Although a fresh coat of paint or a new set of furniture can revitalize a room, many homeowners are seeking out fresh and innovative ways to truly transform a space in their home. Both prospective buyers and longtime owners desire transitional spaces for a variety of activities including options for outdoor entertainment. When creating these spaces, they want a result that blends form and function and provides an attractive balance of trendiness and practicality. The latest technique for modern design uses a familiar household staple: the garage door.
For years, businesses in the service industry have incorporated garage doors into their design. Restaurants use roll-top garage doors to connect their patio seating to their main dining area. Retail stores and boutique shops use the transitional wall to extend their sales floor out onto the sidewalk. Now, homeowners across the country are catching onto this trend and are adopting these outside-the-box ways to use garage doors to transform the living spaces in their own homes.
Request EstimateTable of Contents
- Much More Than a Door
- Common Indoor Uses for Garage Doors
- Area Expansion and Wall Removal
- Specific Indoor and Outdoor Spaces
- Ways to Use Your Garage Doors to Transform Your Living Space
- Benefits of Using a Garage Door to Open Your Space
- Transform Your Space With Continental Door
Much More Than a Door
At first glance, a garage door performs a limited role: It is a large door that encloses the garage. However, consider the inherent benefits an automatic garage door offers.
- You can conveniently open and close it with the touch of a button.
- You can choose to insulate it to keep your space temperature-controlled.
- It functions safely, requires little maintenance and enhances the aesthetic of your home.
Now, imagine effortlessly expanding your entertaining area with the touch of a button. Envision instantly transitioning from your living space to the outdoor patio or deck. While a solid wall will define a room, a garage door can offer a transformative solution for homeowners seeking innovative design options that easily convert their indoor and outdoor spaces. The reality is, garage doors are changing the world of interior design.
Common Indoor Uses for Garage Doors
Though garage doors have been repurposed to become smaller décor pieces around the home, this latest trend showcases the door in all its glory. Nonconventional uses for garage doors are making their way into the mainstream. The popular television series Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, as well as the Green + Wired exhibit in The Museum of Science and Industry Chicago Smart Home, have shown how trendy glass garage doors can tastefully blend indoor and outdoor living spaces.
There are dozens of interior and exterior uses for garage doors. Depending on where you choose to install a garage door inside a home, you can create an open layout within the area or open your interior spaces to the outdoors. Some popular applications include eliminating borders between rooms, expanding living areas and uniting indoor and outdoor spaces.
Area Expansion and Wall Removal
Whether you live in a large home or a cozy cottage, the absence of an open floor plan can leave much to be desired. While you could potentially remove a wall to combine two rooms into a single space, some homeowners are hesitant to commit to such a drastic renovation that isn’t easy to reconstruct. Instead of being stuck with a permanent decision, installing a garage door allows you to convert the space to an open layout and redefine the room with a wall whenever you please.
Unfortunately, not all home designs make it possible to adopt a more open floor plan. Retractable garage doors also allow you to merge your indoor and outdoor spaces fluidly. You can instantly expand your entertaining, living or dining space to the outdoors to provide additional room for family or guests. You can open up your entertaining space to your patio to enjoy the summer months and keep the insulated garage door closed to keep your living room warm during the winter.
Specific Indoor and Outdoor Spaces
Though a garage door provides limitless opportunities for endless entertainment, you can incorporate this feature of your home into other private spaces as well. Install frosted glass or acrylic and windowless doors in areas like bathrooms and bedrooms to give you privacy when you need it and an open space when you want it.
Those who have home offices or use a living space for professional meetings may want to install a handcrafted wooden garage door. The Reserve Wood Custom Series collection, for instance, comes in a variety of wood types and can be installed with or without windows. Match the wood to your home’s existing wood floors or furniture to perfectly complement your home’s style, while providing you with a private meeting space when necessary.
The Canyon Ridge Modern Series collection is a low-maintenance garage door ideal for those who may use spaces that are not attached to the house. These faux wood doors offer style and functionality without the worry of rotting, warping or cracking. This collection can beautifully complement midcentury or modern spaces that were converted into studios, workshops or exterior home offices.
Ways to Use Your Garage Doors to Transform Your Living Space
Because of their permanence, walls and windows are inherently limited in functionality. While both offer opportunities for design, they aren’t nearly as versatile and adaptable as a modern glass garage door. When you install a glass garage door inside your home, you’re getting the accessibility of a door, the visibility of a window and the defined space of a wall. This single transformative feature gives you the ability to create the space you want when you need it most.
Install a Retractable Wall
Though they may be nontraditional openings, garage doors can immediately make a statement when tactfully incorporated into a home’s design. Having a retractable wall that leads out to a patio or swimming pool can create excitement and intrigue for your guests. Even garage door dividers that open to reveal additional dining or entertaining spaces in your home’s interior can give your home a modern and stylish feel.
Create a Wall of Windows
Floor-to-ceiling windows are increasing in popularity. This modern movement is actually a historic trend that’s found a resurgence thanks to today’s tasteful homeowners. Natural light brightens up a room and can help keep energy costs down. Although this renovation is an appealing idea, the costs associated with window reframing and redressing can add up quickly. Additionally, window prices are steadily increasing, which means having to replace individual windows in the future may also be costly in the long term.
Our Avante collection of contemporary glass and aluminum doors is perfect for creating a single, undivided wall of windows. This affordable solution features strong tempered glass that can be insulated. These garage doors are single units that also come with warranties on their finish and hardware. Instead of worrying about the quality and installation of each individual floor-to-ceiling window, a glass garage door is a cost-effective way to preserve the quality of your investment.
