Customizing Garage Doors with Windows and Hardware

Posted by Brenda Mendez on August 11, 2015

When your home needs a big burst of curb appeal on a little budget, there’s one surface that can act like a giant blank canvas: your garage door. It’s amazing how much a little hardware and some windows can transform an otherwise bland surface into a door that tells the story of your home and its unique architecture.

Customizing Garage Doors with Windows & Hardware

Choose Windows to Let the Sun Shine In

If you’re considering a new garage door, don’t skimp on the extras. The few dollars you spend on upgrading to a model with windows can pay dividends in curb appeal when you resell your home. After all, a solid door will do the job, but the windows and their style can give your home a personal touch.

Matching your garage door windows to the windows on your home can help tie the whole structure together, creating a sense of completeness for anyone driving by. When your garage door gives someone a reason to look at it, those windows and details may even create a sense that your home is bigger than it actually is.

There are two main types of windows in garage doors: the real kind and simulations. Simulated windows can be added to almost any type of garage doors, but in certain lighting it may become obvious that they’re fake. However, if your garage door faces the west or is in an area with no trees and very bright sunlight, simulated garage door windows may be the best option for maintaining the energy efficiency of your home. Real windows let in light, which can heat up your garage and makes it hard to cool the rooms attached to it.

The Devil’s in the Details

Adding windows to a garage door can really make it stand out and ties your garage more tightly to the rest of your home, but you can complete the stylistic illusion by installing garage door hardware. This type of hardware is rarely functional, instead it’s used to give the impression that the door opens in a different way than a standard garage door or it reaches back to long ago garage styles that make sense with older homes.

These are the most common options for garage door hardware, but many others may be available depending on your hardware supplier:

It may be one of the biggest and most overlooked vertical space on your home, but if you let it your garage door can say a lot about who you are and what type of home you own. Choosing the right custom windows and hardware will turn your average door into a traffic stopper.

Why You Want a Garage Door with Windows

Garage doors are an overlooked part of a home, but when it comes time to purchase a new one, there are actually many different aspects to consider. Garage doors contribute greatly to a home’s curb appeal, and this is something many homeowners don’t consider this until their current door is worn, stained from constant use, or broken.

When selecting a new garage door, the option of having one with windows will be a prominent decision you’ll have to make. Keeping in mind that a garage door is essentially the “face” of your garage and a piece to compliment the rest of your home, it’s crucial to weigh all of the aesthetic options of your new door’s design.

Let in the Light

Garages are almost always dingy and gloomy, but they don’t have to be. When garages became more than a shelter to cars and extra storage and moved to operating as a workshop or project center, their design shifted to being more accommodating and welcoming. Garages that feel like another room to the house have plenty of natural light, in which the windows on the garage door contribute to.

In some cases, having windows on the garage itself isn’t an option, or for many garages, just isn’t enough natural light. A simple fix is including garage door windows to lighten up this space, allowing the natural light to flood the garage, going from dimly lit to sunny and bright.

A Better Blend

Have you always wanted your garage to not look like a garage but rather a seamless addition to your home? Windows on your garage door, while seemingly a minute detail, greatly adds to blending your garage in with your main house. Beveling on your garage door panels combined with beautifully designed windows can make your garage look like another room inside of your home.

Due to the endless customization options of garage doors, you can plan for your windowed door to have a cohesive, matching design to the rest of your house. No longer will your garage stick out like a sore thumb next to your house or suffer from mismatch designs on the garage door itself.

Windows also contribute to your curb appeal and resell value of your home, making your home a neighborhood commodity that potential buyers just can’t resist.

Curb Appeal at Its Best

The door is the face of your garage and it’s something people immediately notice when passing by your home if you have a street-facing garage. Adding windows can boost your curb appeal immensely, and with windows installed in your garage door, people associate this with the garage being a workable space with plenty of natural light, instead of the usual dark and musky garage.

The overall appeal of your home will help increase its value, a key factor if you ever go to sell your home. You want your home to look its best, and even for passersby who can spread the word around town to potential buyers.

