New year, new garage door? That’s a wise investment if you are looking for affordable projects that improve your home’s curb appeal and pay you back.

Garage door replacement tops the Remodeling 2019 Cost vs. Value Report*, continuing a two-year streak of returning on average nearly 100% of the project cost at resale.

The reason for the high ROI? “Curb appeal” and “first impressions.”

A garage door can represent up to 40 percent of your home’s curb appeal so choosing the right style is important. While it’s easy to just swap out the old garage door with a newer version of the same design, do your research to see all of the new garage door options.

Some of the exciting choices include wood-look garage doors that require less upkeep, modern garage doors with clean lines and mid-century appeal, and glass garage doors that make your garage feel like additional living space.

Need ideas and inspiration? Scroll through this recap of 12 recent award-winning entries from Clopay’s imagineNATION Makeover Contest.

The contest continues through 2019 so if this project is on your to-do list, plan accordingly so you can enter for a chance to win $1,000.

January

This Florida homeowner replaced a generic raised panel garage door with an insulated Clopay Modern Steel Collection Ultra-Grain door that fit the 1960s architecture.

Thanks to built-in WindCode reinforcement, his home was safe and sound when Hurricane Irma hit. One unique detail we especially love: the contrasting Mocha Brown frames on the impact-rated windows.

February

If you can trust anyone to tell you how well a Clopay Intellicore insulated garage door performs in sub-zero temperatures, just ask a seasoned Minnesota homeowner in the middle of winter.

Our February 2018 winner gave his Gallery Collection garage door makeover a 5-star review for looks and for comfort. He says the temperature inside the garage now stays around 40 degrees when it's below zero outside - and that's without a heater.

Adding windows to the garage door had a huge impact on the home's curb appeal. The grilles match the other windows on the house so the two-car garage makes a welcoming first impression.

March

Oh, what a change! These homeowners were looking for new garage doors to complement the age and character of their 1950s farmhouse-style garage in rural Vermont.

This winning makeover is brimming with rustic farmhouse charm thanks to new Clopay Gallery Collection garage doors.

Crisp, white Clopay Gallery Collection doors add the perfect pop of contrast and prove that you don’t have to sacrifice character or modern durability to match the era of a vintage building. Installed by North Country Overhead Doors.

April

After 27 years of fronting builder installed garage doors, this Bainbridge Island, WA house got a new opening act with our Avante Collection aluminum and glass doors.

The PNW homeowners haven't liked their garage doors since the day they moved in, and finally found a design they love to come home to. They said: “The garage is full of natural light even on the grayest of days. One change completely transformed the look of our home."

May

Many details played a role in this home makeover, but our favorite is the new Gallery Collection garage doors with windows. We think they make the house look much more open and inviting, and the fresh red paint is the perfect backdrop to show them off.

The homeowner says the doors are "the icing" to top off his exterior remodel. Living in Wisconsin, he especially appreciates the benefits of having new insulated garage doors for year-round comfort, and obscure glass to brighten up the garage without compromising privacy.

June

Our June winners were California dreaming of a less generic-looking house. The garage door is a prominent feature, so they knew updating it would have a major impact and set their home apart from others in the neighborhood.

They also wanted to upgrade to an insulated carriage house door because the original steel door absorbed the summer heat and made the garage uncomfortable.

The homeowners used Clopay's Door Imagination System to see how different designs looked on a photo of their house and decided the Coachman Collection was a perfect match. They say the garage is significantly cooler, and the love how the windows brighten up the space when the door is closed.

July

This makeover sparked the most comments on Facebook and Instagram of any we have ever posted.

After watching countless episodes of HGTV's "Fixer Upper", our July imagineNATION Makeover Contest winners knew they wanted a modern farmhouse vibe for their new home. Living in the desert, that’s hard to find, so when they drove up to this 1950s brick home, they knew they had a candidate.

Finding a stained wood carriage house garage door that would hold up in the Arizona climate proved to be another challenge. Their local Clopay dealer recommended the Gallery Collection with Ultra-Grain, the perfect solution for a wood-look door without the upkeep.

