13 Astonishing Flat Panel Garage Door for a Clean and Modern Look

When it comes to garage doors, basically, your options are endless. There are many types and materials you can pick out there.

However, if you want to achieve a modern, contemporary, or even mid-century style with a sleek and clean look, it is recommended for you to choose a flat panel garage door.

A flat panel door is when its center panel is a bit lower than the door frame. Or, like its name, the entire door is flat, creating a minimalist look.

This type of door is often mistaken as a shaker style because both types have recessed center panels. However, shaker style door usually comes without a profile.

The clean and sleek look of flat panel garage doors lets them blend well with many design styles. It is a good choice due to its simplicity and elegance. When it comes to design, a flat panel door has the most flexibility.

What about the materials?

In fact, the materials of a flat panel garage door may vary. You can choose based on your house’s exterior or your personal preference. Each material has its own upsides and downsides.

Here are some common materials people usually use for their flat panel garage doors:

1. Wood. This is the most cost-efficient choice for residential garage doors. Wood has aesthetically appealing material despite its low price. It also features reasonable insulating qualities. Yet, wood needs regular maintenance, like refinishing or sanding, and it is also susceptible to insect infestation, rot, cracks, and warping.
2. Steel. Basically, steel is highly durable. The cost is also reasonable, and it only needs low maintenance. If you want to get more warmth, you can consider having foam insulation backing for your steel door. Steel can also be manufactured to look like a wooden door, so you don’t have to worry about the aesthetic. However, steel can rust quickly and easily if it is not maintained properly.
3. Fiberglass. This material is more durable than wood. It is also warping resistant too. The great thing is, fiberglass can also be made to resemble the appearance of wood. It can withstand insects, dents, and moisture. Yet, this material is a very poor insulator. It can also fade and deteriorate in extreme weather.
4. Aluminum. It is cheaper and lighter than steel, but similar to steel, aluminum can also be manufactured to look like painted wood. It will be an excellent option if you add insulation to your aluminum door. It is more resistant to corrosion and rust than steel. However, it is more likely to dent. And if you want better-quality aluminum garage doors, it can be very costly.
5. Wood Composite. This material is made of recycled wood fibers and has a similar quality to steel doors when it comes to strength. It can be stained or painted like natural wooden doors, yet it is more resistant to cracks and rot than natural wood. However, it has lower quality than authentic wood doors, and it is less durable than fiberglass, aluminum, and steel. The choices of models and colors may be limited too.

After considering the material, now let’s check out the pictures below. Here are the most astonishing flat panel garage doors you can take inspiration from:

1. Copper Flat-Panel One-Car Garage Door Side by Side with a Redwood Siding

This flat panel garage door looks elegant and stylish paired with the siding.

This is basically only a small garage, a one-car garage that has a wide door.

This flat panel door is made of copper, and the designers used a chemical to make it look “aged”. After some time, it will wear more and more beautifully.

When it comes to the siding, the homeowners use a fancy type of redwood on this exterior, 1×6 horizontal redwood siding over 2x furring stucco. It is meant for durability, so it won’t wear and tear ever under extreme weather.

It was stained to the exact tone the homeowners wanted, a lovely chocolate brown.

The garage door has a “mantel” on top of it, which seems to be made of similar redwood. The mantel creates a beautiful yet functional design. It can be used as a protective shield during rain and storm, so the garage door below is safe.

2. Using Metal Fabricator and Glass for a Flat Panel Garage Door Combined with Metal Siding

The flat panel garage door is made of a metal fabricator and glass mix.

The metal fabricator serves as a frame for the glass screen. Yet, the glass here is opaque, so privacy won’t be an issue. It is basically a custom-designed garage door made by the designers.

Above the garage door, there is a stylish horizontal siding. It is an extruded powder-coated aluminum.

The use of this siding creates an assimilation look of the garage door and the whole exterior. The metal tones like this never fail to give an ultra-modern look, especially when mixed with a 4×4 inch solid stone block in the sand as a paver.

3. Commercial Ribbed Sectional Flat Panel Garage Door in a Minimalist Style

This is an ideal example of a minimalist one-car garage look.

Basically, the entire look of this exterior is in L-shape. Each section has a different material, pattern, and color. The combination of all of them gives a unique pattern-block style.

There is no detailed information about the exact manufacturer of this flat panel garage door. But it looks a lot like a commercial ribbed sectional door that has been faux painted.

There are many manufacturers that can create a design like this, combining environmentally friendly composite materials and traditional craftsmanship.

