Bring Your Outdoor Space to Life by Decorating Your Fence!

How's your fence looking these days? Backyard Boring? Nothing but empty space devoid of anything and everything except lawn? Need backyard decorating ideas? See Tim's "Fish Fence" 

Try decorating your fence with hanging baskets, sun faces, birds, fish, frogs, dragonflys or Asian inspired art, country decor - perhaps old wagon wheels or an English cottage look. 

 ← Four metallic painted squares with wrought iron garden fencing turned sideways and upside down; old wrought iron wall plaques with the centers removed and nailed to the fence; then two wrought iron candle holders strategically placed so that the candles hang near the middle. Place a bouganvilla or any climbing plant at the bottom and train it to climb up (blooming vines look the best!). A very easy fix for a small section of fence that needs color and decoration.

→ If your fence doesn't really need painting, do what Kathy does: place small hanging pots directly against the fence with plants that don't require a lot of soil, like Rabbit's Foot Fern or a Staghorn Fern. Most ferns are shade-loving plants, so plan accordingly. Placing redwood container plants along the bottom of a fence can really dress-up a drab and otherwise colorless fence. This is a very easy fix! To see more of Kathy's photos - click here.

← Build a raised redwood planter box at the bottom of your fence to hold your favorite flowers. Redwood is beautiful and inherently rot-resistent. Paint or stain your fence in matching or complimentary colors to the redwood for the best looking fence (and planter box) in the neighborhood.

→ A simple but dramatic look with a red faux-painted wall with lanterns ramdomly placed. The black scrolled wrought iron hardware holding the lanterns that gives it a unique and romantic old world charm. This decorating scheme could easily be incorporated on a small enclosed patio fence. Find old metal outdoor light fixtures at flea markets or garage sales. Give them a little sanding, a coat of black paint, and place them on the fence with candle votives or tea lights inside for a soft night glow. Or, make it a centerpeice, painted right in the middle of the fence, with a black frame surrounding it and then put hooks on each side with hanging baskets on each end for a one-of-a-kind backyard art piece.

Get the kids off the couch!  We hear it all the time...that children and teens spend far too much time watching TV or playing any number of electronic-style games (aka mouse-potatoes). Teaching them about nature, flowers and plants adds an extra layer of self-esteem. Why not consider giving them a portion of the backyard - fence included, of course - to paint a small mural with jungle and monkeys swinging from tree branches or colorful butterflys. Let your imagination take over and get the kids involved.

← Painting your own mural with projection stenciling might be the best way to go, but there are plenty of mural artists available if you don't want to tackle the job yourself. Click here to see murals painted on fences.

Muralist: Blaine Whitford

Personalized Backyard Spaces.  Getting Organized. Whether its in the home or outdoors, this will be the year a lot of homeowners get busy creating their own outdoor living style. Some folks will go "all out" with fancy fireplaces, plush seating and stereo sound systems and others will go for eco-friendly gardens, treasures found in antique shops or flea markets to decorate their backyard spaces. One thing for sure, the backyard is the "new room" to the home and this year, redwood planters - large, medium and small - will be the focal point on the patio and, the fence.