After a long hard search, my husband and I finally found a gate that will stretch across our 10 foot wide Great Room, with lots of room to spare. This gate is a nice looking mesh screened gate with a sturdy metal frame. It's in a neutral beige color that will blend with most decor and will not show stains as easily as it would in white. The mesh screen (that is the main barrier between baby and the "other side") is attached with velcro. But don't let that fool you. It is strong and so far has withstood my 9 month old poundings. The mesh screen is removable for easy cleaning (I would assume you could throw it in the washing machine). You just need to be careful to make sure the velcro closures are on the opposite side of your child or else s/he could possible learn to undo it.
The installation was relatively easy. It comes with all the hardware you need. We installed it into a stud on one wall, and used wall anchors on the other. It is solid.
The safety gate is easy to open with one hand. However, it takes a couple tries to close it as you need to line the latch up perfectly. This is a little annoying. I'm hoping a little WD-40 will help glide things along a bit easier.
On either side of the gate are two little feet for added stability. While this is not really needed for our 10 foot span, it would be necessity when assembled at the maximum length.

*****UPDATE 6/19/11**********
Today marks the day that we will throw away this gate!  While it has been useful and served its purpose for many years and through 2 kids, it had also cracked in a few places at the plastic joins, rendering it dangerous for little fingers....nothing a little duct tape couldn't fix, although the swing door hinge never quite lined up easily.  We always had to wiggle it in place. 
What do you expect for $100?  Well, honestly, I expected this gate to last forever.  I expected metal at all the joints as well as the frame.  I'm disappointed that the manufacturer cheapened out and used a brittle plastic.  If I had to do it over again, I would get a real metal gate that I wouldn't have to throw away after a few years.

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