Identifying Two Unique Garage Door Styles
Modern vs. Contemporary styles don’t need to be head to head when the latter is still shaping a distinct identity. What exactly is a modern style garage door versus a contemporary style garage door anyway?
‘Modern’ and ‘Contemporary’ are often used interchangeably due to their overlapping similarities. However, the main distinction between a modern and a contemporary style garage door is how they define a space. When you partner with DC Garage Door & Services, we install both commercial and residential applications. Let us know your garage door goals, and if modern or contemporary doors are part of your exterior-enhancing dreams!
Should I Choose A Contemporary Style Garage Door Over a Modern Styled One?
It’s not about whether you should choose one garage door style over the other. Your style can be a combination of two or more styles. It’s difficult to discuss modern and contemporary styles without mentioning their respective history. Every garage door style has sprouted from somewhere!
Modern Style Garage Doors
Modernism took hold of the world’s attention in the 1800s after the ornate Victorian and embellishment era. Growing cities and the industrial boom sprouted the desire for simplified forms and reinforced materials like concrete, metal, and glass. Given cost-effective materials, architects could create large windows, flat roofs, and even add a pop of color if they so desired.
Modern style garage doors reflect how architects revolutionized their focus on function instead of appearance. Scan for modern styles on the outside of people’s homes and throughout their interior design for clean lines, minimal decorations or accessories, and cloudy whites, greys, or charcoal hues. Constantly being updated, the modern style can take on many renditions for your home.
Modern Style Highlights
- Sleek
- Alternative window placement
- Emulate a blank slate
- Pop of primary colors
Contemporary Style Garage Doors
Contemporary style garage doors are the most present, dynamic out of the garage door styles available. While contemporary doors are most synonymous with describing modern style garage doors, there is a slight distinction of modern versus contemporary garage doors. Some noteworthy influences for contemporary design are the digital revolution, information age, environmentalism, and globalization.
While postmodernism was still at peak during the 1970s, contemporary style began to take shape. Spotting a contemporary design can be tricky as it borrows from many other styles. Following modernism and its deeply rooted emphasis on “less is more”, the contemporary style is also purely functional, and constantly evolving.
Contemporary style garage doors emulate industrial and workshop aesthetics. Exposed structures of materials like metal accents typically define contemporary garage doors. Think of large overhead doors featured in breweries, restaurants, fire stations, showrooms, or high-end homes– contemporary style doors are everywhere!
Contemporary Style Highlights
- Exposed materials
- Purely functional
- New neutral
- Workshop aesthetics
Modern Vs. Contemporary and Their Synonymous Details
First there was modern style, then came contemporary design. The latter is still forming an identity at present, but in time, we will be able to look back on contemporary design as a style of a certain age.
You may have found that there are many similarities that modern and contemporary garage doors share:
- Historically emphasizes industrial materials
- Clean lines
- Minimalism
- Innovative materials
- Functional design
- Available in mostly neutral colors
Modern Vs. Contemporary– Maybe A Little Bit Of Both?
Clean lines and functional features characterize both a modern and contemporary garage door. A full-view glass garage door, for instance, is widely considered a modern style garage door. However, specific characteristics about contemporary style detailed earlier would perfectly describe the expansive glass panels reinforced by charcoal-colored aluminum on a full-view glass garage door.
Per definition of modernism’s guiding philosophy, “form follows function”, modern style elements often overlap with contemporary style. As with interior design, it’s perfectly fine to blend your favorite qualities of modern and contemporary style for your garage door.
For planning what your garage door installation is going to look like, many people decide to match the exterior style of their home that cohesively blends and boosts curb appeal. Others decidedly want their garage door to stand out, and choose a bold primary color to pop against a world of earth tone neutrals. The choice is yours to make!
Consult With DC Garage Door & Services, Inc For Your New Garage Door!
Evolving style trends can make garage door shopping both exciting and overwhelming. If you’re deciding on a modern vs. contemporary garage door for your home or business, our design experts have options! The industry’s leading brands have many examples of modern and contemporary style garage doors, including CHI, Clopay, Amarr, and Wayne Dalton. Read more information about the brands we work with from our previous blog post and on our Residential Garage Door Products page.