They love how the dark faux wood finish "pops" against the white and adds another layer of color and texture to the exterior. Chip and Joanna would be proud of the progress this couple has made so far.

August

A colorful Clopay Modern Steel Collection garage door helped bring this 1960s mid-century modern ranch back to its original glory.

Located outside of Las Vegas in a neighborhood known for mid-mod homes, the owner wanted to honor and celebrate the time period with iconic architectural details and colors.

A prominent feature on the home, the garage door is painted Sherwin Williams "Amber Wave" to match the front door. Brazilian Walnut horizontal cladding and a corrugated metal "transom" complement the long, narrow windows in the garage door and add organic texture that makes the garage a visually rich focal point.

September

After living 15 years in what they describe as a cookie-cutter house, these Winnipeg homeowners wanted to transform their home from Blah to WOW! A Clopay Gallery Collection garage door helped them do just that.

The Ultra-Grain faux wood finish complements the rustic timber frame accent beams and balances the charcoal exterior with an expanse of warm, organic texture.

October

Our October imagineNATION Contest winners discovered that choosing the right garage door COLOR is equally important to selecting the right garage door STYLE for your home.

Replacing the garage door is not something many homeowners do right after they move into a newly constructed home. They felt the outside looked plain compared to others in the development and wanted to upgrade the exterior to enhance its Craftsman-style.

Their decision wasn’t based solely on appearance. The quality of the garage door brand the builder used didn’t meet their expectations. The supplier didn’t have a showroom so the owners had to pick a color online. Uncertain anything would match the other finishes, they settled on a white door they could paint later.

Soon after, they saw a Clopay Ultra-Grain garage door they liked on another house and wondered, “Why paint the existing door when they could get a brand new one with the style, quality, and finish they originally wanted?”

The dark woodgrain texture gives their home a custom-built look and adds plenty of warmth to the earthy tones in the siding and stone. Now the entire house stands out instead of the stark white garage door. Their makeover even inspired a neighbor who is still building to upgrade his door as well.

November

A new garage door can be a game-changer! This sweet Alabama home has all the charms: white picket fence, fun exterior paint colors, and a Clopay Coachman Collection carriage style garage door.

Realtors say the right garage door can increase your home’s asking price by up to four percent.

The original garage door worked -- in a functional sense -- it just wasn't working in favor of great curb appeal. The vertical panel design on the new door echoes the shape and size of the front window, fence line, and porch column. Adding windows to the garage door makes the entire house feel balanced, bright and welcoming. Our November imagineNATION Makeover Contest winner achieved the look he wanted.

December

The story behind this fixer upper is perfect inspiration for the start of the New Year. It begins with a New Jersey couple’s vision for their dream home, sketched on the back of a hotel receipt.

The windows and simple "V" design on the new Clopay garage doors complements the timber frame detailing over the front door.

One look at the before photo can easily make you appreciate how much imagination, grit, faith, and commitment was required to turn this filthy, mouse-infested foreclosure into a warm, inviting Craftsman-style home.

If the first part doesn’t impress you, the fact that Superstorm Sandy slammed the Jersey Shore the day after they closed on the house would be more than enough to rattle anyone’s resolve.

Seven years later, they are almost to the finish line. The Coachman Collection garage doors the couple has been eyeing from the beginning were recently installed and the old doors were donated to a local family in need. Shutters, stone work, and landscaping are next on the punch list.

The homeowners love their new garage doors and get tons of compliments, as they should. The thing we love most about this makeover story is that they took the time to send us a photo of the original sketch. They have never let go of their vision and are one step closer to making it a reality.

Ready to update your home’s curb appeal with a new Clopay door? Find garage doors that match your home style in our Garage Door Buying Guide.

*© 2019 Hanley Wood, LLC. Complete data from the Remodeling 2019 Cost vs. Value Report can be downloaded free at www.costvsvalue.com.