12 Charming Picket Fence Ideas

A few years ago we replaced our rickety old picket fence with a new one. While I held a certain endearment for our “charming” fence, a lot of the pickets were rotting and we simply couldn’t let it go any longer. I’ve always loved a picket fence and am happy to share some quaint picket fence ideas with you.

Sydney Interior Designers & Decorators Horton & Co. Designers

Enhance a picket fence with a charming gate and arbor. Note how the circle of the arch mimics the round window of the house behind it.

Photo by Dan Nelson, Designs Northwest Architects 

Rounded pickets wrap around this gorgeous seaside home!  The humble picket fence doesn’t look out of place in front of this stately house.

Bloomfield Hills Architects & Building Designers DesRosiers Architects

Cottage gardens always look wonderful nestled next to a picket fence. Blue delphiniums pop off the background of white pickets.

Photo by Tim Cuppett Architects

When you have circles at the top of the picket, it’s called a paddle picket fence. This one is made especially charming with the cute dog greeting visitors at the gate. I love the house in the background, too!

Photo by Archer & Buchanan Architecture, Ltd.

What is it about a picket fence that makes you want to wander through its gate and explore more? This one comes complete with rambling roses.

Entry by New York Interior Designers & Decorators Anthony Baratta LLC

Enclose a garden area with a fence, and keep the gate closed with a ball and chain!

Boyne City Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers Common Ground Landscapes

This beautiful home’s fence incorporates the spade style picket.

Photo by TruStile Doors

What do you think of this rustic fence?  Would you wrap one like this around your yard?

Photo by VOH Architects

Even the most elegant of homes looks better with a white picket fence. Especially when it’s accompanied by a brick sidewalk.

Photo by Jules Duffy Designs

Photo by Asher Associates Architects

How about a rustic fence for an outdoor shower enclosure?  Would you be brave enough to shower out here?

Photo by Ashley Camper Photography

I hope you enjoyed this collection of picket fences. Do you prefer a painted fence or one that has a natural look?

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26 Comments

  1. Picket fences are so perfect for farmhouse or cottage style homes. I never thought about all of the different styles there are. I think I do prefer the painted look. I know whatever you choose will be wonderful, Jennifer!

  2. I adore pickets fences, they say ” yes this is my space, but please look”. That yellow fence is nice!

  3. I like a white picket fence. Any colorful flowers, etc. that are planted would really stand out against a white fence and would make the area look larger

  4. In every house we have ever lived in, my husband has built a picket fence. Even picket fences around our gardens! I love painted picket fences! The fence around our yard is painted white, and the fence around the garden is blue-green. My favorite picket fences have arbors over the gates, and I’m hoping we can do some arbors over our gates this summer.
    Before getting an estimate, you guys should consider installing the fence yourselves. It’s a pretty easy job to do on your own, and you can get pre-made wooden panels at your local hardware store. I think we paid 23 dollars per eight foot panel, and we purchased round treated posts from our local farm store that cost far less than the normal square posts. It just appears by all the projects y’all have finished on your own around your place that putting in a picket fence would be easy for ya, but far less costly than hiring some one else to do it. 🙂

    1. I am so glad I read your reply on this blog post. I want a picket fence around my property. We got a puppy in May…this summer he will be raring to go!! He is a bundle of energy. and will need an enclosed area to play. I have been looking at the prices/getting quotes for my property and it is ridiculously expensive. Now that I have read this I think I will get the post holes dug and installed and do the rest myself….and by myself, I actually mean my very handy son!! LOL….thanks for inspiring me. Watch my blog for a summer update. I’ll be thanking you!!! LOL http://www.savvysnowbirds.com

  5. White painted picket fences are the perfect background for flowers and any special touches. I especially liked the idea of the black stars! That got my mind going to other ideas to add to my pickets. Hang a sign, add a birdhouse and you have instant interest and so inviting. Thanks for the inspiration!

  6. I like painted picket fences. I really never thought of having a color other than white, but I like the colored ones in the photos too.

  7. Painted. I have a white picket fence, 5 ft tall, in front of my house. It gives me privacy when I entertain on my patio.

  8. Thank you so much for including my house and picket fence in your blog!! I’m thrilled! Yes, I LOVE picket fences. We had one around out backyard when I was growing up.

  9. I preferred the white to the bare wood in those pictured, and was not crazy about the yellow fence with the white house. Maybe in real life it looks better but in the picture it seemed out of place to me. I am sure yours will be spectacular.

  10. I love them every possible way, but I do think they look best when they aren’t right up against the sidewalk. I feel they should be set back in to the yard at least a foot or so, especially if the idea is to have flowers weaving in and out of them.

    And putting a picket fence up really is a very easy DIY project.

  11. These are gorgeous. I’m particularly partial to the arch over the gate. I hadn’t considered that a picket fence is a great compliment to a house’s siding or shutters. The traditional (or non-traditional) white picket fence really brings a home to life. Thanks for sharing!

  12. That arch gate with the wisteria growing up it is beautiful. We moved into a new home and are looking to add a gate while we do a little landscaping. I am sure when that wisteria fills out that will look even more stunning.

  13. White picket fences are my favorite! I have one in the front of the house enclosing a little garden and the walk up to the front door. It is in need of having some of the fence panels replaced this year.

  14. Love the pickets. While I’m not a big fan of entire picket fences, I do love picket gates – and the one photo with the picket gate and the nearby large rosebushes is my favorite. So far as the outdoor shower goes, whether or not I would use it depends on what neighboring windows are able to see. While I’m not all that modest at my old age, I’d hate to permanently traumatize the neighbors by making them see me naked and wet. 🙂

  15. My house has a big wooden fence, but would love to put a short white picket fence across the front.

  16. I love the yellow picket fence you featured in your article. The typical ones you see are always painted white. I never would have thought to uses another color. My husband and I should keep this in mind as we think about what type of fence we should put in our backyard.

  17. I am considering a white picket fence around my front garden – painted white. I also am considering a black picket fence! I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a black picket fence but my house is white with black trim so it might be stunning.

  18. These are so lovely! Do you think a white picket fence would look good with a red brick ranch home? I think the look would be so adorably inviting and ’50s, but still look fresh and new with a bold front door color, some modern planters and house numbers, etc… I just adore white picket fences and brick ranches, yet I never seem to see them paired together in magazines! I feel like I’m being torn in half over my love for modern interior style and my love for traditional exterior style. 🙁 Maybe painting the fence a sunny yellow would help? Thank you, please send help! <3