If good fences make good neighbors, then good-looking ones make, well, happy homeowners and onlookers. While landscaping can make your house look great, a bit of color or creative flourish will cause it to really stand out.

I came across the first image a week or so ago, and it's the first time this perpetual renter has ever envied a front gate. The modern design is much less forbidding than other wrought iron gates, but it gets the job done just as well. The bike-based gate and fence in Images 3 and 10, respectively, are also playful interpretations on the theme.

If the bike fence looks a little less polished than you prefer, the slatted fence in Image 5 is sleek but natural. Of course, the classic option has white pickets (Image 6).

A colorfully painted door will spruce up even the simplest exterior, and I think Paris's streets are lined with some of the most impressive front doors around (Image 8).

MORE GATES, FENCES, AND FRONT DOORS ON APARTMENT THERAPY:
• DIY Living Privacy Gate On Wheels
• Good Fences & Bad Fences: How to Decide
• Flickr Finds: OrangeDoor's Fabulous Front Porch
• Look! Modern Fence
• Color Roundup: Front Door Fever

Images: 1. Mixr.se 2. Chris Court for Design* Sponge 3. Cool Picture Gallery 4. Flickr user OrangeDoor via Apartment Therapy 5. The Brick House 6. Country Living 7. Dwell 8. Stacy Snacks 9. Sunset 10. Jason Loper for Apartment Therapy

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