Outdoor living spaces

[SHP]

The recent house thread and the 3/4 season room plus going on a few garden tours really got me thinking about outdoor living spaces. Our house has become a maker space with different areas having different uses which suits our interests but isn't great for entertaining or just hanging out and relaxing. 

I really want to have outdoor spaces that would be ideal for just hanging out and chilling but we currently have no privacy with houses so close and so tall it feels like we would have to have walls and a roof for any privacy. Our current director neighbors are not bad at all, it's not like everyone is outside staring at everyone else, but I know that they could sell and a new person may not be as respectful.

For those who have outdoor living areas would you be willing to share pictures or a description? Bonus if you solved privacy issues creatively!

[Faith-manor]

I don't have a picture of it. Sorry. But we had friends who lived in a subdivision with nosy neighbors. They laid a brick paved patio with a solid wood gate, put a stone fireplace in it, and then surrounded it with a privacy fence. It was cheaper than privacy fencing the whole property. It was nice sized. They had the fireplace for ambience, a gas frill for barbecuing, nice patio furniture, a few potted plants, and some of those citronella tiki torches to wars of mosquitos.

[QueenCat]

We have three homes that border ours. Between the house to the left and us are three large fir trees that allow some light through but you can also see minor glimpses of each other's property. You have to be trying. Between us and the house to the right, it feels private, but it really isn't. Fir trees take up the back half of the fence line. The rest is more open but with the way their deck is situated, we can't see it. We do visit over the fence and their dogs like to visit us from their side when we're working in our garden. The house to the back has some trees on one side of the fence line but is open for most of it. We can visit over the fence but no one bothers each other when we're at our respective fire pits. It just hasn't been a problem. But I really do like some visiting with the neighbors. 

[KungFuPanda]

I’m currently working on enclosing my garden with plants. I love my long time neighbors and chatting with them, but they were old when we moved in 22 years ago. Eventually they will sell. The house to the right of mine is empty and being flipped now. I don’t want a giant fence, but I do want some privacy when the weather is nice. 
 

What you have to do is figure out where you will gather, then block the eye line. You don’t have to block every inch. An umbrella here, a bush there, or a trellis with climbing vines can give you beautiful privacy without building literal walls outside. A single tree can obscure the view of your patio from the neighbor’s side window. A bush can hide the neighbor’s deck but still allow you some borrowed scenery if they have a really pretty oak nearby. 
 

I’m trying to plan it so the space is more open in the winter but more secluded as the leaves fill in. I’ve got some bushes in that will mature in a few more years. We have giant mature trees, but I need more small trees (or bushes I can prune like small trees) to fill the gap. Maybe take a photo and see what you really need to do to make things feel private. 

[gardenmom5]

what you can specifically do depends upon how far apart the houses are where you are at.

Shrubbery, trees, to provide screening.  trees will also provide some shade protection.
arborvitae (emerald green) are great at making a living wall/fence in many areas.  

For tight spaces, I've also seen "walls" that are made with 1x4 with about a 1/2" to 1" apart, then planters can be hung from those cracks to make a "living wall" - but they also still allow in some light.

I have a solid roof pavilion because there was no shade, and it was unbearable. And it protects from rain as well. I  have shrubbery to give some privacy and block views by our neighbors.

trachelospermum jasminoides (star jasmine), grows fast, easy to prune/shape, smells heavenly, blooms all summer.  I've seen people make living walls out of it.  I added three planters with obelisk frames this year.

arbors that allow in a lot of sun - but you can having something climbing on it, and hang string lights from it for the evening.

one suggestion would be to start doing image searches and saving pictures of things you like, then you can start finding the common ground and things that can work for you.

