Picket Fence Decor Idea

If you like the look of old windows and doors used in home decor, you may also like the look of a partial picket fence. These old architectural salvage pieces make great back drops for other decor. Just take a look at my post on decorating with architectural salvage. There are so many cool ideas. So, when I found an old picket fence, I knew I had to have it for my home. My picket fence decor idea was to display it with other salvaged items. However, it needed a little bit of work.

I’m surprised that the fence even caught my eye. It was pink and was missing a picket. The original color was most likely red but after years of weathering it was left in a dirty pink tint. Luckily, these little flaws were easy to fix.

My Picket Fence Makeover

A Little Cutting Action

Because the fence was missing a picket, it was left with some wild ends. So, I dragged that fence down to my craft room determined to saw off those wild ends before painting it.

Normally, I would have waited for my husband to come home so he could cut the ends for me with a power saw. However, I was anxious to get started and finish the project. And, there is no way I would use a power saw myself because I am way to wimpy.  Just hearing the words chop saw makes me think of accidentally chopping a limb off.  So, because of that, I used the trusty little hand saw that I had. It didn’t really take me that long to saw off the ends by hand. I was a woman with a mission.

Hello White, Goodbye Pink

Next up was getting rid of that pink finish. I wanted a bright and chic white to contrast with what I would be hanging from it.

Because there was quite a bit of bare wood, it was super easy to get a distressed look. I just applied the paint very thin on the bare wood so that you could see some of the wood underneath the paint. This is kind of the reverse of how I usually distress paint. See my normal painting techniques for getting a distressed look.

As I put on that fresh pure white paint, I began to relax. The fresh new color was soothing and I was almost finished. Once the paint was dry, I brought the fence up to my office to create my display.

Picket Fence Decor Display

I wanted to fill some empty wall space so the best way to do that was to place my fence on top of a short bookcase. Then, I added the rest of my rustic decor to complete my vignette.

I hung these antique jailer keys from a wide white ribbon so that they would fall more in the upper center of the fence. Because I wanted the ribbon to blend in with the fence, I used a sheer white ribbon. I wanted the focus to be on the keys.

I wanted to add a little height to my painted vase, so I hauled out my section of pallet as a base.

Do you like decorating with architectural salvage? What items do you like to use for display?