Privacy Fence Ideas - 29 awesome options for your Backyard (2024)

Do you feel exposed when you’re in your yard? Does your yard feel more like a display window than a private sanctuary?

If so, check out this list of 29 privacy fence ideas to help you create a backyard retreat and boost your home’s curb appeal.

This article contains affiliate links. If you click a link and buy something I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more information please see the Disclosure page.

Updated March 2023: I have removed some Instagram photos and added some other photos I’ve taken myself. If you own one of the companies in which I’ve shown your Instagram photo – and you do not want the free publicity – please contact me and I’ll remove your Instagram photo. Plus, I’ve added even more unique privacy fence ideas. Thank you and enjoy.

Privacy Fence Ideas for Backyard Privacy

Using these privacy fence ideas for your backyard will help you create a more private, secluded backyard.

Scroll through and see which fence inspires you.

1) Corrugated metal fence panels

In recent years metal privacy fences have become a popular choice to block out nosy neighbors and create a modern look for your property.

I love the balanced look of the corrugated metal fence panels with the solid wooden frame.

Below is another metal privacy fence that was recently installed in my neighborhood. They screwed corrugated metal panels into a wooden frame.

Positive things about a metal privacy fence:

• The panels provide 100% complete privacy. There are no cracks or gaps to see through: total obstruction. Pretty cool.
• Quick to install. Once the wooden frame is built it is quick to screw in the panels

Negative things:

• The metal panels can get hot to touch.
• The panels can get dented (from errand baseballs for instance)

2) Wood Panel Fences

Above is a picture of a newly installed wood panel fence. It hasn’t been stained or painted yet.

It doesn’t have any gaps between the vertical boards: they are tongue and groove boards. It provides exceptional privacy.

This particular fence doesn’t have a fence topper. It is a 6 foot tall privacy fence.

Below is another great example of a wooden, backyard privacy fence.

Positives of a wooden panel fence:

• Natural look
• Can be stained or painted different colors
• Provides good privacy
• Can be quick to install once the post are set

Negatives of wood fence panels :

• Maintenance – wood requires regular staining or painting. And you can paint over stain, but you can’t stain wood that was previously painted.
• Warping and bowing of the boards
• The posts need to be set the exact distance apart (which can be tricky in rocky soil)

3) Stained Wooden Fence Panels with Black Fence Posts

If you like the privacy of a wooden fence panel, but you want to add some “style” to it, you can paint the fence posts a different color than the panels. (Check out the cool fence above.)

Just this bit of painting provides a new look to an old fence.

4) Vertical Wooden Boards on the same plane (Dog-eared)

This is a wooden privacy fence I built. The boards on the fence shown above are all on the same plane.

I personally don’t like when fence boards have a flat top so I cut the boards “dog-eared” at the top.

All the boards are screwed to the same side of the supporting horizontal board (the fence rail).

I left just a small gap between the boards in case the boards twisted a bit, but the gap isn’t big enough for people walking the alley to see into the yeard.

5) Board on Board Vertical Wood Privacy Fence

This is a great looking wood fence. It has a vertical board-on-board design with black painted fence posts.

And behind the fence – inside the backyard – are some cedar trees providing extra height.

I think it is a really nice look.

And it has a flat top, but it has been nicely capped with a black-painted top board.

The wooden fence provides immediate privacy while the cedars are still growing.

6) Plant a Row of Hedges (Nature’s privacy fence idea)

What are they doing in the yard behind these hedges? I have no idea because the hedges make a great privacy fence!

Living walls made of hedges with dense foliage is a great privacy fence idea because it actually gets better with age.

• As the plant grows larger and fills in, it becomes a more effective privacy fence
• Contrast this with wooden boards which deteriorate over time

Concerns about Hedges:

• The downside to a living wall of hedges, is that they can be sparse during the first few years after planting: they haven’t “filled in” yet.
• The trees or hedges you plant may require consistent watering. (Try to pick hedges that are adapted to your area and don’t require much extra watering beyond rainfall.)
• After they’re established and start to grow well, you need to trim them and keep them looking good.

You can probably trim the hedges yourself but it’ll depend on your skills, abilities, and how tall the hedges are (do you need an extension ladder just to reach the top?).

