When choosing a new gate for your home, one of the biggest decisions to make - is what colour to pick. The right gate colour can enhance your property's kerb appeal and tie together your exterior design. But with so many colour options for wrought iron and metal gates, how do you decide what's best for your house?
Match Your Existing Decor
One of the easiest ways to choose a gate colour is to match it to your home's existing exterior colour scheme. For example, if your house is brick with black window frames, a classic black metal gate will complement the look seamlessly.
Matching your gate colour to exterior details like your front door, window frames, exterior woodwork or cladding creates visual harmony. It makes the gate design feel like an integrated part of your home's identity, rather than an after-thought.
Consider Your Home's Architecture
The architectural style of your house should also inform your gate colour choice. Certain gate colours naturally suit different home designs:
- Period homes like Victorian and Edwardian houses look fabulous with classic black wrought iron gates. This enhances the traditional character.
- Cottages and other rural home styles are often best matched with natural, earthy gate colours like greens, browns or bronze. This enhances the organic sense of rural architecture.
- Contemporary homes can be complemented by modern metallic gate finishes like stainless steel or powder coated colours. Bold red or blue gates also look fantastic on modern home designs.
Nearby Foliage and Landscaping
Do you have lots of greenery, trees or plants surrounding your home’s entrance? Choosing a gate colour that complements this natural environment is key.
Earthy, organic gate colours like sage green, olive green and brown work well with leafy, green surroundings. Black wrought iron will elegantly contrast against green trees or shrubbery.
For homes with established red brick walls or warm surroundings, deeper reds, oranges and yellows make for an autumnal, complementary gate colour choice.
Purpose and Impressions
Think about your home’s overall look and the impression you want to create with your gate. Some colours naturally convey different senses:
- Warm and welcoming - Sage green, brown, tan, cream
- Refined and formal - Black, navy blue, dark green
- Cheerful and upbeat - Yellow, sky blue, bright red
- Modern and striking - White, gunmetal grey, bronze
Also consider your gate's purpose. Privacy gates around a backyard may suit different colours than decorative front gates aiming to up your kerb appeal.
See Colour Samples in Situ
While colour swatches can help guide your decision, it's always best to view physical gate samples in context against your home's existing exterior.
Many manufacturers offer colour sample packs of small gate pieces painted in different finishes. Position these directly against your home and view at different times of day. Note how the colour changes in morning, noon and afternoon light.
Seeing gate colour samples first-hand on site allows you to make the most informed decision. Subtle nuances of tone and shade become clearer.
Trust Your Instincts
When struggling to decide between two suitable gate colours, trust your gut instinct! Our inner sense can recognise when a colour ‘feels right’ for our home’s look and character. If a gate colour choice makes you smile and you keep coming back to it, that’s usually the one.
Choosing the right gate colour may take some deliberation, but it’s worth investing time to get it right. A thoughtfully coloured gate can enhance your home’s kerb appeal and fit your exterior design beautifully. With the above tips, you'll be sure to find a gate colour that suits both your house and personal taste perfectly.