Custom IPE Fence and Gabion Front Yard Enclosure
Pacific Beach, California
This Pacific Beach homeowner wanted a front yard where their dogs could play safely—without ending up with that typical "boxed-in" fence look. Modern Fence & Deck built a custom enclosure that mixes warm IPE wood with a gabion wall for a clean, modern edge.
Overview
A front yard enclosure sounds straightforward until you're trying to keep it safe, make it look good from the street, and choose materials that won't get beaten up by coastal weather. For this home in Pacific Beach, the goal was simple: give the dogs a secure place up front without making the front of the house feel closed off. Modern Fence & Deck worked with the homeowner to plan a custom IPE fence with a gabion wall section. The finished boundary feels like part of the home's design, not a last-minute add-on—crisp wood lines paired with the weight and texture of stone.
The Challenge
The homeowner wanted a dedicated, safe play zone for their dogs in the front yard. So the enclosure had to hold up in real daily use: clean, consistent lines, no weird gaps, and a layout that's easy to move through. But they also didn't want a basic wood fence. In Pacific Beach, the front yard is very visible from the street, so the enclosure needed to look intentional from the sidewalk and still match the home.
Our Solution
We recommended a mixed-material design: an IPE fence for warmth and simple horizontal lines, plus a gabion wall section to bring in stone texture and a heavier, more durable feel along the front boundary. It reads modern without chasing a trend. As we designed it, we kept circling back to the stuff that affects everyday use—where the runs should begin and end, how to keep sightlines comfortable from inside the house, and how to create a dog-proof perimeter while the yard still feels welcoming.
Implementation
We started with field verification and layout. Since custom front-yard work is so visual, we marked out the fence runs and gabion placement on-site before anything got set permanently. After that, we moved through the normal build sequence: post layout and setting, IPE fence construction, then gabion wall assembly and rock fill. Where needed, we adjusted around site conditions so the finished lines stayed straight and clean.
Results
The homeowner now has a fully custom front yard enclosure that matches how they actually live: the dogs can play safely inside a defined boundary, and the front yard still feels open and intentional. Visually, the IPE-and-gabion combo hit the "unique but not busy" look they were after—warm wood against stone texture, laid out in a clean, structured way. If you're thinking about a similar approach, the takeaway is simple: mixed materials look best when the layout stays clean and the details don't drift.