7) Formal Hedge Privacy Fence

Another photo of a row of hedges blocking out the view of a yard. This is more of a formal hedge where it is shaped and manicured.

8) Informal Hedges as a Privacy Fence

Above is a picture of an informal hedge providing a great privacy screen. It is informal because it is not shaped and formed. It is more “natural” looking.

I don’t know what kind of bushes these are but it has big thorns…so they act as a security fence too.

9) Artificial Hedge Fencing Roll

If you have an existing fencing structure that doesn’t provide much privacy (such as a split-rail fence or chain link fence), and you don’t want to wait for real hedges to grow, you can buy artificial hedge fencing rolls.

The “faux ivy” fencing roll shown above is available on Amazon.

It attaches to your existing fence with zip ties (not included with the fencing).

If you want specific ideas on how to add privacy to a chain link fence, I wrote this other article dedicated to that.

10) Plant Vines to grow along a framework

You can “train” a fast-growing vine to grow along a trellis or other framework.

Above is a Pinterest pin I made showing a great example of a lush privacy fence made of ivy.

Examples of Climbing Vines include:

• Climbing Hydrangea (produces lovely white flowers in the summer)
• Boston Ivy
• Wisteria
• Virginia Creeper (notoriously fast-growing vine)

11) Plant tall decorative grasses or flowers (another living privacy fence idea)

The picture above beautifully illustrates the privacy and colors that tall grasses and flowers can provide to your landscaping.

The red fence wouldn’t provide much privacy on its own.

Below are some tall grasses highlighted in this article on the HGTV website. The website lists more information such as what zones the grasses are suitable for.

Tall grass varieties include: (according to HGTV website)

• “Northwind” Switchgrass
• Frostgrass
• Purple Majesty ornamental millet
• Karl Foerster feather reed grass
• Feather Pink Pampas Grass
• Little Bluestem (according to Wrangle.com this was an original prairie tallgrass)
• Big Bluestem (‘Indian Warrior’ variety)
• Porcupine grass
• Maiden Grass (‘Dixieland’ variety)
• Switchgrass (‘Prairie Sky’ variety)
• Pampas Grass (‘Pumila’ variety)
• Feather Reed Grass (‘Eldorado’ variety)
• Hardy Pampas Grass

Whatever grass you decide to use, try to pick grasses and plants that are native to your area.

Call your local greenhouse or nursery and ask them for good viable options for your area.

12) Weave plastic slats or tape between chain link fence

Chain link fences work well to contain a dog or to clearly mark your property line, but they provide zero privacy.

They do make a great starting structure though.

You can buy plastic slats or tape to weave through the links to obscure visibility.

There are lots of products on the market that do this.

The product above is plastic privacy tape made by FenPro that is available for sale on Amazon.

To further enhance privacy you can “basket weave” the product through the fence.

Weave the tape through the fence in one direction (like shown above), and then do it again in the opposite direction to create your own privacy lattice. (It can be time-consuming but may be worth the extra privacy all summer long.)

If you have a chain link fence check out our article on covering chain link fence for privacy.

13) Gabion Walls (a solid privacy fence idea)

There is a sense of permanence and security of having a rock wall as a privacy fence.

And now I’m seeing even more rock walls built inside a metal cage like the picture above. This is called a Gabion wall.

You’ll want to talk to an experienced contractor before trying this to make sure you have proper support for the weight of the rocks.

This article here has some interesting information about gabion walls and using them in the hardscaping of your property.

14) Dry Stacked Rock walls

The craft of dry stacking rocks takes skill and experience.

And it could cost you lots of money to pay for the labor.

But a stone fence can be stunning and a lasting investment.

15) Brick fences or Allan Block Walls

Below is a picture from Instagram of a massive allan block wall.

It looks like a fortress!

A benefit of a brick wall or Allan block wall is durability and strength. These are great privacy fence ideas.

They’ll last a long time…but they need to be installed properly and they’re not cheap, easy or fast.

But things that last are rarely cheap,easy or fast.

Look this company up if you’re interested in their work.

16) Grey Pre-built Fence Panels – vertical wooden board fence

There are lots of different looks and styles for wooden fences with vertically-oriented boards.

Most of our local hardware stores carry pre-built fence panels that are either made from cedar, or stained or painted pine boards.

The pre-made fence panels makes for a quick installation.

