5 fence decorating ideas
- The simplest way to decorate a fence is to use string lights, lanterns, or DIY mason jar lights. These will make your garden feel warm and welcoming, especially in the evenings.
- To decorate a fence with flowers and plants, use climbing ivy, hanging baskets, or trellises to add greenery and colour to your garden fence décor.
- When updating your garden fence décor, get creative and express yourself with paint and accessories. Try two-tone paint, murals, shelves, or decorative items like mirrors and windchimes to really make an impact in your garden.
A fence has so much potential to become a focal point in your garden, but often we only use it to serve as a boundary. Paint, plants and accessories are all great additions, and a fence gives you a large blank canvas to work with. This means that whatever you put on it can make a huge impact in your garden, so the space really shouldn’t go to waste.
If you know you want to decorate your fence, but you’re not quite sure how, keep reading for some inspirational fence decorating ideas.
Garden fence lights
Adding some lighting to your fence has a lot of pros. It can add interest to the space, make it appear more welcoming and allows you to make use of your outdoor space in the evening.
String lighting is a popular choice for decorating fences as it’s affordable and easy to install, only requiring a few nails. It’s also a simple way to spread soft lighting across a larger area without having to rely on powerful spotlights.
Lanterns can have a similar effect when dotted around your fence and these are a great chance to flex your DIY muscles. Glass mason jars can be transformed into makeshift lanterns easily, and if you use smaller jars, these can be linked together to make DIY string lights.
Plants
Of course, plants are a great way to decorate your fence and add some more nature to your outdoor space. Some will need to be planted in pots, and some can just grow naturally from the ground.
For a big impact, let climbing plants like ivy grow on your fence to cover it in green leaves. You can also attach trellises to give other plants, like roses, a helping hand to grow vertically. Some trellises are even available with synthetic ivy already attached to give you this look immediately without you having to wait for it to grow.
Another great way to display plants on your fence is by using hanging baskets and planters. These can be dotted around to add spots of colour across your garden. You can go for a traditional hanging wire or woven basket, or try colourful metal or plastic planters for a more contemporary look.
Fence paint
The simplest way to improve your fence’s aesthetic is to paint it, but this doesn’t necessarily mean you have to choose just one colour. There are endless combinations of fence paint colours available, so why not try a two-tone effect to add some depth?
When it comes to choosing the right colour to paint your fence, keeping the main panels a lighter, neutral shade and highlighting the fence posts in a darker shade can add a lot of impact for a bold, outlined look.
You can also try out a vertical two-tone look where the bottom half or two-thirds of your fence is painted a different colour to the top section. This works best with fences consisting of vertical slats and can create two levels in your garden space, with a darker colour on the bottom and a lighter shade on the top, helping to open the space up.
Or if you want to create a real focal point in your garden, your fence is the perfect place to paint a mural, whether something floral to blend in with your garden, or something a little more abstract that’ll stand out.
Garden shelves
You can never have enough storage, both inside and out, and shelves are a great solution. There are many innovative ways to create shelving on your fence, including using small crates or breaking up a large unused pallet to create some DIY shelving.
Garden shelves placed on a fence can also be a great addition to any outdoor kitchen or BBQ setup, perfect for summer months. You can also attach or lean an old ladder to your fence to hang your garden tools and display plants from.
And if you want to cross off two things from this list at once, some trellises have shelves built-in, letting you display your plants in more ways than one.
Fence accessories
Your fence is the perfect space to display any little extras, such as windchimes, trinkets or decorative panels, which are all great fence accessories that’ll bring personality to your outdoor space.
This is a great way to get children involved as they can make art out of the nature around them and display it in their very own outdoor art gallery. It’s also great for more functional items that you don’t want cluttering up the middle of your garden, like birdhouses, log storage and bug hotels.
Another example is a mirror, which can make the space look bigger and feel brighter, allowing you to position it to strategically reflect light into darker corners. It can even create the illusion of extra sections in your garden, with window-look mirrors making it seem as if your garden extends beyond the fence. There are loads of garden mirrors available in many different designs, from rustic to modern, so it’s easy to find one that matches your personal style.
There really is so much you can do with your fence to completely transform the look of your garden, whether you’re looking for something functional, decorative or a bit of both. Looking for other ways to spruce up your fence? Check out our fence facelift guide.
FAQs
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