Carved Wooden Art, Fence Accents & Garden Gates

I love to design and create custom carved wooden accents for fences, gates, and privacy screens -- as well as the home. These add a personal touch to your new garden and make it one-of-a-kind.

Personal touches can range from carved wood accents to theme cutouts and personal inscriptions. The only limits are your imagination and the physical constraints of the wood -- which can be cut, carved, shaped, stained, and painted.

Below is my portfolio and a short design guide for accents that will help you get a better idea of the carved accents and art I can create.

Portfolio of Wooden Accents & Art

My online portfolio features a few of my outdoor carved accents which have been attached to fences and gates to add a personal touch, as well as carved pieces of art I have done for gifts and carving shows.

I specialize in creating client inspired designs. So if you see what you want (or something close), we can use that as a starting point for creating a unique garden accent.

If you need ideas and inspiration, check out these garden resources, clip magazine pictures, look through your vacation photos and and skim garden accessory catalogs. The more you know about what you like and don't the easier it is to create something which is unique and will delight you for years to come.

Carved Outdoor Accents

Carved Accents & Gifts

Click on a photo below to see a larger picture and more information about the art work.

Design Guide for Wooden Fence Accents & Garden Gate Art

This design guide provides information on how to achieve the look of a specific style, create the best design, and choose a location for your accent or art.

Wooden Fence & Gate Art Style Ideas

Design Elements

The style and subject of your art may be influenced by whether you are creating a specific style or a totally unique design. Areas for adding exterior art include:

• fence and garden gate surfaces (hence the name)
• creative use of joinery techniques
• overhead and decking patterns, shapes and surfaces
• railing patterns, shapes and surfaces
• siding patterns, shapes and surfaces
• finishing touches (trim, appliances, decorative end beam cuts, corbels, post caps and finials)

How To Achieve A Specific Artistic Style

• Craftsman Garden Art ~ Pegged joints, artistic joinery, carved accents of natural subjects (leaves, berries, flowers) and typical motifs (ribbons).
  
  
• Mission & Southwestern Garden Art ~ Rustic carvings, cutouts and burned images of period or local motifs, such as braiding, local wildlife (snakes, coyotes), crosses, bow ties, fan and moon shapes.
  
  
• Medieval & Tudor Garden Art ~ Carved inscriptions of the period (Shakespearean quotes, pithy sayings) or a family crest.
  
  
• Whimsical Garden Art ~ A style that lends itself to artistic expression, it can incorporate carved inscriptions that range from Zen koans to nursery rhymes. Carved accents or cut outs can feature animals, plants, mythological symbols, mathematical equations or meaningful words. Wood railings can be profiles of guitars, palm trees, or any other shape that is tall and narrow. Short and wide shapes can be cut out of flat railing panels.

Harmonizing With Your Garden & Home

Your garden art should harmonize with your garden landscaping, as well as your home. The design subject and construction method should compliment and echo the style of your landscaping: natural plant motifs, variations within a garden theme, formal shapes for more formal gardens, traditional designs for period gardens, whimsical subjects for free flowing gardens. The overall dimensions should also fit with the proportions of the garden and the location where they are placed.

The final color can compliment the colors used in your landscaping or wood structure. If you want to blend into the landscaping, the natural color of the wood or browns and greens work well. If you want the art to stand out, strong colors can be used. Colors used on the house can be used to tie together the look of your garden and home.

Design Criteria & Location Considerations For Wooden Fence & Gate Art

• Delight ~ Since the art is intended to enhance your delight and use of your garden architecture, you want to consider carefully what will create the mood and emotional response you intend. Choose motifs or inscriptions that are both endearing and enduring - since most will become a permanent part of the structure. Whatever art is finally chosen, design issues will include:
  
  
  • creation process (integral part of design, applied afterwards)
    
  • status (permanent, removable, changeable, rotating for the seasons)
    
    
• Size & Shape ~ The size and shape are determined by its relationship to both the whole structure and the specific area it will become part of. It should also be well proportioned to become a natural part of the project and garden. The shape can be customized to harmonize with the natural or already existing features in your garden, such as angular, flowing or free form.
  
  
• Visibility ~ Determine from where you want to be able to see (or not see) the art and from how far away. If the art is to be discovered, think through how well you want it disguised.
  
  
• Sunlight & Wind ~ Art cutouts can increase the amount of sunlight, moonlight and wind that passes through the structure. The shape of light and shadow can be a factor in orienting the art and its location.

Material & Design Options For Wooden Fence & Gate Art

• Materials ~ The art, in most cases, can be made of the same materials used in the project: Redwood, Mangaris™ (Red Balau), Mahogany, Teak or Cedar. However, more unusual, carvable or color contrasting woods can be used.
  
  
• Custom Touches ~ Art is the ultimate way to create a custom look and feel for your garden architecture. It can be used to highlight or disguise built-ins such as benches, storage, and access panels. Decorative decking patterns can create pathways in wood or in-floor motifs. Lighting or other fixtures can be hidden or highlighted with artistic accents.

Please do not copy photos and text

Last Updated: Jul 26 2012