This white vinyl fence looks surprisingly sharp.

A beautiful lattice-topped fence.

Home Depot sells 1 foot by 8-foot pre-built panels of lattice for $25, but be prepared to add supports, caps and facing boards to make the fence look complete.

An eight foot fence. I don't have any idea where to get 8-foot fence pickets.

In some fence construction, a two-by-four rail is simply nailed to the post.

Sometimes the rails are supported by blocks of wood.

Some fences are constructed with the top rails meeting on the top of the posts. The joint was slightly off on this one so it needed an extra brace.

This fence used metal brackets to connect the rails, but it was susceptible to the same errors.

Very weird technique using post ties to extend the posts.

Added foot boards at the bottom to keep the fence level.

Usually a fence with metal posts will last a century, but this one was probably getting hit by cars in this parking lot.

White picket fences usually have wide gaps between the pickets, but this family kept them right next to each other to prevent toddler escape. It looked bizarre.

Anti-zombie gate.

Double gate made out of plywood.

An inside-out fence.

This kind of makes sense if you follow the logic that the picket side of the fence is more attractive, so you might as well let the neighbors look at the construction side of the fence.

However, all those exterior rails make a nice stepladder into your yard, so this isn't how most people do it.

I think this fence was constructed of pre-assembled fence panels from a hardware store. To me, those seem like more trouble than they are worth. If you use these panels you've still got to dig the post holes and cement them into place, and you've got to get them spaced perfectly, or the pre-made panels won't fit.

A nice fence on hilly ground in a housing development.

11" wide fence pickets.

An example of overlapping battens creating a expensive, but very private fence.

Fancy fence on the outside of a housing development.

Overlapping fence pickets, an 8" row of lattice and tiny ornate post towers.

This fence used a single picket to conceal the steel fence posts.

And that's it! 50 different ways to build a simple barrier between you and your neighbors. If you are planning a fence, you should now be completely overwhelmed with options and potential pitfalls.

But I've saved the best for last and made the decision for you. It's got three gentle arches, one above each gate and one wider one between them. It looks awesome.

Make your fence like this.