The color brown gets such a bad rap. Sometimes considered dull and unimaginative, it must be remembered that brown is a warm tone, full of calm sensibility, simplicity, and depth. Some may call it grounded, some may call it practical (it hides the dirt!), and some may call it the prettiest of the neutrals. We found five garage doors that call it all of these things, and they also call it beautiful.
Brown Garage Doors: 50 Shades of Taupe
Brown's real superpower is in its ability to embolden and empower the colors around it. This traditional ranch home is nestled in lush landscaping, and its several shades of brown, framed with a creamy white, layer on top of each other, giving depth to the home's exterior. It creates a soft canvas where the greens and reds of the garden make a bold brushstroke.
Brown Garage Doors: Wood is the Way
When your exterior is already two different wood tones (board and batten as well as cedar shingles), why not keep the wood look going? The way these homeowners make it work is by using a very deep shade of brown; dark enough to provide contrast, yet light and warm enough to pull from its surrounding palette and still provide enough texture to pull out the barn door features. In this way, the brown garage doors play up their lighter counterparts without drawing too much attention to themselves.
Brown Garage Doors: Retro Gets a Redo
This is where Plain Jane meets G.I. Jane--the perfect combination of simple, tough, and beautiful. These garage doors don't need be fancy; in fact the fact that they are completely devoid of detail is what draws your eye to them. Brown garage doors are perfect for this house, which makes such generous use of windows and lighting. These doors also play up their shape more than anything else; see how the square is replicated throughout the entire home's design? Masterful.
Brown Garage Doors: A Contemporary Twist
Similar to its mid-century counterpart above, this contemporary home is full of right angles, windows, and well-placed exterior lighting. The reason we chose this brown garage door as an example is because while it is meant to be the grounded focal point of the home. In most houses, the garage takes up about 30% of a home's exterior. In this one, because of its many windows and textures and lack of visible roof, the garage is the largest canvas on the home. You could say this brown garage door one really drives style home.
Brown Garage Doors: And Now For Something a Little Lighter
With so many different shades and hues and textures available in brown garage doors, it's hard to scratch the surface of all that are available. Our last garage on the list is one that hitches its color ride from the gutters and roof. This particular brown--we'll call it a sandy taupe--is significantly cooler in tone than the browns we typically see, and it's a good thing in this case. Any warmer and it would compete too much with the beautiful, natural lumber in the portico. Instead, it does its job looking great with natural highlights.
