Here’s the thing…we live in a suburban neighborhood. And I love it. Someday would it be nice to live on more land? Maybe. But for now, with a young one, this is great for us.
But just like the inside, I try to do little things to the outside to change up the appearance a bit, so it doesn’t look just like everybody else’s house on the street. OK, there are no houses that look just like ours on our street, but you get what I’m laying down.
I like a little detail, a little somethin’. And I found it while browsing Home Depot a few

Boring. Really, it’s fine – it’s been boring for nine years and I haven’t cared. But over the past year or so I’ve been wanting to spruce it up a bit.
Anyhoo, this is what I found for only $10 -- I snatched it up!:

I love the look of craftsman/carriage door hardware – LOVE. I’ve been thinking of adding this type of hardware for a long time. It helps that this totally works with the exterior of our house too. It’s very much a cottage-type look and I knew this would look great! You can get a set online for as little as $25 (see below for links) but that’s the lowest I’ve seen a one till now -- $10 was a steal!
At first I was going to tape them up to see how I liked them, but the tape wasn’t holding, so I just said WHAT THE HECK and drilled them in. That was stressful.
I mean, holes in the garage door people! That stresses. me. out. And while I was installing them my assistant, AKA, the kiddo, kept laughing and calling them mustaches on the garage.
?? Mustaches?
They are really decent quality – heavy metal and I liked that the screws even came with black ends to match:

I added the handles in the middle and was still stressing about drilling and then the Bub said the garage door now had mustaches and a nose. Still don’t get the mustaches. Still not funny while Mama was sweating.
I stood back and looked and I REALLY loved it!!:

WHY does our driveway look blue? It’s not blue.
Now for a real craftsman/carriage door look we need the windows across the top. I’ve seen that you can do that yourself with paint or purchase some vinyl – when they’re done they really look like real windows. We’re not that far away from the street though, so I don’t know if it would just look fake. I may try cutting some black vinyl just to see how it looks.
For now I’m quite happy with the little change. It’s not something you’d notice driving by, but you’d notice something was a little different, you know?:

