I have read that a simple door upgrade can give your garage a whole new personality and that is what our garage really needs – a new personality (among other things)!

Our garage needs an intervention!

The following companies offer vintage inspired garage doors, although costly (think investment). But, how can you place a price on a whole new personality? Just kidding…

Amarr Garage Doors (Carriage House Doors)

General American Garage Door Co. (Presidential Series)

Overhead Door Corp. (Ranch House Collection)

Raynor (American Rivers Collection)

Wayne-Dalton Corp. (Wood Doors)

A project looming way in the future, but a project none the less, is our garage. The original owner of our house, John L. Welsh, built a private garage with a dirt floor and a paper roof in 1919. That building is no longer standing.

A newer, larger garage was built a few years ago. The garage takes up most of the backyard. The cement lawn probably makes our garage appear even larger and uglier. Yards in Los Angeles tend to be small and filling in the backyard with cement is actually a fairly popular thing to do.

People often use the space for an outdoor patio. The previous owners of this house used the cement lawn to park their cars on. Growing up in the Midwest where green lawns covered acres and mowing took half a day, I find the cement lawns appallingly ugly.

I’ll post some pictures of our ugly garage and cement lawn soon. In the mean time, here are some garage photos and illustrations that we are using for inspiration.