20 Backyard Privacy Ideas for a Quiet Retreat

Install Privacy Panels

Wood fencing encloses this long, wide backyard, and additional wood lattice panels add architectural interest and create privacy.

"We always like to add a private retreat in the landscape as an escape for people to have some downtime," says Kim Thibodeau of Paradise Restored in Portland, OR. "The pathway in front of the privacy screens leads to the retreat."

Be Strategic With Plants

A strategic row of planters filled with fluffy grasses on top of the fence creates a neighbor-friendly green screen that helps add privacy to this Los Angeles backyard driveway-turned-patio from The Home Consultant.

Cover Fences With Greenery

The owners of this stylish formal garden in West London wanted an elegant outdoor space to entertain. Stefano Marinaz of Stefano Marinaz Landscape Architecture framed the perimeter with hedges, while fencing mounted on top of the existing boundary wall added privacy. 

Fences are an easy and effective way to achieve privacy in a yard, though don't forget to check your local ordinances for height and placement. For fencing materials, Marinaz prefers hardwoods over softwoods.

"Hardwood lasts longer; it's like iron," Marinaz says. "It's more expensive than a softwood, but it's more durable and nicer." If you can't put up fencing, consider planting trees, hedges, or vines. Marinaz favors evergreens from the Taxus genus.

Hang a Shade Sail or Two

If your next door neighbor's house has an extra story that looks down into your backyard, consider hanging a shade sail (or two, or more) to protect you from harsh rays and lookie-loos, like this backyard dining area from Blanco Bungalow.

Set Up a Pop-Up Canopy

Add privacy to a backyard driveway dining space with a pop-up canopy, like this space from Ajai Guyot for Emily Henderson Design. Curtains can be tied back as seen here or closed completely depending on how much privacy you want or need.

Create Zones

Create a sense of privacy within a multipurpose backyard space by creating zones that feel like defined spaces where people can gather and feel part of the group while having opportunities to carve out their own space.

This Florida backyard from interior designer Maite Granda includes an outdoor kitchen area with bench seating and a slanted pergola as well as an outdoor living room that is raised up a step and flanked with half curtains that give it a sense of privacy without closing it off.

DIY a Wood Slat Fence

This inexpensive DIY wood slat privacy fence from A Beautiful Mess is painted white, making it nearly disappear while sheltering this outdoor fire pit area from unwanted attention.

Incorporate Nature

Building your deck or patio around an existing tree is good for the planet and will help provide privacy and shade to your backyard, like this tiered deck from Desiree Burns Interiors.

Use a Modern Wood Screen

A modern wood screen in a geometric laser-cut pattern adds shade and privacy to this backyard designed by Emily Bowser for Emily Henderson Design.

Add Curtains

Fantastic Frank added breezy outdoor curtains to the edges of this backyard dining patio that can be closed to provide privacy as well as shelter from the sun.

Build a Private Raised Terrace

Fences help with boundaries, but they don't always offer privacy. By building a raised dining terrace with high walls — sort of like a permanent wooden screen — the designers at Genus Loci Ecological Landscapes were able to give their Toronto-area clients the privacy they requested in an otherwise exposed backyard. Just make sure such a structure is permitted in your area.

Add a Bushy Hedge

A Beautiful Mess added privacy in this backyard pool area with a thick well-manicured hedge that hugs the curves of the hot tub area.

Try Budget-Friendly Bamboo

An outdoor structure, such as a trellis or an arbor, can easily block neighbors' views and add privacy to your yard. But if you have a small backyard space like this Mallorca apartment from Fantastic Frank, inexpensive, sustainable, and easy-to-install bamboo panels will often do the trick.

Use Vertical Plants

Planter boxes with tall vertical plantings positioned in front of the backyard fence in this outdoor space from Emily Bowser for Emily Henderson Design create an extra privacy layer and help to muffle sound as well.

Heighten the Fence

Fences are an easy and effective way to achieve privacy in a yard, though don't forget to check your local ordinances for height and placement. Blanco Bungalow topped off a painted brick wall with wood fencing to add extra privacy for this backyard patio that is set up as an outdoor living room.

Opt for Partial Cover

This midcentury modern-style DIY pergola and geometric wood screen adds privacy to this backyard patio from A Beautiful Mess, helping to block the house next door and to camouflage the car in the car port while maintaining and open and airy feel.

Build a Tall Enough Fence

When choosing a height for your fence, sometimes less is more. In this backyard space from interior designer Alvin Wayne, a natural wood fence provides privacy without totally blocking the windows of the neighboring yard, while a row of trees does the rest.

Consider Furniture Placement

Use furniture placement to help promote privacy in a wide-open backyard. This hillside property from Brophy Interiors is located above neighboring houses. The lawn chairs are laid out with their backs to the neighbors to create a sense of privacy using the layout.

Plant Climbing Vines

Make a privacy fence easier on the eyes by planting climbing vines. Modern Glam planted climbing fig, Boston ivy, and roses on the fence to add a green screen on top of the fence, making the outdoor patio seating area more inviting in the process.

Set Up an Outdoor Theater

Use a backyard privacy fence with high walls as a backdrop for an inexpensive outdoor home theater by hanging up a tarp. Drape some LED string lights on the fence to give it a warm feel after dark.