1. Castle-Style RusticNothing says “This is my castle” like stone walls and heavy wooden entry doors. If you’ve chosen a pair of rustic wooden garage doors for your stone-sided home, add a touch of ancient authenticity to the garage doors with hardware that’s bold, simple, and substantial. Use hammered-iron–style hinges and hefty double-door handles. Choose a black iron or burnished finish that looks like it’s rusted for a thoroughly battle-ready garage door. Modern garage door materials are coated to last, so the rust look is only superficial and the black-iron finish is relatively care-free. Castle-style garage-door hardware looks great on stucco, adobe, and lodge-style buildings. Arched garage doors are also enhanced by the beefy, timeless appeal of ancient-style hardware fit for the royal keep.

2. Modern and Industrial

Architectural trends come and go, but contemporary building design is here to stay. The minimalist, mid-century, and spare European styles are appealing to many people. If you’re one of those people, you may have chosen a sleek Asian-style garage door with orderly rows of opaque windows. Perhaps you’ve chosen a sleek wooden garage door with four beautifully finished teak panels and no windows. Embrace the simplicity in your modern garage door with hardware that reflects your love for clean lines and unadorned functionality. Modern garage-door hardware is available in polished metal or flat back finishes. Handles and hinges are made to look sleek and mechanically precise. Handles and hinges in contemporary styles offer plain, geometrically pleasing shapes that enhance rather than detract from a lovely modern garage door.

3. Colonial and Historic

For the traditional, cottage-style, or brick home, add a touch of grace to your simple garage door by having your garage-door installer add some historic or vintage hardware pieces to the door’s face. Many of the decorative garage-door hardware pieces are just for show, but they add personality and elegance to a simple door design. Choose elegant decorative hinges for either side of a wide door. The look of the hinges makes a plain garage door seem like a custom-made entryway. Add two matching handles in the very middle of the garage door, and you can make a single garage door look like double doors. Adding faux hinges and handles won’t work with all designs. However, it is one way homeowners are creating a bespoke double-door look with a single garage door. Historical hardware pieces run the gamut from Colonial to French Quarter to Italianate looks. You can have your garage-door professional install two ring pulls held by lions’ heads or a set of Tuscan hinges that would be at home on a sun-kissed vineyard.

4. Handmade

When you want a one-of-a-kind garage door, artist-made hardware can make that happen. First, choose the metal wisely when you add specialty hardware to your garage door. Not all materials can withstand the corrosion faced by metals on a garage door. The three styles of decorative pieces listed above are intended for outdoor use on garage doors. They’re usually painted or coated to resist rusting and pitting. Some metal artists create hardware for applications like garage doors, but you must specify that the artist use metals and sealing methods that will help the pieces resist corrosion. Metals that resist corrosion well for outdoor applications include:

• Copper
• Brass
• Galvanized steel

Copper will develop a green patina or may be maintained to keep its copper glow. Brass is an extremely durable mix of copper and zinc. (Zinc is considered a sacrificial metal, since it will protect steel and other metals from corroding.) Brass darkens over time but doesn’t rust or pit, so it’s a great choice for handmade hardware. Most of Pennsylvania endures high morning humidity with average humidity over 50 percent. If your garage door is exposed to snow, rain, and humid air, the hardware will corrode if made of uncoated steel, aluminum, or another unprotected alloy. Stainless steel is a good garage-door-hardware option if you want shinier hardware, since it’s coated with chromium oxide. However, you’ll need to clean the stainless steel pieces often to maintain the finish on your garage-door fixtures. Handmade garage-door hardware can be made with intricate Celtic or Middle Eastern motifs. Floral, animal, and other custom designs can be engraved in the metal pieces to make your garage door look like a work of art. Handmade faux nails and fasteners are also a fun touch that make your garage door look extra fortified. Choose round, square, and other shapes of stud heads that attach to the garage door. The studs give your garage door a hand-hewn, legendary look that complements many styles of homes. Contact Shank Door to schedule installation of your brand new garage door and custom hardware accessories. We install and upgrade garage doors for property owners throughout the York, Redding, Lancaster, Lebanon, and Harrisburg areas.

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