© 2008 Door & Access
Systems
Publish Date: Fall 2008
Author: Tom Wadsworth
Pages 36-42
Does This Door Go With This House?
Top Architects Help You Become an “Exterior Design
Consultant”
By Tom Wadsworth, Editor
Garage door dealers don’t just sell garage doors anymore.
They are increasingly becoming “exterior design consultants,” advising
homeowners as to which garage door design best complements
their home.
In the last five years, the number of available garage door
designs has exploded exponentially. Throughout the 1980s
and 1990s, dealers typically offered raised-panel steel doors
in a few colors and a few window options. That was it.
Today, most dealers have access to radically different door
designs: raised-panel, aluminum-and-glass, many different
carriage house designs, three sections or four sections,
varying section materials (steel, wood, aluminum, composite),
varying crossbuck configurations, two-color finishes, new
window designs, many exterior decorative hardware options … and
on it goes.
Improving Your Design Skills
Consider this article to be your 2008 primer on matching
the right door with the right house. Our goal is to improve
your design-consulting skills as a professional garage door
consultant.
Here’s how. We found four experienced residential
architects, each with more than 20 years of experience, from
four different regions of the country. We asked them to critique
images of seven different door designs on homes, asking them
to briefly explain why each door “works” or “doesn’t
work” on that home.
Their responses sometimes confirm the old adage: “Beauty
is in the eye of the beholder.” Yet, their insights
also demonstrate several constant principles that will help
you sharpen your own skills as a garage door design consultant.
======================
About the Door Designs
These seven images were selected from popular images that
have been used on GarageWowNow.com. The seven were used in
this study because:
(1) They represented a wide variety of attractive door designs
available today.
(2) Each image revealed a good portion of the surrounding
home and/or garage.
(3) They were quality images with good detail.
The manufacturer of each door was intentionally not identified
because:
(1) The manufacturer was irrelevant to this study.
(2) A negative comment about an image is not a criticism
of the door or the manufacturer. It’s a criticism of
that particular design on that particular home. That same
door may look outstanding on a different home.
=====================
About Our Architects
Steven Berry, AIA
DMB Associates, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Bachelor of Architecture, California Polytechnic State University
26 years of experience, primarily in residential design
Jeffery Broadhurst, AIA
Broadhurst Architects, Rockville, Md.
Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Master of Architecture,
University of Maryland
23 years of experience with major focus in high-end residential
projects
Michael Hershenson
Michael Hershenson Architects, Evanston, Ill.
Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies, University
of Illinois
27 years of experience, specializing in high-end residential
new construction and remodeling
Jeff Lane, AIA
Lane Architecture, Jacksonville, Fla.
Bachelor of Architecture, University of Kentucky
32 years of experience with specialties in high-end residential
and clubhouse design
======================
Door #1
WHY IT WORKS
Berry: Here’s a great application of the carriage-style
garage doors that beautifully ties in with the traditional
architectural style of the home for this region of the country.
The segmented arched tops relate well with the aesthetics
of the design, and the trained vines mimic the garage door
arches, which will enhance the featured doors for years to
come. The added hardware is just the right amount of “jewelry” to
authenticate the door designs.
Hershenson: I think these doors are fantastic. The arch
design is unusual. The panels are well proportioned. The
hardware is unusual and a great detail.
Broadhurst: This seems to be a thoughtful and appropriate
use of garage doors on this home. The use of colors is tied
into the house well.
I especially like that the arched-panel doors actually are
set into arched openings. Too often, arched-panel doors are
made to fit into a rectangular opening. To me, that look
falls short.
WHY IT DOESN’T WORK
Lane: The trim on the garage doors is opposite to the direction
of the lap siding, and the color is off. The trim on the
doors should match the color of the trim on the house.
Berry: The scale of these garage facades is always a challenge.
Although these doors may be 8' in height at the top of the
arch, it would be great to see 9' doors available, especially
for taller SUVs.
Taller doors would also address the “high forehead” look
in the wall plane. In this case, the vines help address that
awkward space on the elevation.
Door #2
WHY IT WORKS
Hershenson: These are perfect doors for this house. The
proportion of the windows in the doors matches some of the
windows on the house. The hardware again is nice.
Broadhurst: Generally, the doors on this house work fairly
well. The door style helps to break down the scale of a large
two-car door into something appropriate for this house. The
fact that the glass window lights in the door are similar
in size to the window lights is helpful.
Berry: This garage door design is a good attempt at relating
to the style and character of this home.
Lane: Nice. The character of the doors matches the character
of the house. The hardware is a nice touch.
WHY IT DOESN’T WORK
Berry: The door is poorly undersized in height based on
the scale of the opening recess and mass of the front elevation.