The garage door is paired with unique wall panels from James Hardie, side by side.

The garage door is in a horizontal design, while the wall panels are in a vertical design. The difference highlights the contrast between the two of them, making the entire exterior look even more contemporary.

Many of you may wonder, how is this design created in the concrete paver? Does it have any special purpose?

For your information, the concrete is made of precast units with “already” cutout holes. The holes let storm or rainwater percolate into the soil. After that, they filter pollutants from the water and trap suspended solids. They also keep pollutants from the vehicles from being washed into the rain drains. So, their purpose is to divert water.

4. Solid Sapele Mahogany Flat Panel Two-Car Garage Door

This is a two-car garage door that was installed separately, but both have the same flat panel garage doors.

These doors are sectional, custom-made by the General Contractor. They are solid Sapele Mahogany with no stain. Those are finished with a clear polyurethane-based sealer by Sikens. The result is, both garage doors have a glossy dark chocolate brown that looks in contrast with the board’s surround. The siding board is in a light tone.

Each garage door is separated by a metal frame. Combining wood and metal like this never fails to create a contemporary look, especially when paired with a minimalist concrete paver for the driveway like this.

5. Cedar Flat Panel Garage Door Installed with Endicott Brick Surround

What a lovely and pretty flat panel garage door! This is a flat cedar panel in a detached garage that can accommodate two cars.

The cedar was actually installed directly over a pair of two 3 feet doors, which have passed hurricane rated. It is because this house is located in a hurricane zone. So it is obligatory to use hurricane-rated products.

This flat panel garage door was completed by a local carpenter. The carpenter uses an off-the-shelf door.

You can see here that there is no hardware installed on the outside. The hardware is only on the inside. It is meant to give a clean look on the outside.

What makes it unique and contemporary is the flat panel garage door is surrounded by an Endicott brick with 1/3 running bond pattern in Norman size and Manganese Ironspot color.

The gray brick, combined with the medium tone wood, delivers a modern and stylish design to this building.

6. Mahogany Flat Panel Three-Car Garage Door with Separate Entrance

This is a three-car garage that adopts a barn style with a spacious bunk room for children and guests above.

The garage was installed separately, with a door in each section and a separate entrance to the room above.

All of them use a flat panel garage door that was custom built for this house. The entire doors are made of mahogany panels to match the trim and the windows.

The mahogany garage doors blend seamlessly with a steep pitched gabled roof floating over the stone walls. However, they create a nice contrast with the stone walls on their side. The combination of stone and wood-like this delivers a nice transitional look.

7. Modern Steel Flat Panel Two-Car Garage Door Combined with Valspar’s Foggy Mirror Exterior

This is an inspiration for a contemporary garage in a two-story wood exterior house.

The garage door is a flat panel made of modern steel that is perfect for covering a two-car garage like this.

There is no detailed information about the door manufacturer, yet it looks like a residential garage door from Clopay in their Modern Steel Collection.

You can purchase a similar door with or without windows. This garage door has no windows or glass panels, though. It may be because the door is too small to accommodate any window. Yet, it doesn’t make it any less stylish.

A minimalist design like this never fails to give an ultra-modern, sleek, and sophisticated look.

Moreover, this garage door is paired with a suitable exterior color. It seems that this house’s exterior was painted in Valspar – Foggy Mirror. On the second floor, there is a dark tone wood siding that appears to be mahogany in a clear stain.

The combination of steel, painted concrete, and wood siding can give a totally chic look for a modern design.

8. Combination of Steel and Wood Flat Four-Panel Garage Door

Generally, the entire look of this house’s exterior adopts a mid-century modern design. The designers managed to combine wood elements with painted siding. The wood elements can be seen from the flat panel garage door and the wall behind the house.

The garage door is a four-panel with a butt-jointed angle at the vertical joints.

Basically, the garage door is smooth steel that you can get locally, but the designers installed clear Western red cedar wood over it as an extra protective layer that can also serve as a beautiful accent to this house.

On top of the garage door, there is a painted black wall that creates a modern look. The entire house color is painted in Sherwin Williams – Urban Bronze SW 7048. It delivers a trendy grey color that highlights the contrast with the wood door.

9. Luan Mahogany Flat Panel Garage Door with Long Panel Windows

This flat panel garage door is from Clopay. It is 33 Flush Luan Mahogany doors completed with long panel windows to provide warmth. It features a sleek upgrade for the whole look of this house’s exterior.

If you want to purchase a similar door, you can find it under “Classic Wood Collection”. This is a pretty series of doors.

