Garden: Front Gate

I'm redoing many areas of this house inside and out, as I've mentioned before. One of them is the front gate.
When I pull up to the house, it does not say anything to me....after all, I'm the mistress of this house, the Gate should be welcoming to me !
:D

Wish I could have something like this:

 or anything from here .......

 
But we make do with what we have and what we CAN do for the moment.
 
Well, I decided something must be done. I love great impact for little effort, little money, and little time. This may not always be the best way as some things do require more time for best results, but I have alot to do before summer humidity really hits here when I cannot do anything outside, so the short way is best.

I originally wanted to have a Mediterranean blue gate, or turquoise, with the striking magenta bougainvillea I have on one side arching over it, but alas, the blues were not going to be the easiest and there would be other things I'd have to paint to pull the entire house together with that color.....or maybe not necessary but.....this house already has white in the trimming, and "easiest" meant going with the white also because we had the paint left from the hallway. So I painted the gate white. I used a homemade chalk paint recipe I learned to make from here with baking soda, and I like it better than the plain paint. It was silkier and dried faster.
The white was shocking in the sun, even blinding, but it matched the rest of the house. I wasn't as thrilled as I wanted to be. It was cleaner looking but missing something. I also wanted some decorations on the gate. I originally wanted a beautiful rose decoupage center medallion with some corners done too, but then I thought stenciling would be beautiful too. I couldn't decide so I consulted with my housemate and showed him what I had in mind and he immediately wanted the stenciling. Fine. I went to Michaels and Martha Stewart had a beautiful stencil set I bought for around $13.00? or something like that. I already had the paint I'm in love with which is her Golden Pearl

 from Home Depot, and I stenciled the hallway inside with it too. I love it. I began stenciling with no plan in mind except to get the corners done first to frame the whole front, and make some kind of center medallion and add on the rest for whimsy. In the heat and bright sun facing a stark white gate and its reflecting the sun, I was beginning to have a hard time and my housemate came over to see how I was doing for some reason, and he helped out by holding up a patio umbrella to keep me shaded.....that uncharacteristic kindness almost knocked me out more than the sun and bougainvillea thorns! My entire mood changed to my usual playful attitude, but it was a huge blessing and I was able to finish in a creative and fun spirit.

Another bougainvillea to match the one on the right was planted as I eventually want to build an archway with the two of them over the gate door. Some extra flowers were planted too, and the colors really pop now.

The front gate is done for now, until I find some finials I like better than the angels. A new friend said she liked them that I should keep them, so I will until something else comes along.
Here are the pics.
This is before:

 This is after the painting and stenciling. I also did the hardware which was black, but its much better now :D

Details of the stenciling. This was the fun part, as I looked at the door and said ...."what if...."

Center medallion:

After planting the new bougainvillea, zinnias', and geraniums. The aloe were already there:

Full view:

It is definitely much improved, it is also attracting attention and positive comments from others, so its a good neighborhood upgrade......just some paint and flowers is all.....and alot of work in the sun :D

There's more to come. I'm planning on planting lots of flowers for color in the front....I'm loving color!



blessings to all.

sharing this with The Rosegarden in Malevik: Saturday Show Off