Whether you use fencing or walls around your property, as an entry or to partition your landscaping, passage is usually heralded by a gateway. You can make a gate purely functional or you can make it into something special. Why not create a welcome with decorative gates?

To design your gates you first have to decide if you want a solid door for privacy or something that allows a view. You can even create a controlled view by building a solid doorway with a window shape cut into the design.

Think about practical use. If a gate must retain a child or small animal you will want something that doesn’t have gaps large enough to allow passage. Then, apart from figuring how your gate will open and close and which way it will swing, you can let your creativity flow.

Ideas for decorative gates can start with materials. Consider recycling old doors from barns, cabinets, or other enclosures. Take a wander through a junk yard in search of an unusual treasure. Or build your own from wood, metal, vinyl or another sturdy material. Interesting screening, filigree or twisted wrought iron can make excellent materials for gates. Even traditional, purchased gates can be spiced up with a colorful paint job or by weaving in bamboo, strips of plastic or mounting wall art on them.

You can build archways to frame your gates, or guard them on either side with decorative pillars or pilasters. Your decorative gates can set the mood for your home and garden by making a statement in the entry to your property, or they can enhance the style of your garden by setting a theme.

Use your imagination and make your gates more than just ways to enclose a space. You gates can create a surprising welcome to your home or garden.