When it came time to plan a new garden fence and gate for the front of my Rockridge home, I did something better than look on Pinterest: Look around Berkeley and Oakland neighborhoods!
Arbors are an especially charming and welcoming feature of brown shingle and Craftsman East Bay homes. If you’re planning on building one, using an existing design to show your builder can speed up the estimating and building process.
Enjoy…
I watched this wooden fence, gate and arbor being built in front of a vintage shingled Berkeley home a couple of years ago. Doesn’t it look like it’s been there forever? This simple design would accent a variety of home exterior styles and is built to handle lots of foliage growth…as you can see!
This beautiful Japanese-inspired garden gate would match any architectural style. It offers privacy along with classic Craftsman elements.The horizontal wood slat fence and gate trend offers a modern and timeless accent to houses both new and old. This example of a simply constructed gate and fence is a good example of a more affordable gate style that could be used on a driveway or on a front garden. The wood slats can easily be built more closely together for more privacy. A keypad lock could also add more security to the gate if desired.This simple, timeless wrought iron gate on a home in Oakland’s Rockridge neighborhood provides a barrier to just anyone walking up the front steps in a style that fits any style of home, Mediterranean, modern or even Craftsman.This front garden fence in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland caught my eye for its simplicity. Measuring about 5 feet tall, the wire fence held up by wood posts will allow flowering vines to weave through. A locked gate on the front and side of the fence makes it easy for the residents to access the garden and for pets to play outside while not entirely blocking views from the street. This style of light weight garden fence would go with any style of architecture.Beautiful Japanese / Craftsman style redwood fence and gate topped with an arbor matches the Craftsman style home, with a stepped down construction that follows the slope of the hill. This type of redwood fence is expensive but well worth the investment in curb appeal.This type of low wood gate and a substantial wood arbor welcomes you into the garden of this Rockridge home. This type of sturdy arbor construction is perfect for grape vines, honeysuckle or whatever your preferred flowering vines to frame a charming, lush entrance. Notice how the vines penetrate the arbor with an organic style. This type of arbor and fence would beautifully accent bungalow, Craftsman, Mediterranean homes. The only caveat as you can see is that because the slats are far apart, you can easily see within.
The Getty Center and Getty Villa emerged from the 2025 Los Angeles fire disaster as examples of fire hardening best practices. Yes, they had staff to supplement all of the measures the Getty team took to stop fire approaching and stop smoke from penetrating the buildings. But they also meticulously followed best practices for fire hardening…
Imagine opening up your home to show off your remodeled kitchen. That’s what 8-10 Rockridge homeowners do every other year along with their builders, architects, and interior designers. Seeing these renovated and reimagined kitchens with the latest cabinetry, space-saving ideas, and glowing cabinet hardware is the ultimate inspiration to refresh your kitchen — especially if…
Thinking of a budget remodel to update or fix things about your house that you don’t like? Join the club! There’s nothing like living in a space for a while to figure out what you would like to change in layout or use of the space. That’s why I give my home buying clients a…
Does your house have the comfortable feel of an old shoe? Are you embarrassed to have people over? Or if you do, are you constantly apologizing and wondering what your guests think? Susie thinks: “check!” “check!” and “check!” A little known technique to re-invent your house is to do what real estate agents do when…
Home improvement website Houzz surveyed released a 2024 survey of home improvements home owners are making this year. #1 on the list is a “return to open spaces.” “Creating separation naturally became more popular during the COVID pandemic, with only 38% of homeowners opening up their kitchens to other interior spaces in 2022 versus 53%…
What if you could make not-too-expensive updates to the house you’ve loved for so many years to make it easier for you, and / or your loved ones, to age in place with accessible, safe features? AARP has put together what they call a “HomeFit” Guide to help you do just that. It’s a very…