Whether you have a large garden with flower beds and a swimming pool, or your 5th-floor apartment has a small balcony where you have set up a pair of deckchairs, installing a privacy screen could make your outdoor space more intimate and pleasant. Entertain friends, play football with your children, or sunbathe without feeling like you are in full view of all your neighbors.
Which privacy screen model should you choose?
In addition to providing you with more peace, a privacy screen can also be a decorative element for your garden or balcony. It can even simply fulfill the second function and be used to hide an unsightly wall or object (shed, rubbish area, water tank, etc.). Some are to be installed directly on a fence, others on a railing, or alone, to divide a space. In most cases, installing a privacy screen is extremely simple, depending on the type chosen. And speaking of which, you are spoiled for choice. In stores and on the internet, you can select the ideal privacy screen from:
- Fabric or synthetic “screens”. Ultimately, it is just a simple woven canvas used to dress your fence or balustrade. Some woven screens bring a touch of elegance (several different colors and aspects) while protecting from prying eyes, but also from wind and UV rays.
- Bamboo, wood or PVC reed screens. A reed screen, or hurdle, comes from basketry (the art of weaving straw). It is a roll of rods assembled vertically. The resulting screening is not perfect, but a wooden reed screen brings a touch of naturalness and exoticism and a coastal atmosphere.
- Artificial foliage trellises. Easy to install, they add a touch of greenery without requiring the same maintenance as a real hedge. The illusion is convincing, and you can superimpose several layers of trellis to more or less hide the support (fence or palisade) on which you fix it.
- Fans. A simple fabric arc to deploy at the top of a guardrail, for example, to isolate your balcony from your neighbor’s. On a terrace, it also allows you to protect yourself from the sun.
- Privacy slats. Plastic slats are designed to be easily attached to a fence. This is one of the most economical and easy-to-install solutions, but the result is less aesthetic.
- Retractable privacy screens. Adjustable and of variable width, this type of privacy screen unrolls like a projection screen and is stored by rolling up into the post (vertical or horizontal) that serves as its base. This allows you to regularly isolate yourself from vis-à-vis without obstructing a passage or depriving yourself of the sun. Like the canvases to be installed on fences, it protects against wind and UV rays (depending on the treatment of the canvas).
Regulations to know before choosing a privacy screen
Warning: before investing in a privacy screen or any other occulting installation for the boundaries of your garden or balcony, you should find out if there are any regulations on this subject. Indeed, even if you are at home, you do not necessarily have carte blanche regarding the exterior appearance of your home. Contact your local town hall to ensure that you comply with the town’s urban planning scheme. The same applies to shared spaces in a residence or shared fences. And if you want to hide the fence between your neighbor’s garden and yours, do not hesitate to talk to them about it beforehand. Not only will they see your privacy screen as much as you and could have a say in the color or material used, but you could also share the costs.
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