6 Ways to Make Your Outdoor Space Private

Create separation from the homes around you and enjoy every bit of your outdoor space with these stylish privatizing porch and patio decorating ideas.

By: Brian Patrick Flynn

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©Sarah Dorio Photography

An Outdoor Space You Can Escape To

What was once a wide open, exposed deck is now a secluded outdoor getaway thanks to a smart space plan, clever use of repurposing and creative plant designs.

Overhead Coverage

Overhead privacy can be just as effective as privacy around the perimeter. Pergolas and arbors are excellent ways to add shade while also keeping outdoor spaces shielded from top-floor windows. For a more substantial look, consider adding headers and footers to the joists for extra layers of privacy, structural support and architectural interest.

Total Privacy Panels

Outdoor drapery panels aren't just pretty, they're also practical. To properly outfit an outdoor space with enough fabric to add privacy and help soften the space, it's best to double the amount of panels needed. This offers enough surface area to draw the drapery closed when necessary, but also ensures a full, gathered look when open and drawn back.

Hanging Planters

For proper visual balance, designers often group objects in odd numbers and also stagger their heights to keep the eye moving. This same principle applies to hanging planters. To fill an exposed corner of the patio, a trio of moss-covered baskets was grouped together with a consistent spacing of 10 inches.

Lush Ferns

Ferns are an ideal choice for outdoor privacy due to their ability to thrive in shaded areas and for their upward and downward growth. As ferns mature, they'll fill in the space above the planter and also cascade down its sides, resulting in more privacy as well as gorgeous color, shape and texture.

Natural Privacy Wall

Create a conversation piece which doubles as a privacy wall with the clever repurposing of window box planters. Here, designer Dan Faires outfitted four of the same ready-made cedar window boxes with olive green paint before suspending them from the pergola joists using knotted sisal rope.

Moss-Covered Containers

Make a patio or porch lusher by using hanging planters covered with organic materials like moss or seagrass. Once the greenery is placed inside the planters, the moss gives the plant the illusion of being much bulkier than it actually is.

Rail Planters

Rail planters are a natural solution for adding privacy roughly four feet above the ground surface. They're ideal for outdoor spaces with seating since the planters sit at the same height as most people's faces, keeping conversations and interaction hidden from view. The key to outfitting rail planters like the pros is to include a mix of low, squatty plants, flowering species, cascading greenery and plants which add height.

Vine Cover

Vine cover can soften the hard edges of pergolas and trellises and also offer an extra layer of privacy. In order to attach the vine cover, it's first sprawled out along the tops of the joists, and then held into place with fabric ties. As the vines start to attach themselves to the pergola, the fabric ties can be removed.

6 Ways to Make Your Outdoor Space Private

Related To:

Shop This Look

An Outdoor Space You Can Escape To

Overhead Coverage

Total Privacy Panels

Hanging Planters

Lush Ferns

Natural Privacy Wall

Moss-Covered Containers

Rail Planters

Vine Cover

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