The standard among homeowners for fencing is definitely a privacy fence, but those can be boring, right?
When you’re deciding on building a new fence you’ll want to ask yourself, “is this something to keep the dogs in the yard or to impress neighbors?”
If you side with the latter, looking into a new approach or modern design and styles for your fence can allow you to take some creative liberties and create something truly unique to you. So if you’re trying to update your fence and bring it to a modern style, what exactly are your options?
Horizontal Fencing
This simple change from vertical to horizontal has an incredible effect on the visual appeal and overall aesthetics of a fence.
One of the approaches that we’ve seen homeowners do, and I personally love the look of, is utilizing exotic hardwoods – that are normally used for decks – for your horizontal fence boards. Not only does this exponentially increase your fence’s lifespan, but you can achieve a more modern, sleek and elegant look by using a wood like Tigerwood for your fence boards.
An example of a short, horizontal fence utilizing hardwoods
Rail Fences
Split Rails and Ranch Rails are becoming increasingly popular in Colorado. While a split rail can identify as more of a rustic design, Ranch Rails are the perfect hybrid of a simplistic, organic design that is coupled with modern functionality and aesthetics.
Ranch Rails provide a very clean finished look and can be installed in country or open space areas and metro areas. We’ve seen incredible applications in both locations – so you can’t go wrong!
Example of a ranch rail fence
Metal and Frosted Glass?
While we don’t have the supplies for this type of fence, utilizing steel beams is another modern tactic for fence building.
A steel post fence has a very unique and artistic design
Some examples are using steel posts, with no type of rail, that are evenly spaced between one another leaving about a 6 inch gap. These gaps create an intriguing visual aspect as you are able to see through the fence, but things like animals wills have a hard time getting through. With these types of designs you’ll find yourself sacrificing a little bit of functionality for aesthetics.
The same can be said with frosted glass fences. By using standard post systems, the gaps in between are covered by frosted glass rather than lumber to create the privacy homeowners want. The frosted glass may provide a bit more privacy, but due to the nature of the material it will most likely be much more expensive than choosing lumber.
Example of Frosted Glass
Concluding Thoughts
Personally, I’m deeply in love with the horizontal fence design that utilizes a type of hardwood. Horizontal fences have just enough of a twist on a standard, vertical fence so you’ll stand out without being too ostentatious. And using hardwoods will bolster the lifespan and reduce maintenance while providing an incredibly elegant look that hardwoods are known for.
There are tons of other, non-traditional fence designs that I’m sure I didn’t go over. Do you know of any that I didn’t mention? We’d love to hear your ideas, so comment below!
