4 Ways to Create Cohesion in a Home’s Exterior

Cohesion. It’s one of the most important parts of exterior home design. How do you take all the elements of a home’s exterior — it’s garage and entry doors, windows, gates, etc.— and combine them to make one cohesive facade that matches the architectural style of a home and the period it was designed to fit into? This task can be achieved when working with custom design elements and a company that specializes in custom built doors, shutters, gates and more. 

Before you begin designing a home, create cohesion in its facade by: 

Matching Millwork, Inlays and Cutouts

The designs on your garage and entry doors, from the millwork to the patterns on the doors themselves, will be the primary focal point for anyone viewing the house. Nothing will be more jarring than seeing a custom entry door and custom garage doors that look like they were designed and built in two completely different eras.  

Find a consistent design pattern and apply it everything from the doors to the entry gate and shutters. 

Color = Cohesion

While many different colors complement one another, its best to apply the same color of paint or stain to the doors, shutters and gate. The idea is that all these features should match while providing a commentary of healthy contrast to the other colors present on the home (siding, roofing, etc.). If you create a garage and entry door and shutters with all different colors — even if they complement one another — the overall mixture of colors on the home will likely be too broad. This can make a home look sloppy and chaotic, rather than creating the architectural harmony you are going for. 

Don’t Forget the Windows

The windows on a garage and entry door may seem like a small detail when compared to the entirety of the house, but they are one of the best ways to tie a door into the overall look of a home’s exterior. When designing a custom garage or entry door, choose a set of windows that are in the same family as those present on the home. The windows on these doors should echo the primary windows of the home, creating a consistent look. 

Shape Matters

Last but not least, think about the shape of the garage and entry doors in relationship to the other shapes present in the home. Does the architectural style feature hard angles and rectangular shapes, or does it have rounded features and corners? If right angles are part of the façade, a square or rectangular door will be a better fit than something arched or rounded. While this may not appear apparent at first, people will notice the differences in patterns on some level, and mismatched shapes can make the exterior of the home appear somewhat off. 

Have ideas for a garage door design? Want to talk about creating a cohesive look for a home? Contact Cambek today!

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