When Mr. Hasler and I purchased our home 5 years ago, it was important to us to have some comfortable outdoor space. We needed a fence for our dog and we wanted to have a deck that didn't look out at another house.
We got both...sort of...
Our kitchen opens to a square wood deck that is above the ground level. We have a table and chair set there and we seem to sit there together when it's nice outside. There is a line of birch trees at the back of our yard and beyond them is a dry creek that runs through the neighborhood. Past that, there are houses. When the trees are green, you can't see a thing through them. It's like there aren't houses back there at all! Which is ideal!
Walk down stairs from the top deck and we have a ground level rectangular deck that extends most of the length of our house. This is where I usually have what I call sun chairs. It's where I sit during the day when I take the dogs out to play and I can stretch out and read and relax.
I really do like our yard and outdoor space. It's big without being too big. It's flat so mowing is very easy. The birch trees give us a lot of shade in the yard and we have lots of flower bed space where I can plant flowers and we have perennials that bloom like crazy.
What I don't like is that the neighbors on both sides of us can see everything that goes on in our yard and on our decks. Not that I'm doing anything crazy or wild! I just like to sit outside without the pressure of having people look at me when I look my worst!! Ours is not the friendliest neighborhood. No one really talks to one another. So it's not like I feel pressure to make small talk with the neighbors if we're outside at the same time, but it makes it super awkward because no one really wants to be outside at the same time. If we happen to glance at one another...someone always darts inside quickly.
The evening sun beats down on our top deck and it's hard to eat alfresco (which is one of my favorite things in life). And the privacy issues makes it weird to eat outside if the neighbors come out and want to enjoy their deck, too. So I'm on the hunt for some solutions!
In comes Pinterest!! At the top of this post is a link to my board and today I've been pinning outdoor privacy ideas. I especially like the one made out of pallets because I happen to have 3 sitting in my garage right now :)
Do you all have ideas or have you built anything in your outdoor space to give you privacy and sun protection? I'd love to hear your ideas!!
As always, thanks for reading!
~Heather