Exterior Roller Shades
Clopay’s Avante collection is a popular choice for homeowners. With a long-lasting and low-maintenance frame made from commercial-grade aluminum, it’s no wonder these stunning garage doors are making a splash in houses across the nation. Although they offer a spectacular amount of light and visibility, it’s natural homeowners may want to decrease the amount of heat or vibrancy of sunlight traveling through the glass. Instead of losing your view and shutting out all light with blinds or curtains, we suggest installing exterior roller shades.
Exterior roller shades are the perfect solutions for glass garage doors. Unlike other tools that can only prevent heat or light while blocking visibility, these roller shade systems are designed to provide ultimate comfort without compromising your view. With exterior roller shades, you can instantly:
- Reduce the amount of glare and heat entering your indoor spaces
- Maintain clear visibility of the outdoors
- Easily lower or raise the shades via a motorized operation
- Match the fabric colors to your room’s aesthetic
Why install a garage door inside of your home if you can’t enjoy it throughout the day? With exterior roller shades, you can preserve your view of the outdoors while effortlessly limiting the heat and glare that enters your home.
Benefits of Using a Garage Door to Open Your Space
As with any investment in your home, you want to make sure the finished product is worth the expense. Though the cost to install a garage door inside a home may seem comparable to other renovations, the unique benefits make this feature a worthwhile investment for homes and families of all sizes. Using garage doors inside a home to open up a space can increase energy efficiency, boost resale value, improve your lifestyle and offer you an incomparable view.
Maximize Light
Allowing more natural light into your house is a great way to increase your home’s energy efficiency. Since artificial lighting can make up approximately a quarter of your home’s energy, using natural light whenever possible can help you significantly cut energy expenses. By modifying your home with a glass garage door that faces a particular direction, you can use daylight to save nearly 22 percent on your combined lighting and HVAC bills.
Aside from energy efficiency, exposure to natural light can also have positive effects on your health. It can improve your mood and increase your productivity. Studies have also shown sufficient amounts of natural light can also help you improve the quality of your sleep, decrease eye strain and increase your body’s vitamin D storage. Replacing a solid wall with glass garage doors will brighten your days in more ways than one.
Open Your Home to the World
Visualize your favorite time of year. Beautiful sunsets on long summer evenings. The tranquility of a spring thunderstorm. Windy autumn afternoons blowing leaves across the yard. A gentle snowfall that falls elegantly from the starry night sky. Now, imagine being able to gaze upon weather’s wonders all year long from the comfort of your living area, kitchen or dining room.
Glass garage doors open your home to the world. Regardless whether you open them wide, or leave them closed, using garage doors as a wall allows you to gaze at the beauty of the outdoors at all times. Your family can enjoy a sunrise with breakfast. Your guests can appreciate the beauty of winter’s first snow flurries from a cozy seat. You can relax and watch raindrops dance across your deck. When you install a glass garage door inside your home, you’ll always have a front-row seat to watch the seasons change.
Add Value to Your Home
Though renovations allow you to transform your house into the home of your dreams, future prospective buyers may not share your vision. A remodeled basement, high-end upgrades and extensive landscaping may be appealing features that won’t offer you a return on investment if you decide to sell your home. In fact, converting your garage into a gym, living space or entertainment area may hurt your home’s value. A buyer may entertain the idea of an indoor-to-outdoor living area, but not at the cost of losing a dedicated garage.
Instead of potentially losing the functionality of the garage, install a garage door inside the home to expand your entertaining space. Adding glass garage doors that open to the living area of the home is swiftly becoming the latest trend. Attention to curb appeal is vital when selling your house, and an attractive glass garage door creates a striking first impression. This desirable feature instantly adds a modern charm that may give your curb appeal a boost. Insulating the door may also further increase the value.
Transform Your Space With Continental Door
How do you picture your home’s new garage door? Whether you want dazzling sunlight to flood through clear glass windows into your dining area or the warm evening glow to gently pass through obscure glass panels onto your entertaining space, Continental Door Company has the right glass garage doors for every style. Along with acrylic and solid aluminum frame panels, our Avante collection includes:
- Clear glass
- Gray tinted glass
- Bronze tinted glass
- Mirrored glass
- Obscure glass
- White laminate glass
- Frosted glass
Our glazing choices give you the freedom to control the amount of light and visibility that passes through each door. With optional insulated glass and a replaceable vinyl bottom weather seal, our Avante garage doors allow you to enjoy your retractable wall throughout every season.
Nearly 20 Years of Exceptional Service
Continental Door Company has proudly served customers throughout Washington, Northern Idaho, Western Montana and Northern Oregon since 2000. Our passion for delivering the absolute best products and services is only rivaled by our dedication to crafting the perfect garage door solution that fits your unique budget and style.
Visit us today and allow us to answer all your questions about the fantastic garage door collections throughout our showroom. We’d be happy to sit down and speak with you between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Because we understand how busy the workweek can be, we’ve also made our knowledgeable and friendly staff available for you on Saturdays by appointment only. Call or visit our website to receive a free design consultation that’ll make you change the way you view your walls.
Where others see a wall, we see an opportunity to transform any area into the awe-inspiring space of your dreams. Don’t allow a barrier between your indoor and outdoor lifestyles. Enjoy your living space on your terms with attractive, high-quality garage doors from Continental Door Company.
Contact Us TodayUpdated: 05/22/2019
