5 Affordable Ways to Customize Metal Garages

Your new metal garage already looks good, and now you’re wondering how to customize it to take it to the next level. While metal garages aren’t always associated with extreme curb appeal, you’d be surprised to learn that there are many affordable options to make your metal building look not just aesthetically pleasing, but even chic. 

Whether your metal garage is being built as a workshop or for storage, here are five ways you can customize your structure:

1. Add a loft to your metal building
2. Install residential or commercial windows
3. Add a wrap-around covered porch or awnings
4. Landscape 
5. Add details to the exterior

Just like a homemade from any other building material, the finishing touches can take your structure from average to amazing. Let’s dive into the details of each strategy to customize your metal building.

Add a Loft to Your Metal Garage

A loft above the main space of your metal building not only makes it feel cozy and inviting, but it’s incredibly practical. Use the loft as a kid’s bedroom, office space, storage space, game room, man cave, or anything else. The possibilities are endless, and it allows you to increase the useable space of your metal building without increasing its footprint.

Install Custom Windows in Your Metal Garage

Gone are the days of boring glass windows! Now, you can design or choose customized cutouts for eye-catching glass. Think decorative door glass, customized window glass. Customized windows are another surefire way to make your metal garage cozier and inviting. Even if your metal building isn’t a home, nice windows and shutters will increase curb appeal, allow more light to enter, and generally make your metal structure much more charming.

Add a Wrap-Around Covered Porch to Your Metal Garage

Who doesn’t love a good porch for relaxing outside? Wrap-around porches give an instant aesthetic appeal to your metal building. Adorn your porch with rocking chairs, an outdoor dining table, and anything else you’d like for entertainment and ultimate relaxation. Get creative with the design and consider different materials and colors.

Add a Partial, Attached Lean-to

If a full porch that covers one side or wraps around isn’t feasible for space or any other reason, consider simple yet tasteful lean-to awnings for shade, curb appeal, and protection. Awnings can cover doors and windows, and long canopies can create a porch-like effect.

Add Landscaping Around Your Metal Garage

Depending on the outside space available and the purpose of your metal building, landscaping can make a big difference. Consider a fire pit, flower and herb gardens, stone pathways, shrubs, trees, planter boxes, or a green lawn to make your building even more beautiful.

RELATED CONTENT: Metal Garages: Building a Workshop For Mechanics

Add Finishing Touches to Your Metal Garage

Here’s where the fun really starts: you can add all sorts of affordable, customized details to the exterior of your metal building that can pack a big aesthetic punch. The following five ideas are some of our favorites:

Add brick
Brick corners or a brick walkway can make a stunning addition to your metal garage. Even just a touch of brick here and there on the exterior adds significant elegance to any structure.

Wainscotting
A wainscot delivers a two-tone texture and color contrast to the bottom portion of your metal building’s wall that definitely adds to its visual appeal. But it’s not only aesthetic—wainscotting can also be a great investment. The lower portion of your wall is the most likely to be damaged over time, and it’s far less expensive to replace a small piece of metal than an entire wall. 

Faux rock and stone panels
Both faux rock and stone panels added to the exterior of your metal garage gives it a classic, luxurious look and feel. This style complements all types of metal buildings with a distinct and welcoming warmth. 

Stucco the walls
Many people think you can’t stucco a metal building, but that’s not the case. Certain considerations need to be taken into account like budget, weight, and insulation properties to find the right system. Stucco siding can give an impressive finish to your metal building, and seriously up its curb appeal.

Add wooden accents
Much like stone, wooden accents on the exterior of your metal building immediately add a homey charm. Wood and metal can be combined in alluring ways to create beautifully designed metal structures, and wooden accents might include siding, entry doors, window frames, or a wooden planter box.

Final Thoughts on Customizing Metal Garages

Adding a loft, installing residential or commercial windows, including a wrap-around porch or awnings, landscaping, and incorporating details into the exterior can all seriously increase the curb appeal and functionality of your metal building.

Whether you’re building a metal garage, commercial space, carport, barn, or storage building, your metal structure can be customized with affordable techniques that take it from great to fantastic.