We get a lot of compliments on these plain transoms my husband built on top of the garage doors.

My dh is anti-garage windows of any kind, even in the doors. But for those who don't like visible windows that only a toothpick sized person could squeeze thru, there's another option. :o)

I frequent a blog of a well known scrapbooker who now has her own line of products (Heidi Swapp). Apparently it's her dh's company that makes these awesome looking garage doors. She just showed them on her may 26 blog post (I just checked) and they are gorgeous. They have iron work across the windows, so would fit really well with the "tuscan" craze that has gone on in building.

Wish I knew how to copy the photo and paste it here (I've forgotten how to do that.... uggghhh). I'd share the photo if I could. But if you have time, check out her blog (her name and then dot typepad dot com with no spaces in between) and see those garage doors. They are amazing!

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Here is a link that might be useful: Heidi Swapp's blog

No windows in our garage. We store our home made wine in there and sun light does it no good. Tom

I don't like garage doors with windows in them, just a personal aesthetic thing. I wanted some wood clad doors but in my climate I don't see that as practical.

So I have a +$300K house with plain boring garage doors. I think they look great.

Personally, I don't like fancy garage doors. The focal point of a house should be the front door area, and if the garage doors are fancy, it creates a distraction. I like the plain ones better.

In older areas with period homes, you would see carriage houses that had awesome hand made doors. They are somewhat making a comeback for garage doors.Click on residential, then the models under carriage house on the link below. This is only one of many sites with custom garage doors.

Here is a link that might be useful: carriage house

I see there are as many opinions on garage doors as with any other subject around here. LOL! We have small windows on our rounded Carriage style doors and are also getting hardware that I hope will make them look nice.

Not to hijack, but just a quick question to settle and argument. Which is easier to care for....stained garage doors or painted? Our house faces South to Southwest with blazing afternoon sun in the summer and torrential downpours in the winter. ;c)

Lindy

Our doors are 8' high. Clopay. We put the windows in the top panel, so most folks cannot see in them. The doors face East, on the eave side of the garage, and get only the morning Sun until the roof overhang shades the doors. We are as pleased as possible with this installation.

Painted would be less maintenance, but imho you cant beat the look of a nice stained/sealed door.It just needs attention more often than a painted door, which for a small project like a garage/carriage door(s), is not that big a deal,especially if you are like me and dont have a life!

Here is a link that might be useful: exterior finishes

We're using carriage house style doors that look a bit like barn doors in our American farmhouse style home. The house is a two story with a wrap around porch and it will sit on a hill overlooking 8 acres of rolling farmland on the middle of Ohio Amish country. Plain doors would have been ok, but looked a bit too modern and seemed out of place with this style of house.

We looked at hundreds of doors: wood and steel, windows no windows, etc. We needed ones that were well insulated (R17+), so we went with insulated steel. I think it looks ugly to look at the front of the garage and see the rear of your SUV in there. We don't need the extra light, the garage has 4 windows on the back and side. We considered transoms, but since we don't have transoms elsewhere they attracted to much attention. Sometimes simple is better.

I think you need to rephrase your statement. perhaps you should say "Homeowners", stop putting cheap and ugly garage doors on your ugly snout front facing garages and spend some money to either side/rear load your cars and/or use some decorative garage doors.

Homeowners can essentially put just about anything they want up there. The limitation isnt usually the builder, but the homeowner.

No windows at all in DH's garage. He was adamant that he didn't want them either in the doors or the walls...I never did ask him about the ceiling though...hummmm.

It is remiss to assume that someone "forgot" or "ran out of money" because they don't have something that you personally find aesthetically pleasing.

We put in some transom windows because our garage is so "prominent". We also have big windows on the side...it's nice and light in there thanks to them and I think they look cool.

Well - I'm sure many people have not even considered garage doors - there are so many other things to think about.

Look at the difference though - without and with and be aware of what your eyes are doing.

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Instead of a big blank, boring wall you have something that adds to a home. Instead of a blank walls where a person eyes will naturally be drawn to it (like white space in the printing industry) you have something that will actually put MORE focus on the rest of the house.

When you look at the windowless photo your eyes go right to the garage doors and sort of sit there for a second. With the windows your eyes see the door but continue to travel looking at the rest of the scene.

