I’m making a (small) garden gate for my wife’s veggie garden.  I’m thinking of painting it, and I’m thinking of doing it in two colors.  I’m thinking green for the gate itself and, maybe a yellow for the trim.  I not bad a choosing paint colors…I’m VERY BAD at choosing paint colors.  Here is a photo of the gate.  It is about 40 inches tall and 24 inches wide. The cross bar in the top will be removed.  I have a (ahem) stained glass piece to inlay where the cross bar is.  It a surprise for my wife.  She has been incredible in helping with my sisters passing. I also have a “dad” saying sign, it reads “don’t tell secrets in the garden…the corn has ears, the potatoes have eyes and, the beanstalk”.  Any help with helping to decode with colors will be fantastic.

 

Hey Pauley, I haven't thought of the paint part of the question, first off cool looking gate! I love it!

Just wanted to bring up a small concern if it even is for ya, that cross in the window, the horizontal ones look like they'd snap with the slightest pressure cuz of the grain direction. If you wanted too, you could install some reinforcement pieces on top of the cross members, just to shore it up, and it'd even give the gate another dimension which would look pretty cool I think. Just a suggestion Pauley, or if you're like me, I'd wait till something happens then repair it!

The only thing I think of your color choice is that with the right shades of green and yellow it might look like a well known tractor. That might not dissuade you, but as a guy with an orange one (tractor) I wouldn't want it, unless it was off by several shades of the JD colors. For the record, I wouldn't want an orange gate either.

54 minutes ago, Pauley said:

I have a (ahem) stained glass piece to inlay where the cross bar is

I just saw this, so that reinforcement I suggested probably is not necessary.

12 minutes ago, John Morris said:

Hey Pauley, I haven't thought of the paint part of the question, first off cool looking gate! I love it!

Just wanted to bring up a small concern if it even is for ya, that cross in the window, the horizontal ones look like they'd snap with the slightest pressure cuz of the grain direction. If you wanted too, you could install some reinforcement pieces on top of the cross members, just to shore it up, and it'd even give the gate another dimension which would look pretty cool I think. Just a suggestion Pauley, or if you're like me, I'd wait till something happens then repair it!

I’m going to be removing the cross nd inlaying a small stain glass.  Not real stain glass, it’s from Temu.

6 minutes ago, Fred W. Hargis Jr said:

The only thing I think of your color choice is that with the right shades of green and yellow it might look like a well known tractor. That might not dissuade you, but as a guy with an orange one (tractor) I wouldn't want it, unless it was off by several shades of the JD colors. For the record, I wouldn't want an orange gate either.

That was my thoughts also….thats why I was asking.  Thanks Fred.

Pauley, what color is the rest of the fence?

 

7 minutes ago, John Morris said:

Pauley, what color is the rest of the fence?

 

The fence is a wire type fence, really no color at all.

1 minute ago, lew said:

Oh man….aint that the truth! That is so funny.  Thanks Lew.

4 minutes ago, Pauley said:

The fence is a wire type fence, really no color at all.

So I see you are not trying to match a paint scheme then, oh man, this is dangerous

How about a picture of your garden area Pauley? It sure would help us if we could see the vibe of the surrounding area.

I think something like Hunter's Green would look nice with a layer of snow over it.  I try not to obsess about outdoor paint colors because they can change after just a few months.  I've always used house paint because it stands up to sun UV, but that depends on cost:  local BBS won't mix anything less than a gallon.  Spray paints (rattle can) do OK, depending on exposure; some weathering would look nice.  I don't think I'd bother with a second color.  The garden is the second color?  Nice job on the gate.

good news, if you don't like it, you can paint it again until you do like it.

 

i'd go with green for the field, yellow for the trim/border.

22 hours ago, John Morris said:

So I see you are not trying to match a paint scheme then, oh man, this is dangerous

How about a picture of your garden area Pauley? It sure would help us if we could see the vibe of the surrounding area.

 

Also, what color is your house?  How close is the garden and gate to the house?  Will the gate be seen from the street?  What are the wife's more favorite colors?  Will there be any flowers planted close to the gate, if so, what colors are they?  What colors will be in the stained glass portion?  White is a good traditional gate color...

2 hours ago, Cal said:

 

Also, what color is your house?  How close is the garden and gate to the house?  Will the gate be seen from the street?  What are the wife's more favorite colors?  Will there be any flowers planted close to the gate, if so, what colors are they?  What colors will be in the stained glass portion?  White is a good traditional gate color...

I didn’t even think of that.  That’s sounds like a very good option.  All you guys are awesome.  Thank you.

Late to the party. Not too great with colors as I kinda like the weathered look. The design looks very good and kinda reminds me of a Hobbit village.

Way late getting here Paul. Love the gate and especially the back story.

 

Cal's idea of a traditional white gate appeals to me then perhaps trimmed in a darker shade of green. While I'm a BIG fan of traditional JD green and yellow, not good on a gate unless you bleed JD. Another option would be traditional white, trimmed in black. However taking color choice advice from me is like taking driving advice from a demolition derby driver.

 

Looking forward to seeing your final choice and the placement in the garden.

I really appreciate all the replies and comments.  I’m almost ready to paint.  Someone said the color of our house. Well I mentioned that to my wife and she said..”do it”.  So I’m going to paint it gray with a white trim.   As for now, I still need to do a little more sanding, but I wanted to show you guys an updated photo.  I had a heck of a time making the round circle for the stained glass.  My shaken hands makes things a little harder, but I got it done.  By the way, the stained glass (actually plastic) I got from Temu.  It is 9 inch’s round.  For under 3 dollars, I think it was welll worth it . Oh, that’s glue and saw dust to hide a little space between the circle and door.  Letting it dry overnight then back to sanding.

Edited June 15, 20241 yr by Pauley
To explain the mess around the circle.

Well, it’s finally done.  Not real happy with it, but it’s ok.  Most importantly is my wife loves it.  Painted it (as you can see) light gray with white trim.  I took a long time to get the hinges that go on the t-posts.  They lost the first set in shipping, but I got the other pair pretty quick. Doesn’t look,like it belongs on that garden…but she’s happy then I’m happy.

 

Happy wife, happy life.

Looks good.

How does it latch?

Edited June 26, 20241 yr by Bubba