Ornate or Contemporary . . . What Design Should I Choose?

When I meet many of my clients for the first time, they are under the impression that a simpler iron design is less costly than something more intricate, so they compromise on the design they really desire in the name of cost savings. I'm here to tell you, that having a simple design is not always the least expensive way to go. Most of the steel components, such as scrolls, picket collars and gate toppers are now purchased directly from a supplier, still very well made and lovely to look at.  These components are no longer hand forged in a shop by a blacksmith.  Unfortunately, blacksmithing is somewhat of a dying art today, too labor intensive making the cost of the end product out of reach for the general buying public.

There are a few suppliers that sell hand forged, really beautifully made, iron products. These products can be purchased by an iron shop at a fraction of the cost of what it would cost for a skilled iron smith to forge them. Therefore, by adding some scroll work, baskets or picket collars to your project can be more affordable than you think, and can sometimes lower the price of the project. Often, by purchasing larger scroll designs, and integrating them into a project, your project becomes more budget friendly than a contemporary design that requires larger materials, and more of them.  The more, or larger, materials that are used increases the  weight of the project, the more weight the longer it takes to make and the harder it is to handle the materials.  This increases fabrication time, making the project difficult to work with and in the end can cost more. . . labor is what costs, not necessarily the materials!

I'm just saying; don't be shy to ask about different prices for varied designs. Go to different websites, print out designs that you like, show your fabricator those designs. They may not be able to match a design exactly at the price your willing to pay, but there are options that will bring you closer to the "look" you want to achieve without breaking the bank.