Avjohnson, there's a similar house to yours behind us that is a new build with a very similar garage. It has a bonus room above with double windows and two garage doors.The difference is that they dont have the transoms. My wife and i thought that area would have looked nicer and more balanced on that house if they would have had transoms such as yours.The house is a spec and is for sale. I think it would be a selling point if the builder would go back and incorporate transoms, but just my wife and i's opinion. You have a nice looking place there.

Thanks! We were hoping the garage didn't overwhelm the house since the doors are 8 by 10 and the area juts out... but in the end you can't even tell they're that large partly due to the transom windows I think.

avjohnson Good job! I like the symmetry, balance, detailing and appropriate colour.

Thanks! The builder would appreciate it too...it looks better now with gutters and some front stairs:

Personally, I'm not crazy about garage doors facing the front anyway. Here in FL, not only are they facing forward, but they stick out past the front of the house, so you can't help but look at the garage door. We're in a wind zone, so we had to buy an expensive, wind rated door, but it looks like all the others. And windows aren't an option- they can't legally sell you a door with windows in our county. If I wanted them, I would have had to bought a door in a non-hurricane area. When we build in SC, the garage will be separate from the house, although we may have a parking area in the back of the house so we don't have to run through the rain.

A few points.

We actually have several windows in our garage so light is not an issue (unless of course you don't want any).

We have arched brick openings and I am afraid any glass we may get won't follow the same lines and will therefore look odd. On the house we are building now, we are using carriage style doors with decorative hammered iron trim so I think they will be attractive enough without glass in them (even though not front facing, I don't think they will be ugly snouts).

Lastly, if you can use one of the door company's stock finishes, you will likely need to replace the door before the finish will go bad. We are going on 10 years now with the doors in our current home and they look brand new.

grinder- Your house does look much better with the addition of windows to your garage doors, however, not every house needs this extra touch. Your house is (I believe I read on another posting) about 1600 sq ft, but you have a front loading, 3 car garage attached to it. You needed the extra touches for the house to not be overwhelmed by the garage. I do agree that it should not be a forgotten part of the home design process, as it is as important as any other door, or window, in the house. The design/style of the garage door should be able to stand alone as a focal point, and yet still complement the house as a whole. However, I do not think that windows/glass in the door are a necessity. There are loads of beautiful, and very dressy, doors available that are glass-free. (Although most posters went in that direction with the replies, I don't think that is what you meant either.)

Your house is very charming. I'm sure it must be such a relief to be finished!

Our four garage doors (8x8, 18x14, 8x8 and 16x8) are so prominent already that I specifically choose to down-play their appearance by making them windowless and matching their color to the stucco.

I want my guests to turn and focus on the house and the courtyard when they drive to the top of the driveway. Colored or decorative doors would have totally dominated the space.

sierra--I have that same door on my garages.

We really liked that brand.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1463706}}

dixiedoodle - I agree - not everyone needs the windows - all I was saying is that there should be a decision on yes or no rather then just over look it as yet another decision.

Side load, if at all possible.

Blsdgal,NICE!

it's like with anything else - some people prefer plain doors. my DH insisted on plain doors for safety reasons - there is the cord inside that can be pulled to open the garage door in the case of a power outage and if you have windows, someone can break out a little pane of glass and use a hook to pull that cord and open the door. and since the door from the garage to the house doesn't have a deadbolt, it's not as secure as our other doors.

also, our garage doors are on the side, not the front of our house. I don't like the look of garage doors facing the street.

it's all about personal preference. we gave lots of thought to what we wanted before opting for a plain door.

I'm living and breathing garage doors right now, lol. We're building a detached garage with a full second floor (28'w X 36'l) and I'm tearing my hair trying to find garage doors that look like a basic New England "bahn" door.

I want the nice "tongue in groove" look, I don't want all that horizontal "detail"/garbage and I sure as hell don't want crappy FAKE embossed "woodgrain". Can I find anything that isn't prohibitively expensive (read: "custom")? UNHUH!

Our garage will have lots of windows, but it's going to serve double duty; car storage and workspace.

chelone: Not sure if this will help you or not. But I thought it looked like a real barn door at least to me! Otherwise, you might want to check and see if you can find some real old barn doors somewhere to install in your garage.

Here is a link that might be useful: Barn door

Thanks for the link, Zoe..

I've perused and admired their site before. I am hoping to find something "less custom"... read: mass-produced/"affordable".

I fear, sadly, I will have to concede to budget constraints or "suck it up" and fork over major pork for precisely what I envision.

Choke. ;)