When I renovated my landscape, I also treated the exterior of my house to a makeover. The garage door was especially unattractive and lacked  architectural character. What I really wanted was an authentic wood carriage door to compliment my “stacked stone farmhouse,” but it was  too expensive.  I had to put on my “television garden makeover designer” hat on, and create some magic for my own home.

Vinyl siding was cut and used as a horizontal and vertical detail on the garage door

I started out with a plain, cheap-looking garage door made from plywood panels. To create the “carriage look” I needed to add some detail so I bought some vinyl siding strips at Home Depot and went to work! I used a carriage door catalog as inspiration and  copied the look of one of the more simple designs. The “carriage door look-alike” started to emerge but the finish on the plywood and siding gave away its humble composition. I needed a talented artist to create a faux wood finish for my garage.

Juliana Zanon to the rescue!

An accomplished fine artist and professional decorative painter, Juliana Zanon  is a fiery Brazilian beauty with a confident stride, big smile, and  paint splattered clothes. Juliana and her artist-sister, Carla experimented with different color samples before settling on the perfect color-”Whiggy Brown!”

Don’t discount your dog (if he’s as beautiful as Whiggy) for your color inspiration!

You won’t find this color at Dunn Edwards. Whiggy is my dog, and he has the most beautiful reddish brown hair that glistens in the sun. He was sunning himself one morning when Juliana and Carla caught site of him and made him their color muse!

Carla puts the finishing brushes on her faux wood creation!

The faux wood grain was created by combining a base color and two highlighting glazes.

People always comment on Whiggy’s coloring, now, they comment on the color of my “Whiggy Brown” carriage door. Juliana and Carla did such a great faux paint job that people often mistake the plywood and vinyl combo as real wood. They don’t believe me when I tell them the truth, so I make them touch it.Now you know my designer secret too!

Other Sources:

While I’m on the subject of garage doors, here is some great information on driveway gates to help you make the entrance to your yard more private!

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