This drain won't grate on you

Trench grates are not sexy. Yet for people like my parents, who actually have them covering the drainage gullies recessed in the patio around their swimming pool and at the end of their driveway, the grates do invoke a sort of passion. As in, "those metal strips are so UGLY."

Had I never seen the pretty little numbers from Iron Age Designs, I would have agreed. But instead of flimsy metal pierced with holes or uniform slats, these sturdy iron grates—which develop a nice rusty patina as they age—have a filigree of intersecting circles and diamonds, modern abstract swirls, or rippling waves.

Iron Age grates cost about $30 a linear foot, and are an easy retrofit with most existing drainage trenches. Best of all, they're green. Each grate is made from post-consumer recycled iron from old engine blocks and brake drums. That's something we can all appreciate—even Murphy the dog, seen smiling beside a locust leaf pattern at right.