Got something on your property you’d like to make disappear? Mine was the door on the no-car garage, located right beside our new outdoor dining area. Prest-O Change-O, the fugly door is no more! Details and pictures:
How to Hide A Garage Door
The garage dates back to the time when our backyard was an asphalt parking lot. I dug up the asphalt in 2006, and planted a huge garden there. And I turned the garage into a much-needed potting shed.
Removing the garage door was not an option for me, because…expensive. Furthermore, I rather like the “Genie Automatic” system that opens and closes the door with the push of a button.
The solution? Rustic swing-out doors, hinged in front of the existing garage door! I asked John the Handyman to build the doors from tongue-and-groove pine. He did just that in a single afternoon.
I heaved a sigh of relief when John hung the doors.
Paint was merely the icing on the cake.
Here’s an inside view of one of the doors. Each door is strong and secure.
Black hard ware (hinges and latch) give the doors a pleasant “old world” look. And that’s a good thing, because the structure next to the garage was built c. 1795.
The latch is spring-loaded. To open the doors, you simply pull up the u-shaped lever with one finger.
To secure the doors against gale-force wind, John attached the above bolt to the door on the right. I call it a “pull-down bolt,” but I’m sure the gadget has an official name.
The electronic garage door can be rolled up or down even when the swing-out doors are closed. I opened them for the photo above, just to remind you that the four-window garage behind is fugly indeed.
Oh. I should probably mention that I have nothing against roll-up garage doors! I simply don’t like them when they serve as a focal point for an outside dining area. You might have a different opinion.
Now that the roll-up garage door is out of sight, our eyes can freely focus on the patio, the pergola, and some pretty Martha Washington geraniums. (We will paint the pergola white after the wood has dried for one season.)
Got an eyesore on your property that you’d like to address? Speak your mind in the comments field below!
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Patio Pergola Project, Part One
Afternoon Tea with Scones and Clotted Cream
Lynnie says
What a difference! Just in time for beautiful summer parties.
Rhinda says
Very clever! It’s a good idea to keep the Genie.
Joanne in Zone 6b says
Brilliant! Functional and much more attractive. May your new outdoor room bring you many happy evenings and provide you a lovely new setting for future videos and photos.
Sandra says
It looks nice, K. I love the black accents. Good job.
Eleanor Bullock says
What a wonderful video to showcase what you’ve done in this lovely house. You have made it a home again. Please share future videos of the house and gardens, as you can. Thanks.
Casey Cavasher says
Genius…!
Pam R says
I love it!! Well done!!
Bruce Kerr says
Brilliant!
Dianne says
Great idea! Simple, efficient, not too expensive and done quickly what more do you need!
Debby says
Wow! Your solution is wonderful. Looks much more in keeping with the style of your house.
Betsy says
Love, love, love the pergola and barn doors. Y’all are going to enjoy your new area. Have you sat and enjoyed a martini there, yet?
David Leinweber says
What an exceptional transformation in such a short amount of time….from pergola and bluestone and new doors!
Superb! (I need a handyman on call!)
Beverly J Treadway says
Love the carriage house doors. It fits right in with your home. Love the multi function, function. Have a lovely day.
Elaine says
How very cool! It just perfect ~ Enjoy!
And by the way, the scones were heavenly – thank you.
Carolyn Contois says
Perfect…so whats on this summer’s al fresco dining experience?
Itll have to be prettier than gazing at that new door….although. id be happy just sitting there and doing just that⚘
Anna Sharp says
Brilliant idea Kevin! It looks wonderful.
Xox
Anna
BETTI FLETCHER says
Great look. Question-where do you get Martha Washington geraniums? Was my mom’s favorite and I have looked for them over the years and cannot find them.
Kathy says
Nice… I liked the detailing of the inside of the doors better than the plainer outside. So I would have switched them. But, no matter. Now I want to know what you are going to do with the space at the edge of the stone where it meets the lawn. Refresh the lawn or low shrubs?? Or a low rectangular trough-like planter with some perennial color or even just summer color. I vote for some purple Nepeta or coleus would be interesting.
