When you choose to have or renovate a garage for your home, you have made a big decision. However, that choice is only the first one in the overall process, as many smaller choices must be made regarding the scope of the garage, the work that goes into it, and paying for it all.

One aspect a lot of homeowners gloss over too quickly is their choice of what garage door panel option to use. Many choices are available, and once they are installed, it is either something you live with for years, or find it very time-consuming and expensive to alter, replace, or change.

A few considerations come into play when going over garage door panel options. How they look is often a huge factor in the choices that you make. You might think from driving down most streets that all garage door paneling choices are matte white, but this is actually not the case. Upon close inspection, you can see that there are not only varieties in color but also in material. You want something that is going to match the rest of the external decor of your home and property.

You might even want something that looks good from the inside. Not all garage door paneling possibilities look the same on the inside and the outside. While you are probably not looking to really spruce up the decor of your interior garage, if you spend any time in there working out, doing projects, or even playing in an amateur garage band, you don’t want something ugly bothering you.

The durability of the panels also matters. The material needs to be able to withstand your local climate, and no one should be able to break in easily either.

You also might need to check with the by-laws of your neighborhood homeowner’s association. You never know when they have rules covering such matters.