White Picket Fences: The Timeless Allure of Home

If you have ever seen a World War II movie where the soldier comes home at last with all the emotion that entails - what does the house always have?

A white picket fence.



In the United States some design elements just roar with symbolism and communicate larger themes across generations. They are icons that strike deep in the American pscyhe. So it is with the white picket fence.

I wish I had one. It's American Ideal, especially when combined with older houses and leafy streets. I see this house often on lunch-time walks in Midtown Sacramento. The only thing better would be if it had a bigger yard.



Google "white picket fence" in Google images for a treasure trove of what makes you feel good. Check out this photo site of white picket fence images. Here is a pretty good try at explaining the historical resonance.

For members of my generation the WPF means Donna Reed and Leave It To Beaver - perfect, idyllic, pastoral. I'm not sure either of those TV families had a WPF, but the Partridge Family did. So did Steve Martin in "Father of the Bride."

It's no accident that new urbanist communities like Seaside, Fla. require white picket fences as boundary markers. We have a Cape Cod-style 1980s development in Sacramento, Heritage Wood Circle, that requires white picket fences. It's a beautiful neighborhood.

Mock if you must. But I trust your soul wishes you lived here below, were eating warm chocolate chip cookies served by your mom and starting your 8th grade homework (which will receive five gold stars and A+, of course).



Here are three more picket fences in Midtown Sacramento:








Symbolism, symbolism below - even in a small way in a tiny part of the yard. Here are California poppies behind a (plastic, miniature) white picket fence. I found this in my suburban neighborhood on a Sunday morning while walking with coffee).