10 foot 5 bar gate, paint it or stain?

[serin]

It's a fairly modern property so I don't think that a heritage colour would work.

Would white look odd?

I'd use a brownish 'shed and fence' treatment. Outdoor timber is very prone to water damage and rot. Cuprinol make some spirit based preservative stains, work it well into the joints.

The water-based fence stains do not protect against rot.

Your gate will expand and contract a lot with the weather, so paint will crack.

Agreed, our previous house was modern and we painted/stained it a deep brown (cuprinol, maybe called teak). In this house, which is much older and we used a lighter oak colour. Both looked fab and we repaint every 3 years.