Our Personal Favourites

Thoughts and musings

Our Personal Favourites

Lewis | May 7, 2015 | 0 Comments

We have been very busy recently preparing and designing brochures for all of our bespoke products. At the moment, a gate brochure is in the design process and as a result, there has been a lot of ‘gate talk’ within the office. During our lunch break today, six of us – Directors Stuart Barten and Ross Gandon, Landscape Architect Rupert Davis, Office Manage Stuart Charlesworth, Office Junior Rhiannon Field and myself – were discussing our favourites. The results were very interesting, so much so they will be compiled in this blog post. Enquiries for a number of our gates in our Gate Collection have been high recently, mainly due to the expert craftsmanship of Oakleigh Manor Garden Joinery’s Director Dan Weir, as well as his joinery teams. So read on to find out our favourites.

Stuart Barten – Director

Let’s start with Mr Barten, the founder and one of the Directors here at Oakleigh Manor. Of the 15 gates we have in our bespoke portfolio, his favourite is the Gosmere. The design of this particular gate pays homage to the classic field gate. As a hands-on individual, he appreciates the joinery skills that are utilised in the manufacture of the Gosmere, where the horizontal rails flow end-to-end with no joints, running through the vertical frame rails using mortice joints. But is this your personal favourite?

Ross Gandon – Director

Next up is the second Oakleigh Manor Limited Director, Ross Gandon. When asked of his favourite, he cited the Badlesmere as a beautiful gate, but opted for the Biddenden. This gate bridges the difficult gate design problem of providing an element of safety and security to property as well as blending into the surroundings. This may be due to the slats near the top of the gate. Ross specified he loves how the gate stiles are designed.

Rupert Davis – Landscape Architect

Unlike Ross, our head Landscape Architect Rupert Davis chose the Badlesmere as his favourite. As the sister gate to the Gosmere, this was also designed with a classic field gate in mind, with absolutely stunning results. Despite some of us preferring a natural wood finish, Rupert said he likes the look of painted acoya, which is demonstrated in this photo. The bespoke and unique stainless steel ironmongery – which is flush fitted onto all of our gates, can be seen in all its glory here. They are recessed into the gate, thanks to the abilities of Dan Weir and his Garden Joinery teams. Using stainless steel ironmongery not only looks fantastic; it also ensures your gate is hung and fitted to the highest standard by one of the best in the business. A number of us cited the Badlesmere as a potential number one favourite – an indication of its beauty.

Stuart Charlesworth – Office Manager

The Office Manager Stuart Charlesworth took a little longer to decide on his favourite than the rest of us. However, when the decision did come, he chose the Wingham gate; no one could blame him! I think it is the bow top design of the Wingham that has caught ‘Charlie’s’ eye. This is another example of a gate in the Oakleigh Manor Gate Collection that promotes both privacy and the blending into natural surroundings. The elegant design of the Wingham also gives it the flexibility and versatility of looking in place for both rural and urban properties.

Rhiannon Field – Office Junior

Perhaps Rhiannon values privacy very highly for her home and property, as the Woodford is one of our gates which really promotes it. Having said that, the formation of the vertical framework is just one element Rhiannon pointed out to why it is equally as appealing to the eye. This gate is installed on a ground level roller track, which results in a sliding automation system, potentially for a big reveal! It will definitely leave a lasting impression.

Lewis Williams – Marketing Administrator

It finally comes to me! During the process of creating the gate brochure of which I am currently in, I have had to find out everything about each and every gate. This has involved liaising regularly with Garden Joinery’s Dan Weir, talking at length with everyone else in the office and after much deliberation, my favourite is the Maypole. The problem is, I cannot pinpoint exactly why, ironically! All I know is that the design appeals to me, and given the chance, this beauty will be sitting on the front of my driveway.