What are Carriage Garage Doors?

Garages make up a large percentage of a home’s appearance and have often been an overlooked element of a home’s design. Carriage garage doors are one of the fastest growing trends in current home design and many builders have chosen to incorporate them into their homes. In addition, many homeowners have chosen to improve the curb appeal of their homes by replacing their existing garage doors with carriage-style doors.

Before the advent of the automobile, horse-drawn carriages were often kept and stored in buildings known as carriage houses. As the era of the horse and buggy faded, people developed a sense of nostalgia and fondness for the carriage houses. Carriage garage doors are designed to replicate the classic and historic look and feel of the carriage house doors of the past; adding an element of elegance and class to a home’s design and appearance.

There are essentially two styles of carriage garage doors. The first are doors that not only emulate the appearance but also the function of the carriage house doors of old. Most historic carriage houses had two-side hinged doors that swung outward to open, or had double doors that slid open. The modern version of the carriage house door opens in a similar fashion. Many who choose to install this style of door select wood for authenticity.

The second and more common of the two styles of carriage garage doors is often described as carriage-style. Carriage-style doors replicate the look of vintage carriage house doors that open outward, while opening in the overhead style that is common in garage doors today. Many carriage-style doors are even manufactured with decorative doorknobs, handles, hinges and hardware on the front to complete the carriage house door look.

Although they are designed with a vintage look, carriage garage doors offer the technology that today’s home owners have come to expect. As with conventional garage doors, they are typically manufactured in steel, aluminum, wood, wood composite or fiberglass. They can be installed to open manually or with an automatic garage door opener. Carriage garage doors are available in a wide variety of designs that can match the architecture of most home styles and the budget of most consumers.