plain White Panels Provided the Starting Point
Raised rectangular panels covered the original white garage door, with no handles, straps, windows, or contrasting trim breaking up the surface. Brick surrounded the opening, while an existing black lantern provided one dark accent above the door.
Debbie had looked at carriage-style garage doors before but found the price hard to justify. She put the cost of a two-car version at well over $2,000, which made altering the existing door the more practical route.
Two Hardware Kits Cost Less Than $40
Each kit contained black decorative straps and handles designed to imitate hardware found on carriage doors. Two $18.97 kits were used because of the width of the double garage door.
The pieces are ornamental. They do not turn the overhead garage door into hinged carriage doors, and the handles are not intended for pulling the door open. Their job is visual: dividing the broad white surface with hardware placed where functional hinges and handles might appear on another door style.
Hardware Placement Started With the Existing Panel Grid
The raised rectangles on the garage door determined where the new pieces would sit. Debbie’s husband used a measuring stick and marker to find the positions, then used a drill to attach the hardware. Debbie said he appeared to begin near the center and work outward.
Two handles meet at the center of the door, while the long black straps sit across other sections of the panel grid. Despite their hinge and handle shapes, every piece is ornamental. Debbie cautioned that the hardware was installed for appearance rather than for pulling or operating the door.
Keeping the pieces aligned with the molded rectangles helps create the carriage-door reference. From a few steps back, the handles suggest a center opening and the straps resemble exterior hinges, even though the door still lifts overhead as one standard garage door.
Same Garage Door Took on a Different Style
From the driveway, the added pieces break the wide garage door into sections that read more like two swinging doors. The existing raised-panel pattern helps sell the effect, since the straps and handles line up with shapes already molded into the door.
The change also shows how much influence a few dark details can have on a large white surface. Nothing needs to hide the original panel design for the carriage-door reference to come through.
If you saw the finished version without seeing the before photo, would you guess the black hardware was only decorative?