But if part of the panel get damaged, you may have to take the whole panel apart to replace one board.

Above is an example of some pre-built fence panels that are painted grey and have a lattice fence topper.

They do the job: they provide good privacy.

17) Shadow Box Fence– Staggered Vertical Board Fence

The fence in the photo above has a staggered pattern. Some people call this a shadowbox fence.

They are not all on the same plane.

One board is screwed to the outside of the horizontal supporting board, and the next board is screwed to the inside.

18) Tall Picket Fence

Picket fences are often used as front-yard decor and are usually less than 3-feet tall.

But you can use them as privacy fences.

You just need to use tall boards and space them closer together.

A good example of this is shown above. The property owners have the picket fence running along their side yard, and wrap it around the entire back yard too.

Got an old wood fence but you don’t want to replace it yet?

19) Horizontal Wooden Board Fence

Here is a classic option for privacy fences that allows a lot of different interpretations.

You can have the boards all the same size, or you can have alternating widths of boards like the grey fence shown below.

This grey fence shown below is an impressive privacy fence constructed along an alleyway. It is tall…probably about 7-feet tall. (Check with your local authorities to see if you have a height limit.)

The boards were painted prior to installing so they are well-painted on every side.

Here is another cool wooden privacy fence using various widths of the slats.

It is still a nice looking fence, but it brings up one downside to wooden fences.

They require upkeep and either re-painting or re-staining in this case.

20) Horizontal Staggered Board Fence

Above is an example of horizontal wooden boards but they’re screwed on opposite sides of the fence. It is a very sharp looking fence.

Like a horizontal shadow box fence.

And here is another horizontal fence with ‘board on board’. It is short video clip from Instagram. If you like the look of this and you live in their area and you want a privacy fence…check them out.

21) Horizontal Wood Fence (all same size boards)

Above is another example of a horizontal privacy fence that I snapped on a walk.

I love the honey-colored stain on the wood.

I think for additional privacy I would put the boards closer together or fill in the gaps with a narrow piece. (But it still looks awesome as is.)

One negative thing about horizontal boards on a privacy fence is if you’re walking along these fences you can see through the gaps and continue to see a good portion of the yard behind the fences. That is if the gaps between the boards are fairly large of course.

Below is an example of a wooden horizontal fence where there is no gap between the boards. The fence in the pic is quite short but you could build a similar, but taller version and have a nice-looking, private fence.

22) Horizontal Wood Weave Fence

Here is another horizontal wooden privacy fence idea, but this is more visually interesting because of the woven nature of the boards.

Each horizontal board alternates from the front of the post to the back of the next post and so on.

They appear to have screwed a 2×2 down the center of the 4×4 fence post (on both sides of the post). Then they screw the horizontal boards into the 2×2’s.

It is similar to basket weave fence, but I’m not sure if it’s exactly the same because this particular fence doesn’t have a vertical support midway between the posts.

But whether it’s called a woven fence or a basket weave fence, I still think it’s eye-catching.

23) Wood Fence with Stone Columns (a unique privacy fence idea)

This is such a unique privacy fence.

It has tightly-spaced horizontal wood boards and stone columns instead of the standard wooden fence posts. It makes a great-looking, solid fence that you can’t see through.

24) Bamboo Privacy Fencing

This is a unique, eye-catching fence that uses poles attached to wooden fence frame.

The fence frame provides the main structure of the fence and the bamboo poles help provide “filler” to obscure your view of what is happening in the yard.

This particular fence isn’t very tall. Well, at least the bamboo privacy section isn’t very tall. It is maybe 4-feet tall. But you could use this as inspiration to build a taller version in your backyard.

If you already have an existing fence structure that doesn’t provide much privacy you can still use bamboo to help cover it up.

Reed roll fencing such as Bamboo Privacy screens may be better suited to surround smaller areas such as patios or defined seating areas.

But it is possible to have it around your entire yard: just keep in mind you need an existing structure to attach them to. The reed rolls are not structural. They are meant to cover an existing fence (such as a chain link fence).

Here is a link to a roll of bamboo fencing that you can purchase on Amazon.

Depending on where you live you may be able to find bamboo fence panels: thicker bamboo fastened to a frame like the picture shown above.