[gardenmom5]

2 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

I don't have a picture of it. Sorry. But we had friends who lived in a subdivision with nosy neighbors. They laid a brick paved patio with a solid wood gate, put a stone fireplace in it, and then surrounded it with a privacy fence. It was cheaper than privacy fencing the whole property. It was nice sized. They had the fireplace for ambience, a gas frill for barbecuing, nice patio furniture, a few potted plants, and some of those citronella tiki torches to wars of mosquitos.

they are selling kits for these now, for people who either don't do DIY, or don't have the budget to pay someone else to do it.

these are woodburning

basic - low end

higher end - kit

 

we have a woodburning firepit because we like to roast things - and you really don't want to risk dropping a piece of carbonized food into a gas firepit.  such a mess to clean up.

[Faith-manor]

6 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

they are selling kits for these now, for people who either don't do DIY, or don't have the budget to pay someone else to do it.

these are woodburning

basic - low end

higher end - kit

 

we have a woodburning firepit because we like to roast things - and you really don't want to risk dropping a piece of carbonized food into a gas firepit.  such a mess to clean up.

Ya. We have pur backyard fire ring and a tripod for grilling. We like the smoke flavor! 😁

We laid our own pavers for a cheap patio for the table and chairs, and have one my dad's old ceramic fireplaces from his fireplace shop back in the late 70's. It was meant for indoor heating, but we use it outside. Looks just like a chiminea. It produces a lot of heat in the fall when we want to enjoy the crisp air, but it is chilly out. Our property has a 4ft tall, stone wall all the way around, and there is tall vegetation like lilacs growing all along it, so that side of the house has a lot of privacy. On the other side we only have two neighbors who can see, and due to the location of our outdoor area, they can't see much. We have a full acre and half here so they can't hear either.

The pavers were not hard to lay. So that is one youtube DIY that the OP could do.

Another thought I had was one of those gazebo kits that have fabric/canvas curtains because those could be closed of one had the neighbor lady from the show, "Bewitched". Aldi had a nice one for $169.99.

[gardenmom5]

11 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

Ya. We have pur backyard fire ring and a tripod for grilling. We like the smoke flavor. 😄

We laid our own pavers for a cheap patio for the table and chairs, and have one my dad's old ceramic fireplaces from his fireplace shop back in the late 70's. It was meant for indoor heating, but we use it outside. Looks just like a chiminea. It produces a lot of heat in the fall when we want to enjoy the crisp air, but it is chilly out. Our property has a 4ft tall, stone wall all the way around, and there is tall vegetation like lilacs growing all along it, so that side of the house has a lot of privacy. On the other side we only have two neighbors who can see, and due to the location of our outdoor area, they can't see much. We have a full acre and half here so they can't hear either.

The pavers were not hard to lay. So that is one youtube DIY that the OP could do.

Another thought I had was one of those gazebo kits that have fabric/canvas curtains because those could be closed of one had the neighbor lady from the show, "Bewitched". Aldi had a nice one for $169.99.

Those carcinogens add a lot of flavor.  The most flavorful hamburger dh ever made for me was over a campfire.

Our fire pit is actually on wheels so we can move it around.  We like to roast hot dogs and make s'mores in addition to enjoying a fire.
We're on a steep slope, so the uphill neighbors can see part of the deck area.  I planted a tree that should be tall enough to block their view of us, but not block their view.  (that's how steep the slope is, and how far apart the houses are.)
I'm thinking I need to have a garbage can available when we're out there to put things like: chocolate bar wrappers in instead of the fire . . . . 

[Faith-manor]

3 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

Those carcinogens add a lot of flavor.  The most flavorful hamburger dh ever made for me was over a campfire.

Our fire pit is actually on wheels so we can move it around.  We like to roast hot dogs and make s'mores in addition to enjoying a fire.
We're on a steep slope, so the uphill neighbors can see part of the deck area.  I planted a tree that should be tall enough to block their view of us, but not block their view.  (that's how steep the slope is, and how far apart the houses are.)
I'm thinking I need to have a garbage can available when we're out there to put things like: chocolate bar wrappers in instead of the fire . . . . 

