Mid-Century Fence Styles

Vertical and horizontal solid board fences were widely available in the midcentury era, just as they are now. You wouldn’t be wrong for installing one. The horizontal board fence  emphasizes the linearity and horizontality that was such a strong hallmark of midcentury architecture and pulls it out into the yard. The vertical board fence has a strong rectangular grid and an unusual jaunty angle at the end.

It’s worth calling out specifically: chain link is period and modern! It doesn’t show up in many design magazines of the day, as it was already a rather common material. In fact, it was being installed in millions of yards. Here it is on the edge of a tall deck, and again with plywood cutouts “bold to be in scale with the garden.” I’m not sure we would include the cutouts in a design magazine today, but I’m glad someone was having fun. I can only imagine what bright colors they were painted.

Modern and traditional design both take a controlled and ordered approach to space. These rustic fences are rough, natural, and variable, neither really modern nor traditional. If you like a little more texture, a rustic fence or screen can complement a modern house well so long as there is a transition zone between formal and informal.

Left to right, top to bottom: Redwood grapestakes were commonly used out west as a rustic fence. Rough planks make a bold natural fence while gaps allow some visibility through to the space. This log fence/sculpture embodies play with its repetition of a single geometric form. Like chain-link fences, many miles of split-rail fence were installed in suburban neighborhoods.  Rough cedar planks contrast texturally with cedar saplings.

Moving from more to less rustic, wire fences were common in areas where animals or people needed to be kept in or out but there was a view to be maintained. They could also be used as screens or trellises for climbing vines. The simple rectangular geometry of the frames plays well with other modern elements, as seen on bottom with a modern shade structure and pool. I was surprised to see several examples using hexagonal chicken wire, as in the Asian-inspired fence below. Today, I would recommend using hog panels or wire in a rectangular grid- it looks more ‘modern’ to our eyes, and the wire is usually thicker and more durable.

Mid-century designers didn’t shy away from using plain metal pipes  to create fences and screens. These could be highly decorative or more utilitarian or agricultural. Below left, the panels appear to be ‘floating,' supported by black pipes. Below right, wooden posts support horizontal pipes to create a vegetated mid-century carport screen. On bottom left, flexible plastic is wrapped around pipes to create a translucent screen. Bottom center is a simple metal and wood screen strung with wire to support climbing vines. Bottom right is an agricultural pipe fence.

Nobody would call a basketweave fence a particularly modern fence, but they were very common during the time period. I see relatively few built today, thus justifying their inclusion. They’re great if you want a period style that’s more subdued or transitional as they work well in many settings.
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Basketweave fences are made from woven slats of wood, which can be oriented horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Diagonal feels more traditional and is the most difficult to construct. The slats can be thin, with thin spacers, leading to a more subdued weave, or they can be thick, with thick spacers, leading to a wider, more open weave. A more open weave allows more air to flow through the fence. As with all fences, the thinner the slat material, the faster the wood will break down due to weather.

There are both operable and fixed louver fences. Operable louvers can be difficult to construct and maintain but in the right location, the flexibility is worth it. Operable louver fences are particularly useful where you might want to block airflow or light at some times while allowing it at others, say in a coastal area with cooling summer breezes and frigid winter winds.
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With fixed louvers, you must choose the direction of the slats ahead of time. Fixed-louver fences and screens block the views, wind, and light from one direction while allowing it from another, which can be used to your advantage. Louvered fences, both fixed and operable, are more expensive than many other fence types due to the angles required for construction and/or moving parts. Horizontal louvered fences should have enough support so the louvers don’t sag over time.

Fences made of thin slats of wood are particularly evocative of mid-century modern design. The use of thin boards originates with the construction of lath houses in the hot southwestern climate. Lath is the term for thin strips of wood originally used as a base for plaster inside the walls of houses. Eventually these thin boards were used outside to build shade structures. Gaps between the boards allowed for airflow.
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The use of many small boards creates a delicate, linear appearance but can be expensive to install. In rainier climates, small boards will also warp and break down more easily. Over time, these fences were built out of thicker, more durable material than actual laths like grapestakes and dimensional lumber. Slat fences can be installed horizontally or vertically or in alternating panels. Note the open top of the screen on bottom left, which allows for airflow. This screen is made of 1x1 material and is protected from the elements. The fence on the bottom right is constructed of grapestakes in alternating horizontal and vertical orientation.

Now we start to get really modern! The mid-century period was all about grids, both regular grids and broken or fractured grids. The first type of grid fence is intermediate between the slat fences shown before and the fences that follow. One might call them ‘grids of slats’ where the slats, running either horizontally  or vertically or both, are installed behind or within a gridded frame. Notice that in some fences, some of the cells are open.

This category includes panel grids, shadowboxes, and egg-crate fences and screens. By regular, I mean that the fence itself is divided into a grid where all of the cells are the same size and shape. These cells may be empty or filled with solid or translucent materials. Cells were often painted- the photo at top right states the fence is ‘gaily painted’!

The designers were interested in the strong patterns of shadow and light that occurred on these fences throughout the day and seasons. The fence in middle left employs a technique where some cells are paneled at the front and others at the back, creating additional 3D texture and an interesting shadow pattern. The fence on middle right uses a translucent plastic on some panels to play with patterns of light and shadow while still obscuring views. The egg-crate fence on the bottom is another example of designers' interest in patterns of sun and shadow that change throughout the day or time of year.