The lack of a third color for the panels of the door (such
as the color used on the front door and sidelight) is a lost
opportunity. This could have added richness to the door.
Lane: The apparent size of the doors on the garage is too
small when compared to the size of the front door of the
house.
Door #3
WHY IT WORKS
Hershenson: The design in general is nice. I like the panelization
and hardware.
Berry: These are style-appropriate door designs.
Lane: There is a similar sense of style and color.
WHY IT DOESN’T WORK
Broadhurst: This is okay, but I am immediately turned off
to the relationship between the arch of the door panels and
the “arch” of the door openings. These arches
should share the same center point of the radii. The image
of two arched doors within a single arched opening is also
very wrong.
Lane: The arched-top windows do not relate well to the arch
over the doors. This is especially a problem in the large
door when having two arches under one larger arch.
Hershenson: The two arches under one arch are a bit much.
On the single door, the curve of the windows does not match
the curve of the opening above.
Berry: The doors need to be taller. The double door is challenged
with the smaller segmented arch glazing design under the
large double-door arch … seems to be a visual conflict.
The arched soffit and arched glazing need to relate better
to each other with the same radius points.
Door #4
WHY IT WORKS
Lane: This is excellent. The doors to the garage look like
they were made by the same people that made the front door.
You want to grab one of the handles on the garage door and
see what is inside.
Berry: I love the wood finish and glazing detail for these
doors and what it does for this rather simple, unadorned
elevation.
Broadhurst: This is generally handsome. It ties into the
style and color of the front entry doors well.
WHY IT DOESN’T WORK
Hershenson: The applied raised panels are tacky. There’s
too much space between the applied panels and stiles and
rails. A straight door under a curving arch is also unsophisticated.
Broadhurst: The light pattern in the doors may be a bit
busy for the rest of the house.
Berry: It’s too bad these doors were not recessed
at least 12" and the trim respected the horizontal line
of the doors.
Door #5
WHY IT WORKS
Lane: The door design is very much in keeping with the character
of the house.
WHY IT DOESN’T WORK
Broadhurst: This is generally okay. However, I think designers
need to be a little careful in how carriage house doors are
used and detailed. By using this type of door, you are trying
to convey the appearance of traditional side-hinged door
panels.
The two-car bay on the left side shows strap hinges that
hinge one door off of the other door. This would be quite
curious in a traditional application. I have had custom door
manufacturers build a false muntin between the two “pairs” in
order to improve on this situation.
Hershenson: Nice design (panels, hardware, etc.), but the
middle of the garage does not line up with the joint in the
door. It should have incorporated a fake “post” in
the middle of the double door to make the spacing work.
Berry: The garage doors speak to the style of the elevation,
but it’s simply too busy. A third color for the doors
would have made a positive difference, along with no diagonals.
Lane: These doors dominate the front of the house. Maybe
it is a statement about the house when the garage looks better
than the house.
Door #6
WHY IT WORKS
Berry: I absolutely love this garage door … a perfect
application for this retro, art-deco-influenced elevation.
Lane: The garage door fits in well because it is similar
in size to the other openings. Architects call this “being
in scale” with the rest of the house.
Broadhurst: Very nice! The frosted glass is a nice touch.
It gives a sense of openness and glass that exists elsewhere
on the house, but does not allow you to see the cars or clutter
within the garage.
Notice how the proportion of the glass panels in the garage
door are similar to the transom panel on the right side of
the photograph. This type of tie-in is helpful in unifying
the house.
Hershenson: Great door — love the proportions. It’s
nicer than the windows of the house.
WHY IT DOESN’T WORK
(No comments)
Door #7
WHY IT WORKS
Broadhurst: This is generally okay. However, this house
may have been better had it been designed with two single
doors rather than one double door.
Berry: This works all day. It’s a style-appropriate
door design for this elevation style. I’m sure the
builder would want to re-think the oversized vertical trim
element in the gable ends.
Lane: Windows are always inviting.
WHY IT DOESN’T WORK
Hershenson: Not bad, but somehow the windows look very separate
from the rest of the door, Also, the proportion of the glass
is more horizontal than the proportion of the window glass.
The proportions should match. The vertical slots of the door
don’t really hook in to the garage door windows.
Lane: It’s a bit fussy in its detailing.
Broadhurst: The series of very slender panels is curious
on this house. The applied window casing looks a bit heavy.
It would have been better to divide each window panel into
two lights high by four lights wide (rather than three),
so that the proportion of glass panes is more similar to
the panes in the window above in the gable.
To comment on this story, send an e-mail to the editor at
trw@tomwadsworth.com.
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