If you have an indoor pet – this post is for you.
If you have a toddler who lives in, or visits your home – this post is for you.
If you have neither an indoor pet, nor a toddler – I hope you like picket fences. 🙂
So, here’s the back story. I know I’ve mentioned before that we have a lot of pets.
2 horses, 4 dogs, and 2 cats to be exact.
Two of those dogs are spoiled rotten indoor dogs, and the other two live outside during the warm months, and come inside during the cold months, so I guess they are all spoiled rotten.
Our two indoor dogs are both Min Pins, but they have completely different personalities.
One of them has made many appearances on my blog (seen HERE in my son’s graduation photos).
His name is Pico, and I don’t really think of him as a dog. He’s more like my fifth child.
He has his own chair at the kitchen table. He has his own pet bed.
Pico always lets us know when he needs to go outdoors, and he’s pretty much the dog saint in the family.
And then there’s Chica.
Don’t get me wrong – I love Chica dearly, but her halo has fallen off more than a few times.
If you turn your back on her, she’ll jump up on the coffee table or kitchen table and steal the food right off your plate, and she’ll only let someone know she needs to go outside if she can’t sneak into a room to take care of her personal business.
To prevent that from happening, I installed a baby gate a few years ago to keep her out of the hallway that leads to two bedrooms.
The gate has worked perfectly fine, but it’s a standard 1980’s baby gate, and isn’t terribly attractive.
I finally decided it was time to take it down, and make a farmhouse style picket fence pet gate, so I’ll show you how I did it!
DIY Picket Fence Pet Gate
Step 1 – buy fence pickets. They are cheap, which is a bonus. I only needed about 6 for my picket fence gate.
Step 2 – determine the height you want your gate to be, and cut the pickets to that size.
Step 3 – Lay out the pickets, leaving a gap between each one by using a picket as a spacer.
Step 4 – Use the cut off ends to connect the pickets. Make sure they are all aligned, and don’t stick over the sides of the edge pickets.
Here’s what the back of mine looked like once it was all assembled.
Notice the cross picket is cut at an angle.
Here it is fro the front.
Step 5 – paint it, attach hinges and a sliding lock, then hang!
I used a sliding latch, because that’s what our local store had, but I plan to replace it with this one (affiliate link), because it will match the gate better, and flips up, which is quicker to open and close.
If I still had toddlers in my home, I would totally use this for them, but I should note that this project isn’t approved by any child safety agency, so use at your own risk with children.
Here they are side by side – such a difference!
It’ll keep Chica where she belongs, and looks farmhouseish at the same time! 🙂
Vaya con Dios,
This is such a great looking gate, Angie…what a good idea! Pinning! Hope you have a great weekend!
Thanks so much, Linda! 🙂
This is so cute, Angie! What a great idea!
That’s the perfect little gate for your lovely farmhouse, Angie!
Thanks Julia! Now I just need to finish the rest of my living room!
Angie, what a great idea. Love the chair also.
Thanks Karen! That chair is an extra for our kitchen table, so it sits there until we need it.
How incredibly useful AND adds another layer of interest to the room. Nice idea!
Thanks so much, Linda! 🙂
Funny! We have a Chica too, and she does the same thing! We have also installed a gate to keep the dogs in the kitchen and laundry room area while we are gone. Your gate looks great!
That’ so funny, Pamela – maybe Chica isn’t the best name to pick for dogs! It must mean “will misbehave” in Spanish! 🙂
Adorable!!! I have three horrible metal gates in my house because of my dog. I will seriously consider doing this.
Patricia.
Good luck making yours, Patricia I love mine!
That looked so easy and is so attractive. I have a half-door between my kitchen and my back entryway. It is just one of the old interior doors from when we replaced them all. It’s just flat and ugly and I would love to replace it with a half barn-door style door. Your project makes me think that it would be easy to make with just some boards and nails and cross pieces. I wouldn’t use the pickets, of course, not leave spaces between the boards and I would put some of the black hinges on it like you used. I have sort of a barn decor in that entryway so I think it would just emphasize the theme. You always give me the best ideas–ones I can adapt for my own purposes. Thanks a bunch!
Vaya con Dios!
I’d love to see a photo if you end up making one of your own, Naomi!
P.S. I want to see photos of those wonderful four-leggeds who live with you sometimes! I have a big Labradoodle and two “grandcats” who are such a source of laughs with their antics.
Love it, pinned it. Christmas 2016 will see a baby gate made as a gift, you never know what one my husband will pick to duplicate. This is certainly a contender for two footed or fur footed animals.
LOL – thanks Bliss!
Gorgeous, Angie. I’ve seen similar indoor gates (including made by staff at a local thrift store), but yours is handsdown the loveliest.
40 years ago I had an 8 week old German Shepherd puppy watch me close the kind of accordion baby gate you show. 10 minutes later he waltzed into the living room where he was not allowed. I carried him back to the utility room and closed the gate behind me. The third time I carried him back I hid behind a chair and watched the clever pup use his back teeth to clamp down and release the clasp then use his shoulder to push back the gate and pounce joyfully back into the living room before I stepped out from my hiding spot and barred his progress. There was no gloom or disgrace on his face as I carried him back to the utility room. He thought it was a game – to which he had the solution.
Hey, you gotta give him credit for persistence, Donna! 🙂
I love this! One day I will have the need for one and I will be making this!
LOVE THIS ! Showing it to my son and DIL! 🙂
Thanks Deb! 🙂
What a fabulous look and great idea! Saw your feature at Cozy Little House, congrats!
Mary
Thanks so much, Mary!