Resell Value

Potential homeowners are in search of a few essential aspects of a home, and while each possible buyer may have varying points that they want their future home to include, most of them are after the same thing. A garage is definitely on the top of the list, but not just any garage.

Buyers are looking for a garage to be an extra room to the house for workshop purposes, clean and dry storage areas, and maybe even a garage that can be used as another living space. Windows on your garage door are a small piece of this puzzle to help sell the garage you currently have.

A garage adds to the resell value of your home, and by adding a new garage door with windows that let in the natural light and make the garage feel more homey, you can contribute to the high number of resell.

Does Not Minimize Security

You may be concerned that the addition of windows to a garage door could reduce the security of your home, thinking of how intruders could break a window and find their way inside. Manufacturers are one step ahead on this problem and have created the glass for the garage doors to be difficult to break due to its thickness.

A garage door with windows is no different than one without. The windows can also be placed at the top of the door and made to be a smaller size, just big enough to allow sunlight to filter in but too small for any one person to break through.

Now, you can have the best of both—the aesthetics and natural light of garage door windows without sacrificing the security of your home.

A Tailored Design

Looking for a custom design to give your garage door some flare? Look no further than the window addition to a garage door. Windows installed in a garage door can be customized to any shape or size you see fit. From oval shaped to squares, half circles, window shapes to match the rest of your home, or whatever you so choose, and the best part is that it isn’t an expensive option to manufacture.

In fact, many doors can be tailored to your own design, or there is a high chance that there’s a prefabricated garage door with the windows you want. Ultimately, there is not a huge price difference between a garage door with windows and a door without.

Privacy Isn’t Sacrificed

A deterring reason why homeowners skip getting a garage door with windows is because of privacy. Homeowners may feel as if anyone and everyone can glance into their garage because of the windows and see what they are doing at all times.

However, many garage doors have the windows located on the top portion of the door, so unless someone passing your home is very tall, this really isn’t a problem! Reconsider this fact when weighing your options on which garage door is right for you—don’t let this particular issue change your mind as you can customize your door for your privacy needs while enjoying the aesthetics of a door with windows.

Go the Windowed Route

If you’re in need of a garage door, there will be many different brands of automatic door opening systems, colors, styles, and materials to choose from, but know that one thing is for sure: there are too many benefits of a windowed garage door to not consider this option.

A garage door with windows may cost a little more than a door without windows, but think about how much letting in the natural light of the outdoors will completely transform your garage from musky and dark to bright and livable.

For better curb appeal, upping your resell value, and to let in that natural light, adding windows on your garage doors can do this and more. You don’t have to sacrifice privacy with windows installed on the top half of the door itself, and with the many of the windows manufactured these days having a thick, polypropylene design, security isn’t a problem and energy efficiency is maintained with airtight seals.

Garage Doors with Windows Made by Feldco

Are you tired of your old garage door? Garage doors undergo wear and tear, they get damaged and you’re left with a sagging door that will cost you lots of money in energy costs. At Feldco, we offer nothing but the best quality garage-style doors that come with energy efficient windows. Now is the time to increase your home’s curb appeal by replacing your garage door with durable doors that will offer both great functionality and beauty. Speak to a product specialist and get a free quote today.

25 Beautiful Garage Door Styles with Windows

Thinking about updating your garage doors?

The garage door is one of the first things people notice about a property, so it has a pretty big impact on the overall curb appeal of your home. If your garage doors haven’t been updated in ten to twenty years, there’s a good chance people will notice.

There’s a wide range of garage door styles available, but we thought we’d take a moment to focus on a popular request we hear from people in the area …

Today, we’re taking a closer look at 25 beautiful garage door styles with windows.

Let’s get started!

Garage Door Styles with Windows

If you’ve ever seen a garage door with windows, you know how much more aesthetically pleasing it is to the eye.

Adding windows the design adds dimension and visual appeal to your garage door, which enhances the overall look of your home or office. The windows are positioned near the top of the garage and often come in a variety of different visibility levels, so you don’t have to worry about people looking through the windows into your garage.

There is a wide range of garage door styles available, so we’ve put together a list outlining the differences. There a few general types of garage doors that can be varied in terms of color, panel arrangement, and window shape.

