Beautiful Boundaries

Fences and walls – those necessary and functional property boundary markers, affording privacy whilst keeping unwanted visitors out and pets and children from escaping. Gone are the days when functional spells plain. Modern trends have seen the humble fence and ordinary garden wall transformed into design features of the garden, adorned with colour, lighting and decorative items to provide the perfect backdrop to your garden. If your walls and fences are looking a little lacklustre and dull, in this article we hope to provide you with some ideas and inspiration to bring them to life.

Get Creative With Your Boundaries
Change boring boundaries into interesting focal points by interspersing your traditional panel fencing with more modern design ideas. Panels of bamboo, wicker, willow or even reclaimed pallet wood can be used to provide a contemporary feel. Gabions – wire basket walls filled with stones – can take this concept even further. If this has whetted your appetite for change, take a look at the garden fence ideas in this article from Homify.

Paints and Stains
Not only can paints and stains provide your fences and walls with colour and a new lease of life, they also can provide protection from the elements to keep them looking good (and healthy) for years to come. Things have moved on from the usual browns for fence stains – many colours are now available to buy to provide colour and treat your fences at the same time. Paints come in an even greater choice and can be used on walls and fences. Why not pick a vibrant hot pink to bring a cheery splash of colour to a dull day or subtle greens and neutrals to bring a sense of calm and peace. A blue and cream coastal scheme can evoke memories of days by the beach. Perhaps make a statement by painting one wall as a feature. Painting and staining fences doesn’t need to be the laborious, painstaking task it once was. Ditch the paintbrush for a sprayer and you’ll have your fence looking smart in next to no time. Undecided between paint or stain? Check out this handy guide to painting and staining your fences.

Lighting
Strings of lanterns, fairy lights or nets of lights on the walls and fences of your garden create a soft, relaxed mood and feel to your outdoor space. Pretty, romantic and enchanting, lighting can extend the use of your garden long into the evening when the sun has gone down and all that is needed to hang them are hooks and a little imagination. Battery, mains (outdoor socket needed) or better still, solar powered – there are choices no matter how far your fences and walls are from the mains supply. Here are some ideas from Country Living on how to get creative with lighting your boundaries.

Decorations
If your garden is on the more compact side or of a darker aspect, large mirrors can be hung on walls and fences to create the optical illusion of more space and light. Take this concept one stage further and go all out and create a ‘mirror wall’ – completely cover a fence or wall in mirrors of uniform or irregular shapes and sizes – a real wow factor! Use arched mirrors to look like windows in a wall or pretty, colourful mosaic frames to brighten a muted coloured fence.

Hang metal artwork, wooden hearts made from driftwood or clocks to bring a sense of the indoors, outdoors. Signage with witty messages hung on fences and walls can bring a sense of fun to your space. Further inspiration (and some fun quirkiness!) can be found in this article from Homedit, look out for the wellington boot planters, they are adorable!

Plants and Flowers
Why just keep things at ground level in the garden? Adding hanging baskets and pots to your walls and fences can brighten these spaces and add change and seasonal colour all year round. Trellising in traditional or more modern designs and colours can be secured to boundaries to grow climbing plants and create a feature of a wall or fence. Bear in mind climbing plants can take a while to get established. If you are after some instant gratification, covering fences and walls with nets of artificial greenery can immediately bring a sense life and calm to your outdoor space and better still, it doesn’t need to be pruned or tended if you are low on time or skill.

We hope this article has given you some inspiration and ideas on how to brighten and beautify your boundaries. If you do try out some of these ideas, why not show us via our Facebook page? We would love to see your own take on Beautiful Boundaries!