Neighbours looking over your privacy fence? It’s a common problem. Many people find themselves burdened with a nosy neighbour who somehow feels comfortable staring at you from their property—an invasion of your privacy that can feel unnecessary, even unjust.
Thankfully, there’s plenty you can do to stop it from happening. These are your best choices.
1. Add a privacy screen
A lattice privacy screen. Image from Better Homes and Gardens
This situation is what privacy screens were made for! You’ll be surprised at how many privacy screen ideas there are—aluminium slats (you can get these from Bunnings for just $17 each), wooden latticing interwoven with plants, bamboo, curtains, patterned die-cut metal screens, and many more. With a little creativity, you can redesign a section of your garden with a privacy screen at its centre, and block the intrusive glare of your stickybeak neighbour.
Privacy screens are fast, affordable, and with the right design, can blend in perfectly with your garden. If you get creative with plants and other design elements, they can even become a centrepiece for your garden! They can also help to block the rain and sunlight, to keep your seating area nice and comfortable, all while blocking your neighbour’s line of sight.
If you want to learn more, check out our articles on what a privacy fence is, and the five benefits of privacy screens.
2. Add some plants
Using plants to protect a pool from prying eyes. Image from Decoist
Humans have a deep love of nature—it can make us feel serene and wonderfully relaxed. Science has shown that plants can reduce our stress and fatigue, boost our productivity, concentration, and creativity, and even help us to recover from sore throats and colds. So there’s many more benefits than just blocking out your neighbour!
There’s plenty of options when it comes to privacy plants too, from red-speckled lilly pilly hedges, to towering, fast-growing bamboo. This excellent article from Arbor Operations should help you to choose a privacy plant for your garden.
The downside to plants is that they take time to grow, so this might not be the best solution if you want privacy fast. They also require regular maintenance, so will add a solid chunk of time to your regular chores. On the other hand, as we get older, many of us tend to enjoy gardening more, and it can even become a full-blown hobby.
3. Extend your fence
An aluminium fence extension to add a little extra privacy. Image from Team Work Fencing
If you’re not keen on privacy screens or plants, you can always add extra height to your fence using a fence extension. Again, there’s lots of creative ways to do this, with decorative panels that can make the fence a little more beautiful. On the other hand, fence extensions might make your home feel like a prison, and it blocks out more sunlight (but this can be a good thing).
We hope you find a suitable solution and get back your privacy soon. Good luck!