Kuramata's Homage To Piet Mondrian

Kuramata created two cabinets (for the Cappellini collection) paying homage to the 20th century artist Piet Mondrian. The rectangular, geometric shapes are perfect for a garage cabinet door. And the colors can complement most any garage.

But why stop with that idea? How about a Jackson Pollock? After all, your paint splatters could be repurposed to high art! Or buy some poster of a Van Gogh or a Rembrandt … or anyone really … and adhere it to the garage cabinet door with some shellac (for wooden cabinets) or clear lacquer (for metal ones). See also Should Garage Cabinets Be Wood, Metal, Plastic or Other? Should Mona Lisa be on your paint locker?

Don’t forget that there are multiple cabinets to take care of. Let’s say you have two doors on workbench cabinets that are on the floor and two that are wall-mounted, just above the workbench. What four pictures might work together to form a coherent whole? Aces of spades, hearts, clubs and diamonds? The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse? Or maybe something whimsical, like a four quadrants of compass rose, showing NE, NW, SE and SW respectively.

When you consider planning out your entire garage cabinet system, don’t forget to add a touch of color this way, or a unique, personal touch.

You see, there are devices that thieves can easily buy called “code grabbers.”  When you leave your garage and press the remote, it sends an unencrypted signal to the motor that runs your garage door opener.  (That motor is best kept free of any garage overhead storage, by the way.)  Then the door shuts.  All’s well.  But if the thief has a code grabber, his “black box” had just made a copy of your code.  After you are gone, the thief presses the button on the black box, pulls into your garage, shuts the door and robs your house at leisure!

Here are some tips:

*  First, be alert.  Look for any unusual cars parked in the vicinity, especially if someone is sitting in them.    (If so, use the keypad, not the remote control and note the license number in case one of your neighbors gets robbed.)

* Second, get in the habit of locking the door to your house.  It’s not a big bother — you do it when leaving your front door.  You have your keys in your hand anyway.

* Third, consider getting further countermeasure s — encryption or a remote with randomly rotating opening codes.  We also recommend that you lock the door between your garage and the house, just like you would your front door.

* If you plan to be away from an extensive period of time, unplug the motor that opens the door.

* Make sure your installer hasn’t left the factory (default) settings on.   Just open the unit and set a random number for the starting codes.   It’s good to do this when moving into a new house or apartment, too.

All of these ideas apply when you are coming home, too — not just when you leave.    Thieves are less likely to want to break in with you home, but rapists aren’t.

Another risk is losing the remote — or leaving it in your car and having it stolen.  One solution to that problem is to use a “key fob” remote — in that case, you take the remote with you and don’t leave it in the car.    Some of the same people who make Craftsman steel garage cabinets and Husky garage cabinets also make solutions for door openers.   They are stylish and they can be easily carried with you.  After all, you wouldn’t leave your keys in your car, would you — especially in plain sight?

Forewarned is forearmed.