A Memorable Modern Makeover

May 04, 2020

Homeowners Nahyun and Joel are "modernizing" their 1950s fixer-upper.

For all the fans of midcentury and modern design who think there are no garage door options that fit your aesthetic, this makeover is for you. Clopay partnered with homeowners Nahyun and Joel, who are renovating the 1950s home they purchased in 2018. The couple replaced the windows and roof, painted the aluminum siding dark gray and added brass hardware accents. The transformation is remarkable.

The only drawback was the garage door. Like many homes, the garage faces the street and occupies one-third of the home’s exterior. The plain white door stuck out like a sore thumb.

Clopay to the rescue. Nahyun chose a Canyon Ridge® Modern faux wood door in a Medium stain finish with long windows down one side to complement the rest of her house. “It’s like the cherry on top, the diamond earrings, the FINAL touch,” she said.

We discussed the new garage door with Nahyun and how the home’s amped up curb appeal impacted the neighborhood.

Before

After

Clopay Modern faux wood garage door, 6” plank design with 35” x 6” clear windows, Mahogany overlays in a Medium stain finish.

The exterior of your house is nothing short of an Extreme Home Makeover. It is literally a black (charcoal) and white difference. Are you the type of person who can visualize a home’s potential when you see a space or is it something you need to ponder for months?

The house was originally light blue with white trim.

When we first saw our home, I could tell it had so much potential, but it was definitely in rough shape. I had a vision of a dark modern exterior, but I definitely had to ponder and search endlessly on Pinterest for inspiration. I decided on the charcoal/black color scheme and got so much pushback from our friends and family, but I stuck with my gut. After we chose the paint color, the rest fell into place.

The exterior transformation begins with windows.

The siding paint color is Benjamin Moore “Iron Mountain”.

In one of your Instagram posts, you joked that you always cropped the garage out of your photos because the door didn’t match the rest of the house. Was a new garage door even a consideration?

We knew it was something that had to be updated at some point. After spending the entire summer working on the exterior and dealing with delays and a leaking roof we were tired and just pretended the white garage door wasn’t there. We literally turned a blind eye to it.

Your house has a distinct mid-mod vibe. Before you started looking at options, were you aware that manufacturers like Clopay offered garage door designs to match your home style?

I wasn’t aware that Clopay had modern garage doors, but I’m incredibly impressed with the line and how customizable it is!

Did seeing mock-ups of different garage doors on your house make you feel more comfortable with changing the look of your garage door?

Nahyun debated the look of a painted black garage door vs. a warm, inviting stained finish.

The mock-ups were everything! They made us feel confident about our choice and helped us visualize the door before making any actual changes.

Clopay Canyon Ridge garage doors can be painted or stained, and you actually debated between a natural wood-look and a black door to match the windows on your house. How did you make that decision?

We have always loved the combination of a midcentury stained wood and dark siding on a house exterior. We ordered free color samples from Clopay and looked at them against the house for a few days.

Canyon Ridge Modern finish samples on engineered Mahogany composite.

We decided to go with the Medium stain finish for our garage door because it complemented the tones in our brick chimney and it also helped to break up any heaviness from the dark siding.

What do you like about your new garage door?

Honestly, we love everything. The windows are incredibly streamlined and elegant, the wood tone is warm and inviting and it really finishes the look of the exterior of our home. It now feels complete.

Garage door installed by Clopay Master Authorized® Dealer Wallace and Wallace.

How did the neighbors react to the new look?

We live on a mature street and are definitely one of the youngest couples, so they’ve enjoyed watching our home come back to life. Within minutes of the garage door install being finished, I had two neighbors stop by to compliment it! It didn’t take very long to get some positive feedback on the door.