Q: I recently moved into my house and now that summer is around the corner, I want to buy patio furniture and start having people over for BBQs and drinks. The problem is the looming, unappealing-to-the-eye duplex next door which has windows facing down into my yard.
I haven't touched the patio since moving in, aside from building the fence, so nothing is concrete and I would love budget-friendly suggestions. Thanks!
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Lack of "Looming" is the reason I purchase my condo. Every window I have does NOT look into anyone's backyard or even into their homes. So I feel you...
There's the umbrellas you can buy but what about a 'tent' like fabric that you may be able to drape for a 'soft' ceiling? Not sure of the expense.
How about creating a ceiling and wall of flowers and plants?
You can use outdoor drapes to cover the patio area, treat the area as an outdoor room, everything from drapes to potted tall plants to your furniture. I had a similar situation but when you change the focus to be centered on the patio you'll notice the duplex far less.
are plantings an option? if so perhaps thuja trees or bamboo?
I have a triplex next door (only a single story) w no fencing budget, am looking @ a couple of thujas or similar & woven bamboo fencing from home depot.
Professional help...(don't we all need that:) Kidding aside, the goal of good design is to amaze your guests with your beautiful patio/outdoor space to the extent that they are not interested in that bland nothingness beside you...Bring their eye in to the beauty of your space with a well-defined color palette and style. Outdoors bright reds, yellows, lime greens and orange make great accent colors (just pick 1ish). The greenery will also be part of your palette. And define your style - thinking asian? modern, traditional? You can better define your style ....with this quiz
Ok here is my field of expertise, I am a landscape gardener. We come across this a lot, that is; people requiring privacy.
We use standard bay trees (www.lavin.ie) you can see them in our home page. We also use pleached lime trees (no pictures up on web page yet), they had a clear stem of seven feet and a canopy of five in height, nine feet wide and usually about 1-2 feet deep. There is some work in maintaining them, but well worth the afford. For best effect use tree anchors and not tree stakes to hold trees in place. Google "pleached limes".
Regards hm
Send me an email via my web page and I can advise further www.lavin.ie