17 Front Yard Fence Ideas to Pump Up Your Home’s Curb Appeal (2024)

13 Things You Need to Know Before Building a Fence

Wood Fence with Wire Panels

This Victorian cottage features a front yard fence with solid panels on its lower half and a wire grid on its top half. This gives a bit of privacy and a visual barrier between the street and the yard without obstructing the view of the home and keeps pets in the yard. The stained wood seamlessly blends in with the surrounding landscape.

Contemporary Crossbuck Fence

This x-pattern fence, called a crossbuck fence, is a contemporary update on a fence typically used around barns, farmhouses, and pastures. It’s a perfect choice for a modern farmhouse-style home. Crossbuck fences cordon off your yard without obstructing your view. The brick gate posts tie to the brick in the house and provide visual heft along with a focal point for the fence.

Painted Picket Fence

Put a spin on the classic picket fence by painting it a color other than white. This one is sage green to match the house siding. The front yard is so tiny that the fence is flush with the porch, so it reads as part of the house instead of just a landscape element.

Ranch Front Yard Fence

Simple horizontal boards make a classic ranch-style fence that provides a low barrier between a small front yard and the street. Fence panels stained brown blend with the landscape and tie the fence visually to the brown of the porch steps. A fancier fence might overpower the simple lines of the bungalow, and a narrow flower bed between the fence and sidewalk planted in ornamental grass softens the shape of the fence and adds visual depth.

Modern Mediterranean Fence

A metal fence and arched double gate make a gorgeous first impression for a Mediterranean Revival-style home. The fence separates the front courtyard from the street, adding privacy and a touch of alluring mystery by obscuring the view just a bit. The gate is the star of this show, one of the first things people see in the yard.

Cottage-Style Front Yard Fence

A coastal cottage gets crisp curb appeal from a white wooden front yard fence with an arched arbor framing the gate. The pickets are flush with the top rail, giving the fence a more contemporary look. The fence is set back from the sidewalk and delineated by a flower bed planted with low, mounding ornamentals.

Victorian Iron Fence

Cast-iron Victorian fencing is a good pick for historic houses where you want a fence design that matches the time period. This brick row house has a classic, cast-iron Victorian fence framing its small front yard. The shape on top alternates between spiked points and gentle curves, and it allows a clear view of the front of the house thanks to its thin uprights. Victorian iron fencing is available at salvage stores, or you can buy reproduction cast iron fencing.

Minimalist Front Yard Fence

A low, steel fence with minimal lines will complement a range of house styles, from Victorian to Greek Revival. Here, a low fence with unadorned metal uprights cordons off the front yard without blocking the street view of the grand house.

Front Yard Fence with Arbor

Front yards don’t get more classic than this one defined by a white picket fence and entered via a white wooden gate with a rose-covered arbor. The fence pairs perfectly with the colonial-style home, and the curved gate repeats the curve in the arbor arch and the rounded boxwoods in the bed between the fence and the sidewalk.

Classic White Picket Fence

You can’t go wrong with a white picket fence. They’re a timeless classic for a reason. The pickets on this fence echo the vertical paneled siding on the house, tying the two together visually and stylistically.

Rustic Log Fence

This wooden fence has a log cabin feel thanks to gate posts and rails made of wood that hasn’t been planed into lumber. It’s a type of ranch fence that pairs well with farmhouse-inspired and cabin-style homes. Its open construction cordons off the property without obstructing your view.

Chevron Ranch Fence

This ranch fence is accented with diagonal boards that create a chevron pattern. This not only reinforces the fence but also makes for a pleasing visual pattern. Mounding plantings of roses and ornamental grass at the fence line soften the angular lines, add visual depth and tie the fence to the surrounding landscape.

Split-Rail Front Yard Fence

Split-rail fences are a good pick for big yards where you don’t want to obstruct your view of the landscape. Traditionally used on farms to cordon off broad expanses of land, split-rail fences can co-exist with many architectural styles. Typically left unpainted, split rail fences more affordable than other fence types and need little maintenance.

Unpainted Beauty

Front yard fences can be subtle, like this rustic ranch fence that has been left unpainted and allowed to weather to a silvery brown that blends with the landscape. The primitive-style gate harmonizes with the mixed plantings of ornamental and edibles and creates a charming country garden aesthetic.

Low Front Yard Fence

A low, wooden fence features a patterned panel reminiscent of Japanese tea houses and gardens that pairs perfectly with this Craftsman-style bungalow. The geometric shapes in the fence echo the Asian influences of the home, as seen in the curved eave and the Japanese-style light fixtures on the pilasters.

Rustic Front Yard Fence

A split-rail fence made of wood weathered to rough-edged silver looks like it’s been in front of this rambling house for decades, adding to the property’s historic vibe. The gravel walks, leaning fence poles, and gently overgrown landscape, feel ancient, romantic and rural. Split-rail fences date back to colonial America and they tend to be budget-friendly, so you can get a classic look without spending a fortune.

Ranch Fence With Wire Mesh

This ranch fence complements the farmhouse-style home behind it. Its wire panels between the wooden fence posts double as trellises for vines, which provide natural screening and privacy for the front yard without completely obscuring the view.