Beyond the Fence: 10 Architect-Designed Privacy Solutions for Your Garden

A solid fence is the default answer to garden privacy, but architects and landscape designers have far more creative tools at their disposal. We asked members of the Remodelista + Gardenista Architect/Designer Directory to share their favorite strategies—from woven steel screens to sound-masking water features. Here are ten inspired ideas that blend seclusion with style.

1. Woven Steel Screen

For a Palo Alto office courtyard, landscape architect Scott Lewis designed a custom woven steel screen painted chocolate brown, backed by native California rush. The same steel strap forms a pedestrian gate with a contrasting pattern and spacing, unifying the ensemble while varying transparency.

2. Corten Steel Panel

In Pacific Palisades, Grow Outdoor Design combined a sliding wood gate, a Corten steel panel, and jasmine-covered hog-wire fencing. Partner Joel Lichtenwalter notes the materials “all harmonize to create privacy” while adding textural warmth.

3. Wooden Pergola with Planters

Mabbott Seidel Architecture crowned a Brooklyn rooftop terrace with ipe planters tall enough to serve as privacy barriers, topped by a cedar trellis for vines. “We like the combination of hard and soft materials,” says Matt Seidel.

4. Cedar Lattice Screens

On a tight Marin County lot, Scott Lewis used Alaskan yellow cedar boards at multiple levels to screen a house from a busy road and a neighbor’s two-story garage wall. The layered lattice filters light while blocking sightlines.

5. Sailcloth Panels

UK designer Richard Miers stretched sailcloth panels across a side trellis in a private courtyard, supplemented by a wooden screen above to block views from adjacent apartments. The fabric adds a nautical lightness and can be tensioned or removed seasonally.

6. Layered Hedgerows

Janice Parker enclosed a Connecticut pool with a tall hedgerow fronted by a lower row of hydrangeas. “Hydrangea hedges are perfectly suited for planting along regulated fencing,” she says. “Bright green foliage fills in early spring, and blooms attract pollinators through frost.”

7. Translucent Acrylic Panels

For a Manhattan rooftop terrace, architect Kim Hoyt needed absolute privacy without sacrificing daylight. She built a custom stainless-steel frame filled with lightweight translucent acrylic sheets—far lighter than glass—preserving views of the sky while blocking neighbors.

8. The Layered Look: Fence + Courtyard

Pete Pedersen of Pedersen Associates stresses that “the real key to any privacy solution is layers.” His first layer: a custom wood fence that blocks street views and creates a fully private courtyard. Inside, a second layer awaits.

9. White Noise: Burbling Fountain

Inside that courtyard, a burbling fountain masks conversation from neighboring properties. “Visual privacy is important,” Pedersen says, “but if you can hear the neighbors talking on the phone, the effect is often lost.” Water features, he argues, are underutilized turnkey privacy tools.

10. Lattice Trellis on Pergola

Janice Parker added a lattice trellis to the side of a wood pergola, giving vines and climbers a structure to climb. “The combination provides ideal support for growing perennials for additional privacy and shade,” she notes.