Early on in the Christmas classic It’s A Wonderful Life, there’s a scene where George Bailey absentmindedly strolls back and forth on the sidewalk in front of Mary Hatch’s house, dragging a stick along her fence. Mary sees him from an upstairs window, leans out and yells, “What are you doing… picketing? It’s a great line, wordplay on her front yard fence.
For generations, picket fences have stood hand-in-hand with the American houses immediately behind them. These quaint-looking property markers are considered symbols of middle class prosperity and an idyllic family life. Even the “American Dream” includes a white picket fence. But maybe no longer. The dream seems to have been updated. Americans no longer want pickets… they want walls.
As much as I want to believe a high, solid fence is merely the mark of an eccentric neighbor, facts don’t lie. Suburbia is abandoning the picket fence in favor of taller, more robust barriers. A Connecticut fencing company used to fill 40% of its orders with pickets. How many orders have they had for the low white fences in 2026? Zero. Instead they’re filling a demand for panels of plastic (PVC) seven feet on a side, mounted between even higher columns. The welcoming American cottage is turning into the locked-down American fortress.
One could blame the abandonment of pickets on cost and maintenance. After all, wood needs to be kept dry and repainted to avoid rot, while PVC is less expensive and lasts a whole lot longer. Fencing companies tried switching out wooden pickets for plastic ones but apparently the open look isn’t “closed off” enough for today’s preference. There’s a concerning motive at work here. People no longer want to know what’s going on beyond their fences (or even more concerning, they don’t want you to know what’s going on behind them.)
To each their own but I’m still a fan of pickets. They define a property yet don’t remove the “welcome” because they’re short and have gaps. You can easily chat up your neighbor whether you’re twenty feet removed or right up against the fence. As for the look, pickets don’t have to be boring, pointy stakes. They can be crowned with spades, spears, balls, crosses, fleur di lis (for you French-Americans) or whatever else your circular saw can come up with.
A high, imposing fence is the last thing I’d want surrounding my property. Having said that, the first house my wife and I bought had one on three sides. We lived on a California postage-stamp, with both neighboring houses on minimum setbacks. Without the “privacy fence” we’d be looking from our windows right into theirs. It takes awhile to forget what you’ve seen when a neighbor doesn’t draw down the bathroom shade.
Our next couple of houses had no fences at all. The properties were bigger so privacy was solved by distance instead of by division. As for the house we live in now, we’re surrounded by “three-board” fence consistent with the other properties in our community. Three-board is designed to keep horses in the pastures where they belong, but doesn’t wall you off from your neighbors. A three-board is anything but a privacy fence and that’s fine with me. I just wish it was made out of pickets instead.
The math on a picket fence to replace my three-board is not what I’d hoped. Surrounding our five acres would take upwards of 1,000 pickets. Oof. There’s a lot “at stake” there, not to mention our horses would happily step over in pursuit of greener pastures. I’ll just stick with what I’ve got. There’s a wonderful life on the other side of my fence and I can still see it.
Some content sourced from the Pocono Record article, “Picket fence adds privacy, security with classic style”, and the U.S. Sun article, “Is the white picket fence completely dead?”
Life In A Word 
Solid walls certainly provide privacy (and sometimes security)!
We have a 6 ft high black chain link fence around about an acre of our property. It provides security for all my plants which would otherwise be eaten by deer and moose!
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There’s no denying the security aspect; a sad statement about today’s world. Even our farm gate (which opens to our pastures) has a combination lock to prevent a vehicle from getting on the property.
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We put a gate at the front of our property too. It would not stop someone from walking up to our house through the woods, but it stops them from entering with a vehicle! Several neighbours had break ins – that is why we decided to make it harder for the thieves!
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I agree with you Dave as to picket fences. The small-town, quaint look of picket fences, part of the American Dream, looks perfect to me. My neighbor, a single woman in her 60s, put up a white PVC privacy fence a few years ago. I think it is over six feet as I’m 5’9″ tall and it is way above my line of sight. The odd thing is that she only put it up on my side and along her back fence and there is no fence on the opposite side … that makes no sense to me because I’m certainly not hoping to sneak a peek at her bobbing around in her hot tub, where the male neighbor on the other side just may as our houses are fairly close together. The PVC fence that I am forced to look at has turned bright green in places, which I guess is some type of mold from all the rain we have had plus limited sun reaching those areas, so it’s not a welcome sight on my side.
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The thought of a PVC fence (which you can use for the three-board style as well) seems odd to me. I think of PVC more for pipes and plumbing. Everything is made out of plastic these days, sigh…
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Yes, the PVC fences look so artificial to me. I can see having a Trex deck as it is less maintenance, but a fence is different. You never saw Wilson looking over a PVC fence, just a tall picket fence. 🙂 I asked the plumber why all the pipes are PVC instead of metal and he said “why would you want metal – it corrodes – PVC is the way to go!”
