fence & step ideas
ideas for hiding new fence
STAIR RODS Check out our website www.stair-rod-resources.com where we have a huge selection of stair rods. It looks like they are either the brushed brass or antique brass finish. I am unsure of the shape of the finial, but we have several choices for you. Feel free to give us a call if you have any questions as well! 800-504-5989
steps
Need to hide an unsightly view or a construction material you aren't especially proud of (such as a chain link fence or CMU walls)? Use climbing plants and vines to block out whatever you wish to disappear.
Kintzley's Ghost honeysuckle (Lonicera reticulata 'Kintzley's Ghost') Jocelyn H. Chilvers A single specimen makes a stunning vertical accent plant, or plant several as a screen. As a twining-type vine, it will grow best on a support structure with small-diameter components such as lattice, chain link, wrought iron, etc.
A planted pathway. This long, winding entry walk feels more like a cottage garden path than a path from the driveway to the front door. Flowering shrubs and window boxes edge the path without enveloping it, urging visitors along as they make their way to the front door. While this photo was taken in winter, the cherry-red door and quarterboard next to the door enhance the front yard’s year-round appeal.
The classic white picket fence. Sometimes the front yard needs a fence — to keep the dogs in or provide a barrier on a busy street. What more welcoming feature to include than a white picket fence? It’s what sold Pete Whitehead and Krissy Brown on their house 12 years ago, and it surely attracts the attention of those who pass by in the Melbourne, Australia, neighborhood. Planters in front and behind soften the fence with evergreen foliage, and an entry gate front and center makes it easy to reach the front door.
The open porch. An addition was all Sherri Bryan and Tim Dewar needed to ensure this Victorian home in Santa Barbara, California, would be their family’s forever home. Besides adding on to make room for themselves and their two children, the couple gave the home a new paint job that enhances the exterior’s cheerful street view. Two lounge chairs on the open front porch, close to the sidewalk, connect with the neighborhood and anyone who might be playing in the front yard.
Steps to linger on. A front porch is not necessarily essential to a welcoming entry, as this stoop in Massachusetts shows. Interior designer Jayme Kennerknecht and her husband, Daniel Simonelli, share this home with their dog, Cooper. Potted plants in a framing arrangement guide visitors to the front door, and the stairs are potentially a great place to sit, relax and take in the view.
Open fencing. Though a new fence creates privacy for the owners of this renovated farmhouse in St. Paul, Minnesota, its open frames on top provide a visibility that makes the yard feel welcoming and not closed off. Additionally, the open porch sitting above the fence line allows the homeowners to sit and take in the neighborhood. “It’s nice to be able to sit on an open porch and have that neighborhood feel,”
evergreen shrubs by steps
stone walkway and landing
railing to bottom steps
turned newel
newel post on ground
w/ top newel
one railing
simple
wide steps with landing
railing close to house
We used cedar 4 X 4s for posts and then built double (front and back) 2X2 cedar frames to encase the hog wire. We used black hog wire (it almost totally disappears when you look through it!), added inexpensive post caps (look like Deckorators 4x4 Hatteras Pyramid Cedar Post Caps) and water treated all the cedar with DB Superdeck transparent stain 1906-valley, a reddish color that looks like cedar does when it's rained on (very easy to apply).
Q