Wrought iron gates are a beautiful product that can lend a sense of grandeur to a property, working as a formidable centrepiece that impresses anyone who passes them. You often find them installed for important buildings like cathedrals, political quarters, and expensive houses, and while black is the traditional colour for wrought iron gates, you may be surprised by the variety of colours that can be found.
You can paint or powdercoat your gate pretty much any colour, but unless you want to upset your neighbours, you may want to opt for something a little more traditional. These are the most popular and common wrought iron gate colours that you’ll find, with a couple of rarer examples thrown in.
1. Black
This classic black wrought iron gate is an example of the Art Nouveau style—an art form inspired by the natural world. Notice it’s twisting curves and lack of straight lines, like vines reaching for the light.
Black remains the most popular colour because it goes with pretty much everything. It symbolizes strength, power, elegance, and prestige.
2. Grey
As a lighter version of black, grey is another colour that works well with pretty much any other colour. So it’s also a popular colour for wrought iron gates, as seen in the example above at St.Joseph’s Cathedral in Rockhampton.Grey is considered to be a neutral and balanced colour devoid of emotion, so may be suitable if you want your gate to be attractive but also subtle.
3. Gold
As a bright, eye-catching colour, gold tends to be sparingly on wrought iron gates, as accent colours for leaves, finials, and other decorations. It works gloriously with black, so you’ll often find the two paired.
You can find mostly-gold wrought iron gates though, as per the dazzling Canada Gate in London’s Green Park, pictured above. This sumptuous specimen exudes wealth and luxury, and is part of a memorial scheme dedicated to Queen Victoria.
4. Bronze
Bronze is a similar colour to gold, but with the brightness turned down. This retains its luxurious look while avoiding gaudiness, and also gives an impression of maturity and earthiness. It blends extremely well with trees and plants, which makes it a good choice if you’re wanting something a little understated.
5. Green
Green is the colour of nature, and makes a modest and tasteful wrought iron gate. It can look exquisite when paired with gold or silver, as seen in the Belgian gate above.
As well as being synonymous with nature, green symbolises freshness, hope, rebirth and renewal, and immortality. It works extremely well for public parks and other spaces, where you want the gate to blend in with its surroundings.
6. Blue [Bonus]
You won’t find many bright blue wrought iron gates, but if you’re trying to make a statement, this could be your colour. This gate is the entrance to a Djurgarden—a public park in Stockholm home to historical buildings and monuments, museums, galleries, and more. Perhaps they thought that an ornate entrance would help to stress the importance of the park.
So the most popular wrought iron paint colours are black, grey, gold, bronze, and green, each signifying something unique. You can certainly opt for other hues like blue, purple, or pink (especially if you want to make a statement), but they’re less common. Whichever colour you choose, you can rest assured that your wrought iron gate will make an impression.