25) Privacy Fence made from pallets

If you’re a DIY type of person, and you want to build a fence cheaply (almost free), then check out fences made from pallets. They are a great DIY privacy fence idea.

Below is photo from Instagram where someone used pallets, painted them grey, and then adorned them with colorful flowers.

If you like of this, I suggest you check out offgridworld’s profile on Instagram.

26) Vinyl Fencing (PVC)

According to this website, vinyl fencing is made by pouring PVC plastic into molds to make panels. They are considered low maintenance because you don’t need to paint them, but they may fade over time.

They will require cleaning once in a while though. They are a durable privacy fence idea.

Below are some photos I found on Instagram showing before and after a 5-feet white vinyl privacy fence was installed. (Click the arrow button to see all the photos in the gallery.) If you live near this company, and like what they’ve done here you can check out their website.

27) Composite Fencing Materials

Composite fences are similar to composite decks.

The “boards” are a combination of wood chips or sawdust, mixed with plastic (usually recycled plastic).

Composite Fencing can have some advantages over traditional wood fences.

• They are low maintenance
• they don’t rot
• insects don’t eat it
• and don’t require painting (because the color is true throughout the board and not just an outer coating)

Installing a composite fence may take longer than vinyl panels because they are individual boards, but there are benefits to individual boards.

If a board gets damaged you can replace the single board instead of having to replace an entire panel. A composite privacy fence can be an excellent and durable privacy fence idea for your backyard.

Below is beautiful example of a privacy composite fence. It is made by the leader in composite products Trex.

28) Have a Vertical Garden Wall

This may be difficult or darn near impossible depending on where you live, but it could look amazing.

Above is a picture of a vertical garden wall that I took.

But…this was an indoor vertical garden wall: it wasn’t outside.

If you had a green thumb and lived in a temperate climate I bet you could come up with some spectacular vertical gardening walls.

Below is a close up of shot of the garden wall. It shows how they have embedded the little pots in the wall.

29) Stucco Walls

Above is an excellent example of the privacy a stucco wall can provide. This picture is from the blogger Emily at TableAndHearth.com

She added the white trim along the top of the wall which really improved the look of the wall.

You can stucco over existing fences (made of concrete, wood or steel), or you can even purchase pre-made stucco panels.

In the Instagram photos below you’ll see a stucco fence being built by this company. ( Click the arrow button to see all the photos in the gallery.)

Looks awesome. If you like the look of it, and you live in their area, check them out.

If your stucco fence is built properly it should last for many, many years. (The stucco on my 1950’s house is darn-near bullet-proof.)

30) Hang Privacy Screens or Curtains

This option is better suited for covering small areas like deck railings and balconies.

But it can provide a quick way to gain privacy in your outdoor space.

You thread zip ties through the screen’s metal grommets and attach it to your existing fencing structure or deck railing.

The privacy screen shown below is made by ‘Alion Home’ and is available for sale on Amazon.

Here is a link to another popular screen on Amazon that you can get in various lengths.

If you have a raised deck, you may want to check out my article on how to add privacy to a raised deck for more options.

31) Hedges with a Rock Wall

I like the combination of the smooth and round lines of the rocks, the solid lines of the concrete blocks and the natural curves of the hedge.

Below is another great example of a rock wall with shrubs. It is hard to get a sense of scale, but that rock wall was about 5.5-feet tall. It was an impressive privacy fence!

32) Espalier

Espalier is when you train a tree (often a fruit tree) to grow flat against a wall or other framework.

If you want more information on espalier, check out this article from FineGardening.com

In the photo above you’ll see trees being trained to grow along a wire frame. You can see that you aren’t going to have privacy all year long with a deciduous tree. Once it drops it leaves it loses the privacy screen.

I hope you’ve found some inspiration from this list of fence ideas for your backyard and how they can be combined together to achieve your desired level of privacy.

Which of the privacy fence ideas will work for you?

Up Next:

8 Sure-fire Ways to Cover Chain Link Fence for Privacy

How to remove rotten fence post from concrete (You need strong posts for your privacy fence)

Reusing Wooden Fence Posts (save money when you fix a wobbly fence)

How to add privacy to a raised deck (some great ways to accomplish this)

Thank you for your time and take care.

Tim from LearnAlongWithMe.com

Below is the graphic for this article before I updated it to include even more unique privacy fence ideas.