Your house only has to meet the code requirements in place when it was built unless you are substantially changing it. So if you are replacing it "in kind" you should match it exactly, but if you change it in any way you should neet the current building code. Of course, it would be wise to use the current code as your guide in any event. I don't have a copy of the 2006 residential code for New Jersey but I know it is based on the International Residential Code which I do have and the requirement is now a 1 3/8" (min.) solid core wood door with no rated frame, UL hardware, or closer required. (Such a door, if tested in a rated frame and wall, is assumed by the building code to achieve a 20-minute fire rating.) Alternatively, the code also allows a solid or honeycomb core steel door, or any door that has been tested with a 20-minute fire rating. So, get a solid core flush door with a suitable veneer for stain or paint or get a wood paneled door assembly with a 20-minute rating. Rated wood paneled doors are expensive and come with a rated frame. In some states the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code is in effect (sometimes enforced by fire departments) and it usually requires a 1-hour door. This requirement seems pointless since the door is not required to be in a 1-hour rated wall.

Thanks for the replies so far, they definitely help. awm, correct, that is a one car garage door to the far left. I definitely think painting the doors all blue might be too much...but your second pic looks decent for sure. oly, yes, at least at this point (since they are so far into the job), the stone has to go all the way up to the top....not sure if it ever was an option to change that. As for the trim detail on that window....actually in pics I saw of other homes that were this model....it was all white, including above the window (where it's blue now). I'm not sure if they have to add a trim piece there still....or whether the pic of the house I saw just had it different there. I would just be concerned about that window having no white framing around it (if I painted it blue) whereas all my other windows on all sides of the house are trimmed in white/linen. The better choice might be to paint the area above the window white. I don't mind the garage doors standing out...but again, I want it to be for the right reasons....not because it's ugly. I think unless you have brown or tan on your house.....wood is always going to draw attention to the doors. I don't think that's bad....we see plenty of pics on Houzz of blue or gray houses with wood doors and they look great. The only wood doors I've seen that are ugly are non-carriage style ones with no windows. It just looks odd to have a big huge wood panel with nothing breaking it up....even if you have brown on your house. I did attach 2 pics of other houses with similar colors that I took yesterday (so in the same light). I just think the white is throwing people off because it's appearing so much brighter (I used one of those garage door manufacturer programs where you can upload a pic of your house and put their door on it). These pics give better visuals of what the white would look like in real life.

I somehow stopped receiving notifications for the last few posted comments but thanks for the input! Here's an update on the colors I've chosen. So the door is an ivory color, trim color is consistent with the rest of the house. My question now is whether I should paint the immediate trim around the glass beside the front door (side lights..?) the same ivory color? The contrast between the trim and door color is a little more stark than I expected and wonder if this will help the eye transition better. If anyone has any pictures of what this should look like it would be greatly appreciated! By the way, it's not shown here but I've also painted the house number sign the same ivory color and the numbers match the trim color. I was hoping this would help with the contrast a little.

To me, unless you want to do a total color change on the entire house, then the garage doors should just stay as they are. For you to "fix" that house, you're going to have to commit to a total package color change and by that I mean the red brick and the whole nine yards. So if you're not willing to consider that, then just leave the garage doors white and the front door black. There's no other color to paint the garage doors with the rest of the house as it is. IMO.