Having air conditioning, water on demand, and electricity in our homes are all wonderful things, but they require bulky and unsightly machines and cords that litter the outside of our houses. Cover them up with these 13 ways to hide outdoor eyesores and improve your curb appeal!
Ways to Hide Outdoor Eyesores
A note before we dive into these awesome ways to hide outdoor eyesores: always check with your local utility companies on policies for covering up your water meters, electrical meters, trash bins, and AC units. Some of these policies might have to do with clearance, access for meter readers, and adequate ventilation for AC units.
How to Hide Utility Boxes and Wires
Are your utility boxes and wires, like your water meter or the electrical meter, distracting to the eye? Whether they are located at the side of your home or at the patio, there are several clever ways to cover or camouflage them!
Repurpose old vinyl shutters to act as a screen to cover up your utility boxes! Easy to move or take down for the winter or whenever you need to access the utility boxes.
Or build a wood screen using wood scraps in your garage or pressure-treated fence boards. Use door hinges to attach them together and paint or stain your new screen!
Here’s another wood building project, this is a slatted wood screen that uses cleats – one pair attached to the screen itself, one pair attached to the house – to hold it in place. You simply push it up and away to get access to the utility boxes.
Add some greenery (and even more curb appeal) by attaching planters to your wood screen! This DIY wood screen is held up on hooks; simply swing away from the house to gain access to the utility boxes.
Here’s an easy solution: paint your utility boxes and wires! It’s surprisingly effective and would work well for areas with stricter regulations.
How to Hide Utility Boxes in the Front Yard
Do you have a cable box, an electrical box, or a sewer access cap sticking up through the grass in your front yard? Many people hide them by planting shrubs and other plants around them, but you could easily make a slipcover with beadboard and top it with a birdhouse.
Another way to hide utility boxes in your front yard, especially those huge electrical transformer boxes, is to add a corner fence and plant bushes and flowers around the fence.
How to Hide Air Conditioning Units
AC units are bulky and they need a lot of airflow to work efficiently, so they can be difficult to hide. Enter the lattice screen! They are nice to look at, pretty easy to assemble, and provide plenty of airflow.
If you want something a bit more modern, check this awesome slatted wood screen!
Here’s another lattice screen built to hide an AC unit, but this is an even easier DIY.
A louvered screen, built with the louvers fixed at an angle, works well in providing an AC unit adequate air ventilation. Plus, it looks so nice, especially when painted in white! This is a more permanent solution to hiding your AC unit.
How to Hide Common (But Ugly) Outdoor Items
Some outdoor items are a necessary part of home living, but they don’t look so good out in the open. Water hoses and trash cans are two such examples. Here’s some great ideas how to hide them!
Build a wooden planter to hold your hoses! Plant pretty flowers and plants in the lid and no one will ever know you’re hiding a water hose or two inside. Make a hole in the back to feed the hose through.
Build a modern and beautiful cedar screen to hide your trash cans! Add your house numbers to give it another purpose. You could use this DIY cedar screen to hide all kinds of outdoor eyesores, from kids toys to pool equipment!
These brilliant DIYs will turn any front yard (or back yard) into a beautiful space without the interference of outdoor eyesores! What other ways to hide outdoor eyesores have you seen or made yourself?
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