Thank you so much. The home is beautiful.

You can do outswing carriage doors with automatic openers. He is a link to one company that has swing door fittings for their openers.
http://www.sommer-usa.com/Swing-Door-Fitting_p_23.html

A better automatic opener option for outswing carriage doors is the Franklin Autoswing because it doesn't take up any room on the ceiling. Take a look here: http://www.realcarriagedoors.com/hardware-cat.php?page=openers

We have utilized "overhead" type door for many years.
The brand names such as http://artisandoorworks.com/,
http://www.designerdoors.com/
and if you looking for a variety in style at a reasonable budget the http://artisandoorworks.com/ overhead garage doors are worth your review.
We have never utilized out-swing or in-swing type doors on the custom homes shown in the photographs I have posted on the site.
The overhead style doors take the place of your old style door.
You will not need to have the front or rear of the door space clear for the swing type door to have shown.
I believe that to be a major advantage for interior space of the garage for in-swing doors and exterior snow for the exterior swing style. You will need to research and discuss with your builder the cost for the door and installation. Most doors offer the look and insulation values exceeding the old carriage house style door.

David - Thank you for your professional insight regarding garage doors. We're preparing to break ground and I'm in the process of determining exterior finishes. Primary is a Dryvit (Pebble Finish w/Pure Cream color) and a base of cream/w red undertones traditional sized brick. The home design is a neoclassical/french chateau influence and I like a dark wood stain/color for the front entry door and complimentary garage doors. Is there a metal door that offers the "look" of the dark wood door (w/benefits of low maintenance/durability/cost?). I'm looking for a discussion that will allow me to consider pros/cons between the 2 materials in choosing doors. Thanks for your thoughts.

name of the shingles

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The exterior siding of this project are red cedar R&R [re-sawn and re-butted], which means that each shingle has be shaped to fit well together leaving minimal gaps between each shingle. It also produces a smoother shingle, which is less likely to curve offering a straight bottom edge.

The shingles brand are MYBEX shingles, which have been "dipped" to cover all surfaces of the shingles. This again will reduce any curl, since the back of the shingle has been painted. The shingles come in a variety of colors. I no longer have the records for the color, however, either through your builder or lumber supplier, you should be able to obtain a brochure of their standard colors.

Once the shingles where installed on this project, we had the painters come back to apply a second coat of solid body stain. This allowed for any exposed edges that were cut, as well as covering the nails which fastened the shingles to the exterior sidewall.

David - Please keep us in mind for any future projects with overhead wood garage doors. Take a look at our website at www.woodgaragedoor.com. Thanks!