While hiring a landscape design professional can admirably transform the look and feel of your backyard living space, we realize it isn’t always in the budget. Fortunately, you can still achieve a beautiful private backyard space all on your own, and we’ll tell you how!
Here is a list of 11 clever ways you can renovate your outdoor living space into a private oasis.
1 UPGRADE FLIMSY FENCING
First things first: Enclose your entertaining areas with tall fencing (time to finally replace that grungy chain link, lady). We love a slatted privacy fence in a light hue, which creates intimacy without inducing claustrophobia. (See how to build one here.)
2 VINES AND TRELLISES
Romantic in appearance and practical in form, trellis woodwork embellished in creeping vines is not only gorgeous, but also an incredible way to create a privacy screen. A trellis wall enables a wide variety of design options. It can be fixed, or it can be in a freestanding planter for a versatile, movable neighbor barrier.
3 PLANT A WALL OF EVERGREENS
A row of tall, low-maintenance evergreen shrubs (like Arborvitae or Thuja) is a clever and innovative alternative to generic fencing that looks fabulous, and has environmental benefits. What’s more? Planting a wall of evergreens will only get better with age and time.
4 ADD LAYERED PLANTINGS
Planting an abundance of flourishing flora is the absolute easiest way to pump up privacy. If you’re working with a large garden, consider planting in berms (or soil elevations). Working with a deck or patio? Simply layer in container plants of various sizes at different eye levels for extra (and extra-pretty) obstruction.
5 ADD UMBRELLAS
Don’t want the Joneses peeping on your cocktail party conversations from their second-story windows? By strategically positioning a beautiful outdoor umbrella over your seating area, you can increase privacy AND provide relief from the hot sun.
6 INVEST IN A PERGOLA
There’s a reason the pergola is so popular: it provides amazing shade, comfort, and privacy, all while maintaining an open-air feel and looking like a million bucks (especially over an outdoor dining area— it’s an uber worthy splurge).
7 CONSIDER CURTAINS
Curtains outdoors? Why not! From a style standpoint, hanging elegant curtains along the sides of a pergola, porch, or custom corner gives your backyard that high-end flare you’re looking for. But the real benefit is being able to shut out the neighbors when necessary.
8 CREATE A GREEN SCREEN WITH HANGING PLANTS
Got a bald patch of yard? Stagger pots or hanging baskets on steel rods for a sprightful, happy wall of green. (Psst, suspended plants are also a great solution for porch privacy.)
9 ADD LATTICEWORK TO PROBLEM AREAS
Timeless latticework panels provide great coverage while still allowing natural light to grace your yard. Consider adding a lattice screen to the neighbor-facing side of a porch, or perhaps even adding a panel atop your too-low fence to better obstruct the neighbor’s view (you can even add vine plants to transform it into a trellis).
10 PLANT ESTABLISHED TREES ALONG YOUR PROPERTY LINE
Transform your yard into your own private park by planting luscious trees near your enclosure fence. Planting trees requires minimal maintenance, provides environmental benefits, shade from the sun, and ads double the privacy.
11 DON’T FORGET WHITE NOISE
Visual additions provide visual privacy, but what about the sound!? White noises like a water fountain, a brook, or even rustling ornamental grasses can muffle noisy neighbor sounds, and prevent nosy neighbors from eavesdropping on your business.
Conclusion
With just a little creativity, you can transform your yawn-worthy backyard into an HGTV dream without the expensive costs. Bookmark this list so that you have a handy guide available right at your fingertips the next time you go to start your backyard project!
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