A Home with a White Picket Fence

White Picket Fences are a type of fence often used decoratively for domestic boundaries, distinguished by their evenly spaced vertical boards, the pickets, attached to horizontal rails. Picket fences are particularly popular in the United States, with the white picket fence coming to symbolize the ideal middle-class suburban life. Until the introduction of advertising in the 1980s,  cricket fields were usually surrounded by picket fences.

The Symbol of the White Picket Fence

A white picket fence is more than just an assembly of wood used to outline a home’s lawn.  In America, white picket fencing has become an icon since its early use during the colonial era.

While white picket fences are still in practical use around the country, they have come to symbolize the ultimate form of the American dream: a happy family that lives in a modest residential home with children, pets, and a sense of community safety. This classic suburban concept is something that so many men and women pursue throughout their lives. Many people believe that buying “the house with the white picket fence” is an ultimate goal in life.

Throughout movies, white picket fences are used to symbolize the perfect middle-class suburban life. This prevailing imagery has led to what some call the “White Picket Syndrome, ” in which a person blindly holds on to the idea of a perfect lifestyle despite its inability to ever really exist. No life is as perfect as the movies want to portray, and dreams of a white picket fence lifestyle aren’t always realistic.

Practical Use of the White Picket Fence

On the practical side, a white picket fence is an attractive way to keep children and pets in the yard without blocking the new from the road. Most white picket fences aren’t more than four feet tall in order to maintain an open-yard feeling. A horizontal top rail and bottom rail are easily attached to fence posts and installed into the ground for a symmetrical and uniform appearance. Throughout history, these fences were constructed of wood and painted white, but today other non-wood options like vinyl and PVC have also become popular.

The White Picket Fence, an American Icon

 

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