What are the Different Styles for Wood Picket Fences?

Though a white picket fence is often considered traditional for the typical home, there is more than one type of wood picket fence available. The styles of wood picket fences are usually determined by the type of picket used, and how far apart they are placed from each other. The Dog Ear style is one of the most popular types, while Flat Top pickets are among the most simplistic designs. A more sophisticated type is the Gothic style, in which each picket's top is pointed. The most popular choices for spacing include privacy, spaced, and post-and-rail.

Many homeowners enjoy traditional styles of wood picket fences, as these are considered rustic and charming. The Flat Top picket style features plain pieces of wood with flat tops, creating a basic, pastoral appearance. A variation on this is another traditional style, called the Dog Ear, in which pickets with originally flat tops have both corners cut off at an angle. Both of these types of wood picket fences are typically seen outside of homes in the country, or at least near houses that incorporate a rustic style.

Some people like more ornate wood picket fences, preferring the Gothic picket to the Flat Top or Dog Ear. The Gothic style picket is pointed at the top, resembling an arrow. A similar style is the French Gothic picket, which features a pointed top like the Gothic type, but with a small circular chunk taken out of either side of the picket just below the top. A French Gothic Pointed picket is another variation, as this kind features a more sharply pointed tip than the French Gothic style. Any of these wood picket fences tend to be most appropriate outside of homes with a Victorian style rather than a traditional, bucolic look.

Another aspect of style is spacing, as the amount of space between each picket can change the look completely. For example, privacy wood picket fences feature pickets that are placed very closely together so that it is nearly impossible to see through each stake. On the other hand, a spaced picket fence has enough room between each stake that passers-by can see through the fence into the yard. The post-and-rail type is even easier to see through, as this kind usually features either two or three pieces of wood stacked horizontally, with plenty of space between each one. This style of spacing is usually best for marking property lines or keeping livestock contained, and is most frequently seen on ranches.