I love the new garage door mustaches and nose! I think they’re adorable!
I love a simple and inexpensive little change! Have you tried changing up something on your garage door? Added hardware or painted it? Anyone tried those faux windows? Do tell!
Edited to add: Years later these have held up beautifully! Not one bit of rust.
You can also use magnetic sets -- this one is affordable and would be easy to add with no commitment.
Here is a set similar to ours that you drill in.
Affiliate links included for your convenience!
We did this on our house for the same reason and love it! We found a magnetic kit online!!!!!!!!!!!!! No drilling. It was amazing.
ReplyDeleteThat's brilliant!!
DeleteI love your new garage door hardware! I would love to add some hardware, too, but I am WAY TOO AFRAID to drill holes in my home's garage doors! -- Lauren at MomHomeGuide
ReplyDeleteI bought the same thing for my door three months ago! It's still in the packaging sitting in the garage. :( Thanks for lighting a fire under me - so I can light a fire under my husband to do it.. haha!
ReplyDeleteit looks great!! FYI--they sell magnetic ones on ebay if you have a metal garage door. And I think $25 or so.
ReplyDeleteWow! What a difference that makes. Looks great!
ReplyDeleteI quite literally just did the same thing a couple months ago! Same exact package! We love it! http://hfamilyhappenings.blogspot.com/2013/04/get-carriage-garage-door-look.html
ReplyDeleteLooks awesome!
ReplyDeleteLooks great! What about adding some house numbers on the white space above the garage door? That might add a little somethin, somethin too!
ReplyDeleteI've had an idea in mind for that space for years...just need to do it! :)
DeleteI love it. It's the simple things that can really add the most impact. My neighbor did it all, added the harware and oainted the faux windows, and his house sits close to the street. You can't even tell, i stared and stared, trying to decide if they were real or not.
ReplyDeleteLove the look! I've been contemplating doing something similar to our 1 car garage, now I might just have to. :)
ReplyDeleteAs for the comment on your "blue" cement: have you tried changing your white balance on your camera? Just a thought, I know many of my colors have been off in my pics at times and it's been the white balance.
I think it happened when I edited my pics. ;)
DeleteLooks nice! our neighbor just did this to his garage door too.
ReplyDeleteOne request...can you post a picture from the same vantage point as your first (non-mustached) picture? I get a better perspective when seeing actual before/after from the same view instead of another angle.
I wish I had one, sorry!
DeleteIt's a really nice touch, in fact I really like it. Do others on your same street have gussied up garage doors too or are most of them simply plain jane garage doors? Maybe you will start a new trend?
ReplyDeleteLooks great! I really like the change it made! We have a separate garage that needs some love...
ReplyDeleteNot to be a negative nelly - but would the "windows" work since your garage door has inset panels all across the top? I feel like that might be weird? Or maybe I am picturing it wrong!
I really like that! It's amazing what a few little details will do towards making your house feel more like your own! I love the brickwork around your garage door, too... that gentle arch is lovely!
ReplyDeleteOur garage door is standard-issue poo brown. It's horrible. I need to read back through the covenants, but I've noticed some people down the street have a deep purple garage door, and some others a turquoise one, so I'm thinking about just painting it some fun color and if the HOA screams I will point out the others in the neighborhood.
It's only paint. Easy to change back if HOA gets on you.
DeleteDo it!! :)
DeleteI love that you added the hardware to your garage door. We did this to our as well and it really does make all the difference. I love detail!
ReplyDeletehttp://basicallybrandy.blogspot.com/
I love the look of this. There is a new subdivision down the road from us and 90% of the houses going up have craftsman garage doors. It looks so smart! If we ever get a garage one day, I definitely want to do this!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I must say I stumbled upon your blog last week, and love, love, love it. Thank You!! Secondly, we put these on our garage about 2 weeks ago, and wow what a difference. We have not put up the windows, only because I have to save some $, as they quite a bit more pricey than just $10. I've heard good things about them. Looks Great! Thanks again for your lovely blog. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much April!!
DeleteDetails make the difference! Looks great!
ReplyDeleteIt looks so good! I love these kits. I've been meaning to do this for so long, but I've been procrastinating also.
ReplyDeleteBeen wanting to do this for some time now. Thinking this is the shove I needed.
ReplyDeleteThanks :-)
Hugs, Gee
I have been wanting to do this too! I have a 3-car garage. Would you have done both doors if you had a three-car? Just curious........thx
ReplyDeleteI love, love, love it. How fabulous. I don't quite see the mustache, but I will go along with it. Looks fabulous. Hugs, Marty
ReplyDeleteIt looks fabulous. I just wanted you to know that last night my son went to a concert at his girlfriend's high school. Listed in the program was a performance called "American Barndance" by Richard L. Saucedo from a festival of bands in Indiana. I think this is your hubby? Am I right? I remember reading somewhere that is your last name. So cool...
ReplyDeleteOh....I bought the same kit last summer, and then let it sit there. In February, I decided I wanted two kits (I have a double door like yours), so I bought another one. And now they both sit! I was scared one kit would look a little sparse on the big door, but I like the way yours looks! I AM putting mine on THIS weekend!!
ReplyDeleteI bought a couple of kits myself. Man it is very stressful drilling those holes. :) I did mine while my husband was out of town, so I didn't have double stress....LOL I blogged about my installation as well. Think it sure takes a garage door from dull to awesome. Thanks for sharing your installation...sounds like we both stressed about the same. :)
ReplyDeleteLove that idea! Our neighbors just had their garage door painted to look like a gorgeous wooden garage door. Looks amazing! I could totally see that working for your door with the brick, etc.
ReplyDeleteDo tell where your $10 bargain was found?!
ReplyDeleteWell, I am SO GLAD I crawled out of the rock I've been living under to learn about this awesome trick!! I had no idea this even existed!! I will be at Home Depot first thing tomorrow to look for these!!!
ReplyDeleteI love this! There is a house in the hood being flipped right now (they are trying to sell it for a hundred grand more than they bought I for. . . pssshaw) , and one day I jogged past and bam they painted the garage to look like wood and put "mustaches" (hee) on it and it's like a whole new house!! That looks so great!
ReplyDeleteIt looks grate!!!!! Can you tell me where you found them online? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI've wanted to add those to our garage since I saw them in Home Depot months ago.
ReplyDeleteHubby said he thought it would look too fake.
Well, you've convinced me! I just ordered a magnetic kit for under $25. If the hubs still thinks it looks fake it will be easy to remove.
It's such a big impact for $10. Great idea. ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm all about small changes big impact!!
ReplyDeleteMy first post on your blog and really it is just to say thanks for your Nice Post And Shairing
ReplyDeleteYou always pick such interesting i visit your blog regularly for updates!
Loved your description of it.
Thank you for picking this one.
http://mp4mobilevidios.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteOh they look good on your door, good job
I have the same thing, lying in the garage for weeks now, ready to go on, I also got mine for $10 at HD! Yours looks great!
ReplyDeleteI have the same thing, lying in the garage for weeks now, ready to go on, I also got mine for $10 at HD! Yours looks great!
ReplyDeleteWe just did this few months ago! I love it!
ReplyDeleteI love the look!! It really added a great touch!!
ReplyDeleteI love how this came out! I have been thinking of doing this and adding molding to my garage door for years, absolutely love how yours looks!
ReplyDeleteI just saw these at HD and they will be going on our new home (when we find it)! I love how they changed the look of your garage door.
ReplyDeletexx,
Sherry
We did the same hardware and faux windows. Ours were coach house accents simulated garage door windows that I bought on amazon. We did it on a 3 car garage. It is amazing how real they look. All my neighbors thought I had new doors. My husband installed them and it was really easy. We have laughed because they are so realistic that he has tried to look in a couple of times then realizes what he is doing!
ReplyDeleteOur carriage door was the best part of the house we sold last year. I couldn't deal with a plain door, so I ordered magnetic "hardware" like yours online. It helps a lot!
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ReplyDeleteI love, love, love this! I have been wanting to do it and happened to see this exact same kit at my home depot, except it was on sale!!! I snagged it for under $4 with tax! I plan to install them with the hubs this weekend. The company that makes this hardware also has faux windows you can install. They are $100 per two windows, so I'm planning to install those when I get the extra cash! Love your home and blog!
ReplyDelete