13 Fantastic Carport in Front of Garage Ideas Applicable for Any Design

Building a carport in front of garage is not uncommon when it comes to exterior designs. There are several advantages you get when you have a supplemental carport in front of an already-secured garage. The garage is supposed to be a place where you park your cars. However, when there are guests coming over, you cannot expect them to park their cars in the driveway, or worse, on the street.

When you add an additional carport in front of your garage, you will provide a parking space for your guests. The covered parking area will not only protect your guests’ cars, but also themselves, especially during a bad weather.

Apart from having an extra parking space for your guests, having a carport in front of a garage will also give you an extra privacy. Sure, you can tuck away your car safely inside a garage. No one could know that you’re already home. However, when you add a carport, you will get an extra privacy down to the end of the driveway.

Building a carport in front of a garage will also be beneficial if you plan to have a big family. You will create an extra room for your family that still keeps growing. When your children begin to drive their own cars, parking issues will not occur because you already have that extra covered parking space.

Before revealing some ideas of carport in front of garage you may like, it is preferable to know the difference between a carport and a garage. Both of them are quite similar in many aspects. Carports and garages can protect your cars from the weather and can be attached or detached to the side of your house. The difference lies in how they are built and structured.

Garages are a fully enclosed structured. It can be considered a building. The structure includes a large shutter, four walls that encloses the cars, and a door. Due to garage’s fully enclosure, garage can keep your cars from anything.

On the other hand, a carport is not a fully-enclosed structure. It cannot be said as a building. Carport’s structure only has at least two enclosures and two open sides. Yes, carports can also keep your cars from the weather, but carports cannot protect your cars perfectly, there are some elements that can still reach your cars via the open sides.

So it is always a great idea to combine both carports and garages, because each of them has its own benefits. Here are some ideas of carports in front of garages that may inspire you.

1. Brick Accent Carport Idea in Front of a Craftsman Garage

This carport is not small, but it is not that huge either. Its mid-size is perfect for you who have at least two cars and a growing family. Instead of built right at the front side of the house, the garage building was built at the side. The whole design creates an L-shape.

The garage building is attached to the house, so it will be more convenient and easier to enter the house after parking the car inside. The garage can accommodate two cars inside. It is also equipped with double side-hinged doors, made of steel.

The carport at the front side is paved with asphalt. The carport is suitable for two cars as well. However, as you can see in this picture, the enclosure is not full at one side. The roof of the carport can only cover at least one half of the car. The cars are still exposed, but at least they can be parked inside the house, not on the street.

2. Large Three-Car Carport in Front of a Farmhouse Garage

This detached garage is large enough to house three cars inside. The cottage and farmhouse style of this garage is perfect for a countryside house. Each car is divided from one another in a fully-enclosed structure. So there is no way you accidentally scratch the other cars when you try to pull out your car out of the garage. So it is safe to say that instead of having a large garage, this house actually has three separated garages.

Each garage is protected by double side-hinged doors. Right in front of it, there are three spaces as well that are meant to be carports. Each carport is connected to the garage, divided by four pillars in each side of the cars.

The pavers are a combination of red rubber and flagstone. The flagstone is on the walking path, while the rubber is for the carport’s floor. It is a nice choice for a carport’s paver, because rubber pavers are more slip-resistant than stone pavers, so there will be no problem to park your cars in the carport during a rainy day. They also have a shock absorbent feature.

3. Huge Beach Style Detached Two-Car Carport In Front of a Crisply White Garage

This large beach style garage is also detached from the house. The garage can accommodate two cars at one time, and each space is also separated by a fully-enclosed structure. Two cars can be parked inside side by side but in a different room. Both garages are also protected by double side-hinged doors, which are actually a common choice for a garage’s door.

The carport, on the other hand, is not that fully protected like the garage area. There are two areas in front of the garage, and they are supposed to be carports. The carports can accommodate two cars as well.

However, the carports are open, which means the cars parked there are not fully protected. Even the roof cannot fully cover the cars. This is a perfect style for a tropical design house, especially when painted in white. The concrete paver in this picture is also a perfect choice for a carport, because it is durable.