The model 33 flat doors are made of wood framing (which delivers the hardpoints for attaching hardware and transmitting loads on the door) overlain inside and out with a Luan ply.

According to the designer, polystyrene insulation fills the interior voids to provide better insulation.

The door is also stained with Sikkens Cetol 1/23+ butternut finish over the Hemlock stain system. It is meant to increase the elegant look of this flat door. This way, the door will look new even after many years.

However, the designer also stated that this door could also be painted using a primer coat and two premium topcoats.

If you are planning to purchase a model 20/10 or model 44, it is recommended to order the doors with Luan interior option. If not, your door sections will lack shear strength because the exterior panels hang in the frame. After a while, a bigger door will tend to sag in the middle. Luan interior will give a needed stiffness.

10. Craftsman-Style Flat Panel Garage Door Made of African Mahogany

This flat panel garage door features a craftsman style. It can be seen through the multiple exquisite architectural features that would fit any Praire style or Craftsman home.

The garage door itself is made of African mahogany butterfly combined with Seeded glass that let natural light in a while, obstructing views on the inside at the same time. The seeded glass is meant to be windows. They are completed with a subtle mullion design to accentuate the look.

It is paired with a stone wall that emphasizes and complements the whole look. The stone wall is in a pale and neutral color, while the garage door is in a polished medium tone. Both of them create a flawless look of a craftsman style.

The door itself was created by Designer Doors, Inc. The designer is one of their Premier dealers. According to the designers, this manufacturer produces many types of adorable garage doors, entry doors, and such.

11. Commercial Flat Panel Garage Door Painted with a Gloss Finish

There’s always a reason to use black for anything. As a neutral color, black can be paired in any color to neutralize it. Black can also give you an elegant, modern, gracious, and sophisticated look.

In this case, the homeowners and the designer decided to paint the house’s exterior in black to create an ultra-modern and trendy design.

The flat panel garage doors are basically commercial grade doors from Overhead Door Company in Portland. The doors were painted with a glossy finish to complement the house siding. The siding itself is a natural cedar siding, 1×4 tongue, and groove.

Many of you may think that the exterior of this house is made of tile. Well, in fact, it is poured in place concrete finished with an acid-etched to achieve this look.

This house is not stained, though; it has a painted exterior. However, since the colors may widely vary from computer screen to screen, it is recommended to have a local paint company match this color.

12. Red Cedar Flat Panel Garage Door That Matches the Siding

This is a unique and lovely wood duplex exterior in a contemporary style.

We can see here that there are three garages separated, and all of them are made of a similar wood duplex. The uniform looks like this create a more incorporated style.

The flat panel garage doors are made of red cedar. The doors are standard overhead doors clad. The siding over the garage door is also made similar, which creates a seamless and flawless design.

There is also another siding above the wood siding. It seems that it is made of stucco or cement board. Either way, both are nice when paired with wood siding and wood garage doors like this.

The combination of wood tone and gray color can deliver a perfect contemporary look.

13. Fiberglass Flat Four-Panel Garage Door in Carriage Style

This house’s exterior combines concrete block, accents of stained cypress, and cement siding to create an affordable yet durable look in a contemporary style.

The garage door is a pre-existing one, so the designer doesn’t have a clue what it is. However, almost any garage door manufacturer will have this four-panel garage door in a carriage style.

The size is 18’x7′ and made of fiberglass that is custom-painted. Yet, according to the designer, it is recommended to have a powder-coated steel flat panel garage door instead because it has a longer-lasting finish.

If you want to purchase a garage door like this, you can purchase it from Clopay. A similar product like this can be found under the Coachman Collection: Design 11 REC 11 Windows.

That door is made of insulated yet low-maintenance steel with composite overlays. You don’t have to regularly maintain it, and it will keep the area warm even during the extreme winter.

The long window panels are also helpful to make the garage warm. They are also meant to let natural light illuminate the whole area inside.

The color of the garage door is similar to the siding, a pale olive green. It is combined with a wood wall surround that seems to be cedar.

The combination of medium tone wood and pale olive green color basically doesn’t complement each other. However, they both create a nice and unique contrast that is perfect for any contemporary style home.

Closing

Which picture do you think has the best flat panel garage door?

What material and design do you like the most from the pictures above?

Regardless of the types and the materials, it is important for you to maintain the door regularly. It is because the garage door is outside, so it is always exposed to the weather and other environmental factors that may deteriorate the doors.

That is why it is recommended to discuss your door installation with a professional, so you can make sure your garage door serves its function well for a long time. Good luck with your project!