LOL, Mark has a small, crazy heavy, ceramic grill for cold weather. He has been known to be outside lighting charcoal, hunched over this thing while snow flies when he is in the mood for a good hamburger mid winter. 😂 I am happy to have him make one for me, but I am NOT standing out in the howling wind and snow to do it.

[gardenmom5]

2 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

LOL, Mark has a small, crazy heavy, ceramic grill for cold weather. He has been known to be outside lighting charcoal, hunched over this thing while snow flies when he is in the mood for a good hamburger mid winter. 😂 I am happy to have him make one for me, but I am NOT standing out in the howling wind and snow to do it.

dh used to stand under the eaves with the weber kettle slightly further away.  Now, with the pavilion - he stands under it and is farther away from the house.  And, he went and got himself a Trager.  who cares if it's raining, or freezing . . . 

[Clarita]

What you can do really depends on the space you have. We live on a hill so our back neighbors are above us. For us to get a "roof" that isn't a real roof has been shade trees (in my area that is Oak because it grows well here). We also grown vines on the back wall, the previous owners grew oleander and ivy (which are invasive and not something I would suggest), we've replaced some of that with kiwi and grape vines. 

[Indigo Blue]

Ligustrum (privet) is the perfect small tree/shrub to create privacy. You can go simple and cheap: Round paver brick fire pit with small brown gravel or mulch spread thick all around and those resin Adirondack chairs from Lowe’s placed around the fire pit. I personally love this especially in a cleared out area in the woods. Plant ligustrum as needed for privacy. Or camellias. 
 

We have an area set up like this. It’s very camp site-like but also very beautiful. We don’t even have the pretty Adirondack chairs. We just use black camp chairs which are stored when not in use. We have nice folding metal camp tables for eating or preparing food. We have beautiful lanterns and string lights to hang in the trees. We have a nice camp stove set up for easy portability. There is a beautiful path through the property leading to the fire pit area. We love this set up, and it’s so easy and affordable. 
 

This probably isn’t what you’re looking for, but just wanted to share. 
 

We have a gorgeous row of ligustrum and camellia growing across our entire road frontage on our wooded lot. They are trimmed into small trees about 10 feet high. They are green year round and make perfect low maintenance privacy. 

 

For inspiration: 
(Ours is similar but is more in the woods. Here in this photo, you could add some tall shrubbery around as needed).

Edited June 27, 2023 by Indigo Blue

[QueenCat]

14 hours ago, gardenmom5 said:

dh used to stand under the eaves with the weber kettle slightly further away.  Now, with the pavilion - he stands under it and is farther away from the house.  And, he went and got himself a Trager.  who cares if it's raining, or freezing . . . 

Dh got a Trager a few months ago... smokes things so well!

[gardenmom5]

58 minutes ago, QueenCat said:

Dh got a Trager a few months ago... smokes things so well!

we had driven from the seattle area to Portland to pick up a higher quality teak bench from craiglist.  when. we. got. there. .  . he announced we were going to costco because they had trager on sale and the tax savings would pay for the gas. . . I was supposed to fit a 4' bench AND a trager in my car. . . I had downsized from a mini-van (makes a great truck) to a mid-sized suv.  no, the suv doesn't hold nearly as much.  But I got them both in . . . 

[SHP]

11 hours ago, Clarita said:

What you can do really depends on the space you have. We live on a hill so our back neighbors are above us. For us to get a "roof" that isn't a real roof has been shade trees (in my area that is Oak because it grows well here). We also grown vines on the back wall, the previous owners grew oleander and ivy (which are invasive and not something I would suggest), we've replaced some of that with kiwi and grape vines. 

We have the hill issue with one neighbor. Their deck is not even 2ft from the fence and much higher than the privacy fence, another has a detached garage on the property line with a roof deck. 

Sadly, due to height restrictions we cannot have tall trees. Our neighbors do because of a grandfather clause and we are lucky to get shade from the sun in an area, but no privacy. We also have to be careful about plant roots.