4. Transitional Garage with Double Side-hinged Door and Stone Paved Carport at the Front

This transitional garage is a mid-sized one. Even though it can only accommodate one car, it can house perfectly a typical large car, like SUV or minivan. This garage is attached to the house and built in the house’s side. The walls are made similar with ones in the house’s building, they are flagstone. Stone walls can give a rustic and country style to whole look.

The garage door is a double side-hinged door from Clopay Coachman Collection. The carport is right in front of it, linear with the garage. It is an open carport with no side walls. The roof, can also cover one half of the car. However, parking and storing the car in the side of the house is recommended when it comes to house exterior design. And this house has an ideal design for carport and garage.

5. Mid-sized Ornate Carport in Front of Painted White Garage’s Door

What makes this attached garage unique is its ornament. The ornate garage is not that common. But if you have one like the garage in this picture, the ornament will add some extra chic to your house’s exterior.

The wood pillars and double doors of this garage, on the other hand, create a beautiful country look. This garage is a two-story building. In the upper story, it is the house area. This design is perfect if you have a limited area to build your house. The garage is not only attached to the house, it is also part of the living area.

The carport is covered by three white wooden pillars. Each pillar is useful to separate one car’s space to another. The paver is rubber, which is a perfect choice if you want a paving that is non-slippery and durable.

6. Traditional Carport Idea in Front of A Vintage Garage

Unlike the other carports above, this carport is not attached to the garage. The garage itself is attached to the house building. It can accommodate one car. The garage is protected with a double side-hinged door, completed with glass accents.

The carport is built with an atrium roof. The structure is all-wood, and it is a cedar wood. There are three pairs of pillars in each side of the carport. Unfortunately, if you want to have an exactly similar design of carport like this, some things cannot be bought prefabricated. This carport was a custom-built. You need concrete piers as well as a lot of skilled carpentry to build this structure. Please consult your architect/carpenter.

The prettiest part of the carport is, of course, the tire strips and the whole path. The tire strips are travertine, while the driveway between the tire strips are a decomposed granite. Both lead to a stone paver, that opens to the garage’s door.

7. Inspiration for a Timeless Stone Carport in Front of a Detached Garage

Timeless stone-walled carport like this is considered unique as well. It creates a traditional look, and the half-finished design is also perfect for an industrial look. This carport is detached to the garage. There is some area between the carport and the garage, that can be used as an open parking area.

This carport is stronger and more protected than the other ideas you have seen above. Instead of using a door, this carport has a railing fence to protect the car. There is only one opening in the carport’s side, so the weather will not bother the car parked inside.

The garage, on the other hand, is protected by a sectional garage door. The garage looks spacious enough to keep two cars at one time, side by side. However, there is no wall in the center of the garage to separate each car.

8. Elegant Carport Idea with Tile Flooring in Front of a Contemporary Garage

This elegant garage and carport area is completed with tile flooring and a glass door. The glass door provides a semi-private viewing option. If you’re wondering, the tile was provided ad installed by Natural Selections.

Both the carport’s and garage’s structure here is attached to the house. They are attached to the back area of the house. Unlike the other carports mentioned above, the one in this picture is located side by side with the garage. Both carport and garage here are also enclosed by a gable roof. The carport is indeed more open that the garage, it only has two openings at the back and the front instead of a door. But the cars parked in carport and garage cannot be touched by the weather.

The large tile-paved area in front of the carport and the garage can also be used as a parking area. There is a gravel path in the garage’s side too.

9. Small Attached Two-Car Carport in Front of a Vinyl Siding Garage

This two-car attached garage indeed looks small. However, looking at its dimension, two cars can be parked inside a garage in line. This garage is painted in white with vinyl siding. It resembles a farmhouse and country style. Its white double side-hinged door also delivers the similar style.

This barn-like garage also has an attached carport in front of it. Unlike the garage, the cars parked in the carport can be parked side by side. The concrete paver provides a solid and strong grip that is non-slippery when wet.

The carport area is open. There is no enclosure, except the small extended gable roof from the garage’s. The roof can only cover the front side of the car, but it is enough if you prefer an open-designed carport.