Much like the 1930 Piet Mondrian painting on the upper left, people loved an irregular or deconstructed grid in the midcentury era. They weren’t afraid of bright colors, either. Most of our images are in black and white but the few that are in color show unexpectedly vibrant hues. Some of these fences featured panels made of cement board, as in the two color images.

Another kind of grid, often seen as a freestanding baffle or screen attached to the house, is created by dimensional lumber run vertically with connecting pieces made either of the same lumber or plywood. I’ve included an example I found online of a mid-century time capsule house. Unfortunately, the realtor didn’t take a close-up of the outside screen, but there is a similar screen in the bathroom and you can see how the panels are inset. Note how the overall effect is more linear and vertical than the other kinds of grids. The panel on top left is symmetrical; the other three are not.

Breeze blocks are perforated concrete blocks that allow air and light through but cast patterns of shade on a space. They are very modern and, like lath houses, are a product of the hot southwestern climate, although they will work in other climates as well. With breeze blocks as well as the open grids above, designers were playing with perforation . You can see through them, yet they still divide space. Breeze block fences can be painted or left unpainted. The benefit of not painting is that you never have to repaint! The breeze block fence on top left has a correspondingly modern metal gate. The midcentury era also saw a lot of experimentation with concrete and tile panels. Note that the tile screen in the top right was pink! I wonder what color the house was painted.

Breeze block fence photo from Flickr by Phillip Pessar, CC BY 2.0

Corrugated fences and screens- often in very bold colors like the yellow below- were popular modern choices. These fences totally blocked breeze and light, giving complete privacy. The designers were very interested in the patterns of light and shadow cast by the corrugations throughout the day and sometimes used dramatic jogs in the fenceline (top right) to show this off. Both corrugated asbestos and fiberglass panels were used at the time. Since then, asbestos has been banned because it’s hazardous to our health. I would stick to painted corrugated steel or aluminum today!

Today we don’t think of plastic as a landscape material. But the midcentury time period was all about experimentation with new materials. The designers were excited about the shadowbox effects of translucent plastic and fiberglass screens, which blocked views but allowed diffused light, could glow at night, and transmit shadows from behind. These were heavily inspired by Japanese shoji screens and Japanese architecture. It is hard to recommend the use of plastic today for health and environmental reasons, although outdoor-rated frosted acrylic is still available. Frosted tempered glass is a good substitute but is expensive and much heavier.

Designers played with the possibilities of plastic, glass, and fiberglass beyond being strictly inspired by Japanese shoji screens. Top row, left to right: large frosted glass screens were mixed with a slat fence. Plastic strips are woven around black steel pipes. Sometimes the translucent panels (in this case fiberglass) pivoted to allow in breeze. Bottom row: Plastic strips could also be woven around dimensional lumber, creating increased depth and playing up the shadow pattern. Clear corrugated plastic is framed and used in an upright orientation. Flexible plastic strips don't last long in the landscape, and finding an alternative is a challenge. Fabric could be used for a short-term installation, and thin perforated metal strips could play a similar role with a very different effect.

Or... what’s missing?
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If you’ve been paying close attention, you may have noticed that a few of the fence, screen, and baffle materials we consider to be ‘modern’ today weren’t mentioned in the article. Cable railings are one of these, as shown on the image on the left below. The image on the right below is the only period fence I found that may be cable rail—or it may just be strands of wire. I can only conclude that stainless steel cable railings and fences were not in widespread residential use in the mid-century time period. Instead, they usually used wire mesh when they wanted to be able to see through a fence.

Les Ponts by Cephas CC BY-SA 3.0

Another material we think of as being very modern is Cor-ten or weathering steel. While weathering steel existed in the mid-century period, it had not yet jumped from heavy industrial to artistic to home use. Technologies such as waterjet cutting to create patterned metal screens also hadn’t yet become commercially available.

Technically these materials and construction methods are not period. But since mid-century designers were playing with new materials and technologies, I don’t see a problem with using these in a way that is otherwise true to the spirit of mid-century modern design. Most of us don’t live in museums! The design below right strongly evokes the geometric patterns and the perforated, screen-like nature of breeze blocks in a new material. The design to the left separates two small sitting terraces to provide privacy. It uses mid-century organic shapes "bold to be in scale with the garden," as they might have said (hearkening back to the caption for the decorated chain-link fence). It also plays with openness and partial screening of views in a way that would have been very familiar to mid-century designers. Both projects are excellent examples of using new materials in a period-sensitive way.

Corten screen with midcentury cutouts by Jan Kirsh. Used with permission.

Midcentury-inspired geometric corten facade, AUS Perth, Fremantle, Fremantle College 002 by wuppertaler, CC BY-4.0

Do you want a midcentury fence, screen, or baffle for your house but aren't sure how to build it, where to put it, or which material would be the best choice? I can help!

As a landscape designer I draw technical construction details for fences, baffles, and screens all the time. Whether you'd like to DIY or hand the plans off to a contractor, I will ensure that you have a solid understanding of the materials you'll need and how they go together. I can also help site fences on your property to provide privacy,  block undesired views, preserve good views, allow airflow, and integrate with the style of your house. Just reach out to me at renee@sandboxlandstudio.com and we can discuss the specifics or set up a quick chat! You don't need to be located in the Washington, DC or Baltimore areas for me to create a fence detail or provide basic guidance about your property.