Home Fence Designs

A high quality fence is a good way to make your property more secure, more private, and even increase the value of your home. You can choose between a wide variety of materials, styles, and creative designs to create the perfect fence for your home. By carefully designing your fence, you are guaranteed to create a beautiful backdrop for your yard's landscaping. If you are not immediately sure what kind of fence will give your property the greatest visual appeal while still accommodating your budgetary requirements, here is a full analysis on selecting a fence design.

Form vs Function

When selecting amongst a variety of fence designs and materials, your chief concerns will be of form and function. Form, as you know is the stylistic and aesthetic appearance of your fence. Some fencing materials are incredibly beautiful, such as a deep wood grain with a custom stain to create the perfectly complimentary color to your existing landscaping, or an ornate wrought iron fence to portray an image of stately elegance. Consider corrugated tin for a rustic, bohemian look or even pickets to create an air of Southern charm.

Function primarily deals with the practical purpose for the fence. Will your fence keep animals in or out? Is it meant to minimize the visual lines into your property, giving you maximum privacy? Will it support vine plants or other elements in your current or future landscaping? These are your functional considerations.

Materials

Fencing materials come in as many types, styles, and varieties as your imagination can come up with. Stone, brick, and concrete provide optimal protection from intrusion, but require the most labor intensive installations and are often quite expensive. Wood is beautiful and cheap, but requires regular maintenance to maintain its aesthetic quality. Wrought iron fencing sections can be easily installed, and are quite beautiful, but come at a premium. Depending on your needs and budget, you are guaranteed to find a fencing material that is both beautiful and functional.

DIY vs. Hiring a Pro

Your final consideration when designing and building a custom fence, is do you do it yourself, or should you hire a professional? This is largely a matter of budgetary restraints, and your confidence in your own handyman abilities. If you have built a fence before or consider yourself a craftsman, you may find the task a welcome challenge. However if you are building a fence with particularly difficult materials, such as stone, brick, or iron, you can almost certainly save yourself money, time and frustration by hiring a pro.