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by Rachel Lyon, Editorial Director for The House Designers®
Trying clothes on for size and test-driving a new car are part of the normal buying process, and you should be able to test out other investments, too. Shopping for your new home can be difficult, because bringing a selection of large, bulky things to the house to try on just isn’t realistic. Weighing options away from home used to be the only choice, but now you can virtually test out different looks by uploading a picture and designing products that will suit the house—using your computer or smartphone.
The Door Imagination System
The Door Imagination System from Clopay® Garage Doors is the perfect way to choose a stylish garage door that will enhance your home's curb appeal. Just upload a picture of the house you're working on that features the garage area and this easy-to-use tool lets you see it with the exact garage door configuration you are considering. Don’t like the overall picture? Begin anew! You can repeat the process until you find exactly what you want. Here’s how to use it.
Upload a Photo
The first step is to upload a photo of a house that clearly shows the garage area. Straight-on images work best. The tool will ask for information about the door size and shape—is it square? Arched? What size is the door?—so have this information handy. You will be prompted to select the visual area of your garage doors. Choose the right shape and then move the corners of the selector to highlight the door opening. Try to highlight just the opening and not the door frame, so you will get a better idea of how the new doors will actually sit on the garage.
Choose a New Door Style
Clopay® Garage Doors currently offers ten fantastic and diverse collections to sample in the Door Imagination System, each with so many panel, window, hardware, and color designs that you will be able to create a highly personalized final product. Hover over each of the collections to read a short description and see what style you think would look best on your home.
Do you like the elegant carriage house style? The COACHMAN® Collection would be a great place to start. Need a simple, modern look? Check out the MODERN STEEL™ Collection. Or would you prefer the look of stained wood to tie together a rustic exterior home design? Something from the CANYON RIDGE® Collection ULTRA-GRAIN® Series will suit you.
Make Design and Construction Choices
Here’s where the fun really starts! There are different designs available in every collection, and you can try out how they look.
Once you’ve settled on the design of your choice, you are prompted to make construction decisions, including insulation type and other build options like wood species or cladding and overlay combinations. You can also choose the paint or stain colors.
As a last step, you can finally choose how you want your top panels to look. Again, these options are based on your choice of collection and can include windows in all sorts of configurations, solid panels, and solid panels with different patterns.
Add the Finishing Touches
Finally, you can decide on the kind of hardware you’d like to see on your garage doors. This includes handles, step plates, and hinges. If you have a Craftsman-type house, this is a fantastic way to add some wrought details that will amplify your home’s visual interest. Whether rustic or classically elegant, your choice of hardware will tie together your design.
Make It Real
Once you’ve gone through every step of the Door Imagination System, you will get a summary of your doors’ exact specifications. With this information, it’s just a matter of finding your nearest Clopay® dealer to make your imagined doors a reality.