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Photo provided by Tree Frog Working.com
A custom Cedar gate with lattice and an arbor offers a warm welcome to a home in Denver.
Provided by Tree Frog Working.com
These steel-clad gates in Cedar in Littleton were distressed to make them look old.
Provided by provided by Tree Frog Working.com
A hand-forged steel gate with a black powder coat in Littleton.
Provided by Tree Frog Working.com
Cedar gates with custom metal detail grace a home in Castle Pines.
Provided by Tree Frog Working.com
This Cedar gate in Lakewood comes with custom metal details.
Provided by Tree Frog Working.com
A steel gate with a patina finish in Boulder.
Provided by Tree Frog Working.com
A Cedar gate and pergola has custom metal components in Golden.
A garden’s gate is the equivalent of a house’s front door.
“Doors are the most important part of a structure. They take you from one space to another, outdoors to in or in to out, public to private,” said Eron Johnson, owner of Eron Johnson Antiques in Denver. “Doors were constructed specially to give a first impression of who lived inside.”
An ideal garden gate can integrate form and function, keeping children and pets in a yard and trespassers out. Beyond pragmatic applications, a garden gate can add a charming portal and an intriguing invitation to access a sanctuary.
Looking to add a garden gate? Here are the nuts and bolts you’ll need to know. >Read here
“Security is a consideration, but so is an artistic first impression,” said Chad Beall, who 22 years ago founded Denver-based Tree Frog Woodworking.
“We come in after homeowners invested in landscaping and want to make a great entrance. The architect or landscape designer brings us in to create a showpiece, an artistic component,” said Beall, who crafts custom gates from wood, metal and combinations of the two materials.
“It’s the romance of history. The old gates and doors really give a sense of entrance and transition from one space to another,” Johnson said.
Boasting antique provenance and the patina of time, his salvaged gates hail mainly from the 19th century through 1920. Some gates are more than 200 years old.
“You don’t see many of them anymore,” he said. “A lot are in collections or repurposed in buildings, but a few pieces float around.” Related Articles Home & Garden | Denver Urban Gardens employees see “reawakening” in union drive Home & Garden | Jewish Family Service of Colorado acquires Altius Farms to help feed people in need Home & Garden | Gardening: How to preserve your late-summer harvest in Colorado Home & Garden | Have tomatoes to spare? We’ve got you covered, with recipes and ideas. Home & Garden | Is your tomato harvest really late this year? You’re not alone.
His vintage gate selection ranges from ornate Argentine Beaux Arts gates to Spanish and French wrought iron, from painted teak to Indo-Portuguese rosewood double doors with brass nail heads.
Some clients purchase antique gates and doors as period pieces for historic structures. Vintage gates also serve as architectural counterpoints. Johnson cited a case in point: a Denver condominium project known as The Greenhouse applied antique pieces in a modern setting.
“They used antique wrought iron doors and fencing and planted around them, so it’s like walking into a secret garden,” Johnson said. “They’re expanding and using more.”
Beyond intriguing provenance or the eco-friendly repurposing of building components, Johnson noted the value of antique garden gates: “You’re not paying today’s wages and materials costs when you buy an old door. You’re essentially buying materials, but not time to build it,” Johnson said. “Some of these things — to have them remade would be prohibitive in price.”
And that’s if you could find somebody with the Old World skills to craft such ornate gates.
While antique gates add an exotic architectural accent, Beall typically prioritizes complementing the structure or the fence.
“We usually try to pull from existing architecture so the garden gate looks like part of what’s going on. But sometimes, we get way more outside the box with an original artistic approach,” Beall said. “We’ve done some with forged vines, leaves and willows — very organic. We’ve done all-metal gates that are almost transparent and have nothing to do with security.”
Many homeowners opt for wooden gates.
“Wood looks warmer and appears softer. It’s totally organic and a lot of clients prefer how it ties in with their architecture,” Beall said.
Wood gates often are lighter in weight than metal gates, but wood can require more upkeep.
“You need to keep wood stained or sealed or it will split and crack,” Beall said. “Structurally, my wood gates will last, but they will weather. And some people like that look when wood goes gray. The reclaimed look is super in right now, so some people let wood get splintery because cosmetically they like it.”
When working with wood for garden gates, Beall uses western red cedar, mahogany, redwood, and ipe — a hardwood suitable for exterior applications in Colorado. And he factors in the contraction and expansion effects of high plains freeze-thaw cycles.
“Wood gates move in Colorado. I’ll go back and tweak gates, shim them around, plane something until they acclimate,” said Beall. “Then they’re good for years.”
Wood gates can create privacy.
“You can’t see through a solid wood gate,” Beall said. “But sometimes we add metal bars to peek out or so dogs can see out.”
Metal gates offer increased security and durability.
“Metal is harder to kick through than a wood gate,” Beall said. “A powder-coated gate requires very little upkeep and they last and last.”
Disadvantages to metal gates include issues with weight: “They’re heavier so metal gates need strong posts to support,” says Beall. “And metal gets a lot hotter in the Colorado sun.”
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