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In my area, pickets have not been common at all for awhile – the chain-link fence is king! And I hate chain-link fences. The fancy ones that are painted or coated look tolerable, but the unfinished ones always eventually rust and make the property look like an abandoned factory.
At my current place, a late 50’s suburb with roughly half-acre lots, I do not have a fence. There had been no fences around until some next-door neighbors put up a tall privacy fence after putting in an above-ground pool. Personally, I like the look of everything being open. And I don’t have a dog to worry about, so that is not an issue.
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Even when we had a dog we had an “invisible fence” (great product) so there was no need for a physical barrier. And I completely agree: no version of chain link seems appropriate for a residential property.
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I have two white PVC vinyl picket fences on both sides of my house and love them! I always wanted a picket fence, and vinyl is the way to go – 15 years later it still looks great. I have a white arbor on one side too. For my big back yard, I still have the old green chain link fences that came with the property when the houses were built in the late 60’s. It has faded with time, but is mostly lined with assorted shrubs and greenery etc so you don’t really notice it, but most importantly it lets the lovely breezes in. The neighbour on one side of me put up a tall wooden privacy fence about ten years ago and it has blocked all the south breezes from his yard – I couldn’t stand that. Plus after a few years the wood starts to look old and weathered. Our houses are so far apart that really privacy fence isn’t necessary. Only the one neighbour did it, and he does not have a pool so I don’t know what he was thinking, other than his dogs bark if they see other dogs? I’m surrounded by barking dogs anyway so it’s just background noise to me.
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PS. I always loved that song – I have Ella Fitzgerald’s version on my playlist.
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Great to hear about an install of PVC pickets, Joni. Seems like a perfect way to keep the look without the maintenance. I hope the demand for it is greater than the fencing companies seem to suggest. We humans need to keep seeing each other!
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Well mine was installed 12 years ago, and I like the old-fashioned cottage look, but no one else in the neighbourhood has pickets, so you are probably correct about it being out of style right now. But I consider it a classic look, so it may come back in again. The next time I watch It’s A Wonderful Life, I’ll have to watch for that “picketing’ line – in all the times I’ve seen it I’ve never noticed it!
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PS. I pressure wash it every five years or so….but it still looks good.
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I like the look of a picket fence. Even when it needs paint, there is something quaint and cozy about it, unlike those panels of plastic that turn ugly and yellow with time. Nothing quaint and cozy about that!
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You’re making a statement no matter which option you choose!
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Picket fences did add delightful charm to the homes of yesteryear. I’d never thought about it before, but our neighborhood of 60’s brick ranches has few fences. Many yards just blend into the others except out back. A creek bed bordered by trees does separate our block of homes from those behind us. In summer we can’t even see those neighbors. I appreciate that our little woods provide a habitat for birds and other wildlife, which we greatly enjoy!
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Now you’re talking, Nancy. If there would be any barrier between properties, make it a natural one instead of a man-made fence!
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Oh, picket fences are always so beautiful!
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Enjoyed reading. A fence can mark a boundary without building a barrier. There is something comforting about a design that says This is home while still leaving room for a friendly wave and a conversation. And the strongest communities are built with fewer walls, not taller ones.
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I certainly understand the motives in defining one’s property. I just hope it’s not at the expense of the engagement of the surrounding community. Hopefully those who choose higher and more solid options over pickets spend plenty of time outside of those walls.
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Indeed!
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Oh dear, we have only one fence on the west side of our property. But we have two big hedges. High solid fences are seen here as very negative or even, like the philosopher Ernst Bloch, as a sign of fascist architecture.
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
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It’s a good point, and probably why I was prompted to say “to each their own”!
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Love the puns to keep the info fun to read. Good thoughts to ponder. All the best!
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Thanks for visiting!
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My parents have had a privacy fence on one side of their backyard for as long as I can remember.
It is interesting you noted about moving away from the picket fences for the taller privacy style fences. I feel like as a culture in general, we are wanting to hold up more in our houses. We don’t answer the door. We don’t answer the phone. And we don’t want people singing into our little piece of the Earth.
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I agree with your concerns, and this change in people’s preference for fencing suggests comfort in being isolated. You have to wonder how all that time alone (and in front of screens) affects one’s outlook on life. If you ask me, it’s a giant leap in the wrong direction.
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Yeah, Covid definitely didn’t help, but I think cell phones in general put us in that direction.
I still remember running across the house to answer the landline
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