The often neglected exterior
Often, when we move into a new home, our focus is on the interior- the walls, the furniture, the accessories, and many of us never make it to the exterior because hey, we’re never there and it already looks okay.
“Fences and gates don’t have to be merely functional,” says Rebekah Zaveloff, owner and principal designer of KitchenLab, co-founder of DesignInABag.com. “They are wonderful ways to define your property or to provide structure for garden plants to grow up against. And they can be as interesting as the plants surrounding them.”
We love whimsical gates that hint that perhaps beyond that gate is a lush garden or an eclectic bench that begs for you to come sit on it with a friend over coffee. Chain link fences make us sad and make us think of a puppy that is pouting because it has been chained up on a short leash. Wooden fences with clever features like chalkboard paint make us happy and make us think of children playing freeze tag and getting ice cream on their shirts on the fourth of July. So maybe those are exaggerations, but the point is that a fence or gate makes a big impact on a yard (hint, hint, home sellers and real estate pros).
Inspirational photo gallery:
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Andrea Slater
December 30, 2011 at 7:20 am
I love the pictures of different fence designs. Gives me ideas on how to make mine. I'm planning to have a home by next year. I want to customize my fence to create a nice appeal.
Dana
January 15, 2012 at 11:29 pm
Beautiful. I would love to do that to my home. But I have a problem with space. Any ideas how to do it?
Olga
January 18, 2012 at 9:36 pm
Hi Dana. That's a good question. Settle for slim iron fences. Make them short too. Make it 1.5 meters. Don't go for fences that'll hide or cover your house unless you are very near a highway.