If you’re not sure what style you want, you might want to take a look at our collection of garage doors first.

1. Raised-panel doors: These are more traditional and typical; they usually have some pattern of raised panels, typically rectangles of varying lengths. Windows can be added at the top in a variety of styles and shapes. This is a very common garage door style.
2. Carriage house: These garage doors that look like barn doors or carriage house doors, hence the name. They usually have a set of square or rectangle windows at the top, with white/earth tone outline contrasts to make them look authentically like a barn door.
3. Contemporary: This is a rather modern look that works best with modern homes. A mix of metal, glass, and symmetrical framework makes these look modern and non-traditional.

Window Shapes

Regardless of the style of your home or what shapes you’re looking to match with the rest of your windows, there is a garage door window style out there that will work beautifully with your home. Many companies have different names for different styles of windows, but they can be described generally by their shape and design, as well. Some styles are:

4. Square pattern: Square patterns are common and simple. These will have a series of squares in groups of two or four along the top of the door.
5. Rectangle pattern: Similar to the square pattern, these will be in groups of two or four but there will be larger pieces of glass involved as the rectangle shape will take up more room.
6. Arc window (double): Many garage door window patterns are repeated next to each other so if you were to cut the door in half, they would be symmetrical. This is the case with arc patterns. The bottom half of the glass will be squared off, but the top will slope down and out, which is especially nice for garage door frames that aren’t perfectly straight but rather sloped or arched.
7. Arc window (single): Single arc windows will spread across the entire top of the doorway; whereas the double arc will repeat on the top of both sides of the door.
8. Repeating squares: The following three are different from #4 and #5 in that they are usually a bit closer together and are repeated more in terms of the entire garage door style.
9. Repeating arc windows
10. Repeating rectangle
11. Sunrise window pattern: These are particularly unique patterns in that they do literally look like a sun rising; the glass fills in what looks like space between the sun rays. Sometimes there will be what looks like two “suns” on the top of both sides of the door.
12. Sunrise full window pattern: In other cases, the “sun” pattern will take up the entire length of the top of the door; this is a particularly unique pattern that is quite popular.
13. Diamond pattern: Diamond patterns often have diamond shapes embedded into rectangular pieces of glass.
14. Cathedral style window: Cathedral styles are a bit fancier than the typical arc pattern, having accents on either edge of the arc.
15. Window panel: This design looks like a paneled window, with a rectangular piece of glass with perpendicular lines for effect.
16. Long rectangle: A long rectangle will be either one or two sections of rectangular glass at the top of the door.
17. Full window arc: Just like the arc window discussed above, this arc will take up the entire top of the garage door in one arc.

Glass Tints

Some glass tint styles are:

18. Clear: Clear glass is, obviously, totally see through. This is a frequent choice especially if the window style you choose is small and subtle.
19. Frosted: With frosted glass, you won’t be able to see inside or outside. This is a plus for privacy–if that is a concern–and it can also add a unique shade to your garage door.
20. Antique: This is a pattern in the glass that mimics antique glass; sometimes it will have subtle lines or imperfections that make it difficult to see through, adding a layer of privacy.
21. Bronze Tint: With bronze tint, your glass will have a subtle brown-orange look to it.
22. Gray Tint: With a gray tint, your glass will slightly resemble a pair of sunglasses; this will also slightly impair visibility inside the garage.
23. Soft: With soft-tinted glass, visibility will be impaired but not totally obstructed.
24. Pebbled: Pebbled glass has small round bubbles or imperfections within it that inhibit one from seeing straight through the glass. It’s also a unique look.
25. Insulated: Insulated glass can help better regulate the temperature in your garage. If you work in your garage year-round, this may be a consideration as it will help keep the garage at a decent temperature even in extreme weather.

Conclusion

Clearly, there are dozens of variations of garage doors for homeowners to choose from. Different window styles can be paired with varying tints and door styles to create a truly unique look for your home. Consider the shapes and angles present in the architectural design of your home when selecting a door style, and you’ll be sure to find an excellent door choice that will stand out while improving the visual appeal of your home in general.