15 Outdoor Privacy Screen Ideas For Your Hidden Backyard

Outdoor spaces are, understandably, within reach of the public’s sight—if you have no physical and visual barriers in place. But if you’re not a fan of prying eyes and want to enjoy your outdoor space privately, this is the solution: an outdoor privacy screen. If you want to turn your outdoor space into someplace where you can relax, destress, and enjoy, these privacy screens are something you don’t want to miss out on.

In this guide, we’ll give you 15 outdoor privacy screen ideas to turn your mundane outdoor space into somewhere you’d love to hang out for hours when you want a timeout from the busy, messy world. Read on! 

Building Your Outdoor Privacy Screen

If you’d like to have a sample, you can get it for free and delivered to your doorstep. Yep, your sight is fine, and you just read that right! To further help you choose and visualize how composite would look like in your property, check out our intuitive visualizer tool! 

Outdoor Privacy Screen Ideas 

Before we cover these ideas, let’s give you a quick rundown first.

Privacy screens and fencing are not the same; they might go hand in hand, but they differ in function. Privacy screens prioritize blocking visual access, while fences highlight property boundaries. But they can be used interchangeably and simultaneously.

As promised, here are 15 outdoor privacy screen ideas:

1. Standard Wooden Fencing

Standard wooden fencing can be a privacy screen for locations in your house where a peeping eye can be a nuisance. You can use standard wood as a balcony privacy screen, fence privacy screen, or deck privacy screen—all thanks to wood’s versatility.

Material: Wood 

Best For: Traditional-looking homes, homes looking to add Scandinavian (known for using wood often) elements to their property.

2. Modular Fencing

Just like standard wood fencing, you can use it as a privacy screen for different areas of your house. Plus, modular fencing offers a DIY privacy screen installation where the manufacturer provides the product, and you’re in charge of assembling it yourself. 

Material: Varies from manufacturer to manufacturer (wood, metal, plastics, or composites)

Best For: Contemporary homes and apartments who want design flexibility and a modern touch. 

3. Horizontal Fencing

Horizontal fencing as a privacy fence screen is a great way to protect and preserve your property’s privacy. As the name implies, this fencing method uses horizontal slats of wood or composites instead of vertical ones. 

Material: Wood or composites

Best For: Barn-style homes, contemporary homes looking to add a touch of natural-looking fencing

4. Bamboo Screens

Bamboo is a cost-effective material for building your privacy screen. It’s also strong and retains a high degree of flexibility. They can be installed horizontally, vertically, or both. You can also reinforce it with a concrete post to prevent premature rotting. 

Material: Bamboo

Best For: Tropical-looking homes, homes looking for more eco-friendly screening solutions

5. Growing Bamboo Fence

Want to make a wood privacy screen that literally lives as you install it? Go for a growing bamboo fence. This uses a type of bamboo called “clumping bamboo” that resembles bushes. They grow vertically and need regular pruning to keep shoots short and manageable.

Material: Living bamboo shoots
Best for: Forest-inspired architecture, sustainable homes and properties 

6. Greenery Ladder Accents

A cousin of the growing bamboo fence, a greenery ladder privacy screen uses a wooden ladder adorned with vertically climbing plants to provide a physical and visual barrier. This type of screening may also need pruning to keep it aesthetically pleasing.

Material: Wooden ladders and climbing plants 

Best for: Hut-style, cottage-style, tropical-style homes with gardens

7. Cactus Wall

A cactus wall provides a unique approach to privacy screening and fencing—it uses plain cacti and succulents, nothing else. You just need to plant them beside each other and watch them grow as they form a barrier.

Materials: Cacti (the types that grow taller than humans) and/or succulents (to beautify the lower portion of the cactus wall)

Best for: Homes surrounded by a desert environment; low precipitation-high humidity properties

8. Outdoor Curtains

An outdoor curtain privacy screen is made out of fabrics. You can use multiple layers of fabrics to make it heavy and line it up with durable strings to make it wind-resistant. This is one of the easiest privacy screens to install; it’s actually a DIY privacy screen, as all you need is fabrics.

Materials: Fabrics (preferably elegant-looking ones)

Best for: Mediterranean-style, Bali-style, or beachfront homes that need a touch of luxury and elegance 

9. Plant Privacy Screens 

Like the growing bamboo, greenery ladder, and cactus wall, plant privacy screens use tall plants and shrubs to form a visual and physical barrier. However, choose plants that grow tall (at least one and a half meters) to get privacy.

Materials: Plants and/or shrubs that grow at least 1 ½ meters in height

Best for: Contemporary, tropical-inspired homes. Farmhouses and houses within a forest’s vicinity are also suitable for this privacy screen

10. Laser Cut Wood Screen

If you’d like a touch of something more modern than composites and modular screens, laser-cut wood screens can be your choice. These wood planks are precision-cut with lasers to create shapes, patterns, and even light textures.

Materials: Wood
Best for: Modern homes, contemporary-industrial architecture type of homes

11. Modular Patio Privacy Screen

A modular patio privacy screen is made to secure your patio’s privacy, hence the name. These are modular, so they are easy to install and assemble. The actual material of this type of screen differs from manufacturer to manufacturer.

Materials: Varies from manufacturer to manufacturer (wood, metal, composites, PVC, vinyl)
Best for: Contemporary houses, modern houses with high foot traffic outside their property

12. Square Trellis with Vines

If you want to be in touch with nature while still allowing for some industrialism, an outdoor privacy screen made of square trellis with vines is a good option. Trellis are a plant-growth support structure made of wood or metal—they help climbing vines and shrubs grow vertically.

Materials: Wood or metal, vines and/or shrubs
Best for: Traditional-style, forest-inspired, desert-style homes 

13. Corrugated Metal Fence

A cost-effective but not so aesthetically pleasing fence privacy screen option, a corrugated metal fence uses corrugated metal sheets mounted to wood or aluminum posts buried in the ground (typically used as a low-cost roofing solution) to provide a physical and visual barrier for your property.

Materials: Corrugated metal sheets and wood or aluminum (for post support)
Best for: Low-cost contemporary homes, industrial-minimalist homes

14. Pergola with Drapes 

A privacy screening solution with inspiration from various romantic settings, a pergola is a support structure that typically holds the roofing of a property. In this screening idea, you will attach drapes to pergolas to provide a barrier similar to outdoor curtains.
Materials: Pergola (wood or metal) with elegant-looking fabric drapes
Best for: Classical homes, homes inspired by Greek and French elements.

15. Slated Composite Wood Panels

Slated composite wood panels are versatile panels that can act as an all-rounder; they can do it all, whether fencing or privacy screening. A composite privacy screen uses composite panels to create a barrier. It is typically attached to a supporting post made of composites or pure aluminum.

Materials: Composite wood
Best for: Contemporary, modern, and sustainability-centered homes

Create a Secluded Oasis in Your Backyard with Oakio

As you continue to explore and choose between the 15 ideas we’ve shared, it’s essential to select a screening option that’s not just easy to install but also low-maintenance, long-lasting, and, most of all, versatile.

Our composite products can turn your mediocre backyard into a fantastic oasis where your peace, privacy, and tranquility are guarded and preserved!

At Oakio, our industry-leading composite wood products offer versatility in almost all applications, whether contemporary, modern, or even tropical—they can withstand every element you throw at them!

As a symbol of our commitment to transforming your outdoor space with beauty and functionality, our products all come with a 25-year warranty to ensure your space is long-lasting and worth the investment.

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