If you are not too excited about the prospect of a white picket fence, then rest assured there are plenty of other types of ways you can create a separation between your property and the street. Some of these methods will be fences made of alternative materials, while others won't be fences at all, but rather walls fashioned out of rock. Here are some ideas for you to consider.

A Nautical Rope Fence

If you like the look of seaside towns, and all things having to do with ships, then you will love a fence made of nautical rope. This is very thick, heavy duty rope that is used on ships. You can get varying thickness to fit your particular design choice. There are extremely heavy and thick types of nautical rope (the kind that will secure a ship to port) as well as lighter, less thick rope (the rope used on deck and in rigging sails).

You will need to have posts inserted in a row across your property line and hang the rope between them. This sort of fence is best suited for mainly aesthetic purposes, as well as a visual signal of your property line. It won't keep stray dogs out of your yard, but it will be a visual clue to prevent people from driving onto your yard.

Horizontal Cedar Rail Fence

If you want to keep dogs off your property, but want a more unique fence design than a standard white picket look, then you should consider a horizontal design using cedar rails. Cedar is a wonderful wood to use outdoors, and the horizontal design is a fresh perspective. The fence has a bit of the old "cowboy" look, except it provides more protection from animals than a classic split rail fence would. You can have the fence built with the rails very close so that dogs can't get though. The only downside to this fence is that you will need to stain it occasionally to keep the wood from rotting. While cedar is resilient to water, it's not impervious like pressure treated wood, so it will need to be treated.

Stone Wall

If you prefer a really strong fence, but don't like steel or brick, then natural stone is the way to go. You can have a waist high stone fence built on the property line and have a small cast iron gate installed to let people in and out. A stone wall is fantastic to keep out dogs, and it is also maintenance free.

In addition to using natural stone, which can give you a rustic, field stone fence look like you might see on a farm, you could also have the fence constructed using cast stone. This is perfect if you prefer a more uniform size to the stones, but don't like the unnatural look of concrete blocks. The cast stone will have been fashioned to look like stone, but they will come in similar sizes and cuts so that the fence has a more uniform look than natural stone can provide.

For more information, contact a business such as Harristone Pre-Cast - Merrillstone Natural Stone Products - G. S. Harris Co., Inc.