Sunni says
Whew! Nice cover up!! The Martha Washington’s look lovely – one of my favorites.
Edna V says
The doors complete your new look – very clever Kevin! I hope you will enjoy your patio all summer long!
Jean says
Great solution to a fuglu door problem! Love it!
Barbara says
Betti Fletcher – Select Seeds in Union, CT has Martha Washington geraniums
Devin Weaver says
You haven’t seen a real garage door if u think swingers are better lol! Head over to shank door co.
Carol says
It looks awesome now…where are the horses? Lol
Margaret Califano says
Great idea Kevin-it looks good!
Lori says
Ok, I’m jealous of those doors…such a perfect finish!
And my garden shed is mostly complete. I need to go get primer/sealer for the coral pink walls by my table….girly I know, but I have leftover paint from my daughters bedroom that I fell in love with. I decided to stay with the small window bc it had a 6” ledge. Not the case with the bigger window…and I have a small work area that’s holds 1970s carpeting but soon that will be covered. And I decided my ol d OSB board table tops can just be covered a spare piece of vinyl flooring….so it will look pretty, lol.
You know, I could make doors like that work for me, they’d just have to swing inward and latched so the wind doesn’t catch it and slam it into my car…..hmmm
Linda says
Great idea to hide ugly door!
Grandma Bev says
Very Nice Idea, well done
mlaiuppa says
Ah. You didn’t say you still needed access to the garage. Lovely solution. Turning the garage in to a potting shed is excellent, especially given how much gardening you do. I thought perhaps you had turned the inside into living space and so the doors never needed or perhaps couldn’t open. That happens quite a bit here. Hides the fact the space was converted from city inspectors. The neighbors have tried to do that twice. I think the current owners may have succeeded after having been caught already once.
I bought planters just like those for my Mother’s geraniums when she and my Dad were on a cruise. I was sprucing up their backyard. We can see them from the living room couch when we watch TV.
SueEllen says
Wow! That transformation is Amazing!
You are blessed to have John the Handyman, in fact,
I would call him a Master Carpenter!
It looks wonderful 😀
Vicki Kroll says
What a great idea and love the way it turned out. So clever!
Debra says
Kevin, That was a really good idea. Thank you for sharing. Gives me some ideas!
Honeybee says
Fugly. My word of the day. Had to look it up. I agree the garage door is fugly.
Mari Gardner says
I laughed as I read your opening question. The answer that came to my mind instantly was, “Yes, the encroaching, trespassing, thieving, harassing “neighbor” that is hell bent to steal square footage of my property by means of intentional bullying and aggressive “just taking” what he knows not to be his!
I could never have imagined that a felon squatter that took access of an adjacent property (with a storage unit masonry building that had been used for cadavers in the 1930’s-’70’s). My peace of mind, shattered, my horticultural efforts of 17 years, destroyed in the back yard that I, and others, had referred to as an oasis, with a living gazebo of vines and ivies he destroyed whilst I was away, in an hour’s time, complete devastation; his only rationale- he wanted “room ON MY PROPERTY so he can maintain the back of his building. It’s a boundary wall meaning that wall was/is “my side of the fence” that he destroyed, upon my legally described and warranted, paid-for since 2006; .09 acre and 1932 cottage in a small town.
It actually takes hard cold cash for counsel with an attorney to remove a nuisance trespasser off your own property. I am in Washington State, USA. Good luck to get a result from a judgment for the terrorizing and property damages. Attorneys can see clearly if a case is worth their time and expertise.
Sorry, I am grieving.
I happened upon your lovely blog following your Buxus boxwood hedge chronical and classical garden success. Gorgeous, also the pergola, oh, and the pizza, too!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Mari – Talk about the neighbor from hell. I hope you find the legal means to stop his destructive acts. You have my deepest sympathy!