10. Sizeable Arts and Crafts Carport in Front of a Wooden Siding Garage

This craftsman garage looks like it was straight out of 1950s. It is classic, decorated with wood siding, roof, and pillars. The garage looks spacious enough to accommodate more than one car, even though the width is not that wide. It is long enough to house at least two cars, parked in line.

On the contrary, the carport is not that large. Only one car can be parked there. But it is enough to fully protect the car. The gable wood roof can shield the car from the weather and any element from above. There are two openings on the right and left, and the front side is for the entrance. This carport is also completed with two wooden pillars in each side.

There are wall pendants too on the siding and the pillars, that can be useful at night. The lights radiate a bright yellow light to shine the path way.

11. Tiny Yet Chic Carport Idea with Pathway in Front of a Metal Railing Door Garage

Tired of a double side-hinged door? This modern garage is equipped with roll-up metal door instead. It is indeed quite uncommon to use roll-up doors for residential house. This is a perfect option for a garage with a limited ceiling space due to its no-frill design.

This garage is also attached to a small house, so that’s no surprise to see that above the garage, there is a second story of the house. The garage itself is not large. It seems that it can only accommodate one car.

However, there is a carport right in front of the garage, completed with the wheel strips and the stoned paths. The garage was built with an overhang second-story. The second story is extended outward over the carport area, and that is meant to be the carport’s roof. Even though the “roof” cannot fully protect the top of the car, but it is enough to shade it from the sunlight.

12. Simple Carport Idea in Front of a Crisply White Garage

This detached garage was built side by side with the main building of the house. What makes it unique is, this garage looks like a gazebo, completed with a gable roof. It is impossible to know how many cars can be accommodated inside this garage through this angle, but we can see from that huge double side-hinged door, that this garage can have at least two cars inside.

The carport area is paved with stone, which is not a perfect option if you want a non-slipper paver. However, the carport has a fully-enclosed roof above. So there is no way rain can get inside. Each side of the carport is also secured by picket fences.

There is a stoned path that lead to the carport. The path can only be passed by one car only. It is surrounded by mowed grass for a natural look.

13. Roof Deck Over Semi-Attached Carport in Front of a Sophisticated Garage

For a minimalist house, you may see this garage and carport’s design is fascinating. Both garage and carport is attached in general. However, the garage building itself is semi-attached to the house. It was built in the side front of the house. The carport is right in the next to the garage. It is partially enclosed, but the enclosure is enough to protect the cars parked there.

There is a roof deck over the garage and the carport. It is enough to protect the cars in the carport from the weather. From the carport here, you can see that it can accommodate two cars parked in line at the same time. There are two separated wooden walls at the side and one at the front of the carport to enclose the cars.

The garage is fully enclosed with blue painted walls. It has a roll-up door in the opening. It is difficult to see the capacity of the garage. However, we can conclude from the carport that has similar dimension with the garage, that the garage can also accommodate two cars parked in line.

Closing

What do you think about the combination of carport and garage? Do you think it’s worth it to build a carport in front of a garage? Or do you prefer to have one instead?

The Advantages of Having a Garage

1. It is incredibly versatile. A garage is not only for vehicles. It can also be used to store any belonging.
2. It fully protects your vehicles (and belongings) from the elements. Four walls and a roof is standard for a weatherproof space.
3. It is secure. Combined with a high quality lock, a garage can be a safe place to store your vehicles and expensive belongings.
4. It can be matched to your house. Whether a garage is added later or built right with the house, it can be matched with your property, built with the same materials and the same design.

The Advantages of Having a Carport

1. It is easier and faster to build. Because the construction is simpler than a garage, carport can be set up quickly without much equipment.
2. It is also cheaper than a garage. Because a carport only needs fewer materials.
3. It is versatile too. Similar with a garage, a carport also offers a convenient shield from the weather. Thus, carport can be used as a play area, barbecues station, or even a workshop.
4. It has a perfect ventilation. Garages can be musty. On the other hand, carport remains open to the breeze. It means it has sufficient airflow around your belongings.

Both garage and carports are quite versatile when it comes to design options. There are various customization choices, including shape, size, material, color, and even decorative features. You can pick one based on your house style.

So what do you prefer? Having a garage, a carport, or both like the ones you’ve seen above?