The longer I live in Oregon, the more I’m aware of some of the preconceived notions there are about Oregonians.
Like, for example…
We all wear clothes made out of hemp.
We hug trees.
We offer a dark and moody ambience for filming a little movie called Twilight.
Oh wait…that one is true!
The other preconceived notion is that we must all live in the middle of a forest and that those trees we hug are abounding in every neighborhood.We realized just how untrue this was when we began searching for a “new” home 4 years ago and noticed that builders were leveling the beautiful trees to try and squeeze as many houses as possible into the newly developed areas. We were very drawn to our current neighborhood in particular, because it had been built over time, the houses weren’t brand new, there was space between them, and there were established TREES!!
In our backyard for example, we found these huge arborvitae trees lining the fence (in our neighbors yard) on one side,
these giant cedar trees along the back fence,
and….oh wait…
humph…
Apparently they just forgot about this side.
When we first saw it, it was completely taken over by blackberry bushes and other assorted weeds, so much so that you couldn’t even see that there was a fence there.
So, in an effort to keep our children from plummeting down the hill every time they played outside AND to get some privacy along this side of the yard, we decided to put in a retaining wall and backfill the area. This photo was taken in 2010 when my little guy was little-r. Sigh…
We put our daughter to work shoveling dirt.
She was only 3 at the time, but we believe in starting them young.
Builds character, right?
This is what it looked like once the wall was built and with a row of red-tip photinia along the fence and small arborvitae along the house.
And here is how it looks today…or more accurately, a few days ago when this photo was actually taken.
I love this little nook back here. It may or may not be because the kids forget about this part of the yard and I can hide out from them when they are getting on my last nerve I’m needing a little “space”.Oh, and because it’s pretty too, of course!
BUT, as much as we love knowing that soon we will have full privacy on all 3 sides of our backyard, that red-tip photinia will need a couple of more years before it has enough height to give us privacy while we are sitting on our deck.I was looking at Carmel’s deck, from Our Fifth House, one day and I knew I had found the solution.
We decided to go for some deck privacy of the “instant” variety by adding this framed wood lattice!
“We”, meaning my husband, first screwed through the bottom of the frame into the deck railing.
I held it while he did that which was really hard and almost made me break into a sweat!
He then, with me still overseeing mind you, attached these support braces to the back so it wouldn’t blow off with the first gust of wind that came through.
We put pots of jasmine on either end and have loved watching them wind their way around the lattice. When I open up my kitchen window, their heavenly scent comes wafting through.
And using an S hook, I hung a lantern on each end with battery powered candles in them.
It makes us feel so cozy out here now and gives the deck some extra character.
And speaking of characters…
If you decide to do something like this on your own deck, may I recommend not doing it while your lovely neighbors on that side of your house are sitting out on their patio having lunch?
You may end up bringing the lattice and your tools up onto the deck with your son trailing behind ready to “help”.
And then you may end up going back inside for a minute.
And then your lovely neighbors might start talking to your son.
And then they may ask “What are you doing up there?”
And he may just reply, “Oh, we’re just gettin’ some privacy!”
And then you won’t be able to look your lovely neighbors directly in the eye for the next 2 or 20 weeks.
Just sayin’.
Thanks so much for joining me at the Fence today!
Awesome! How did you secure the 2x4s to the railing??
I am also curious about the sturdiness of the attached lattice. Does it withstand wind? And did you just screw it into the top railing of the existing deck? I really like the way it looks!
Your side yard looks gorgeous! ….and i’ve been trying to convince the hubs to go for a privacy screen like this that we can make ourselves so thank you for sharing! It looks great and I can’t wait to show Mr. Chaos. LOL 🙂
Jennifer
Too funny. Your lattice privacy screen looks great. We thought about doing that when our house was newer. Lucky for us our shrubs(and the neighbors) grew quickly. Love your little side yard!
This turned out so well! And I love how you two work as a team together!
I love it, Vanessa, and I love the idea. My daugher could certainly use something like this. Fences in this HOA community can only be 4 feet high, but you can plant stuff. Which I’m sure they will get to at some point. Meanwhile, they have this nice little deck that is just exposed to all their surrounding neighbors {to be fair, so are the neighbors}. I’ll have to show her your solution.
such great improvements. we need to do this “privacy” lattice treatment too. it looks wonderful!
Looks great! Love the fact that your daughter gets to “work” in the dirt! All kids should have the opportunity!♥♫
Hahahaha… yeah, sounds a little different from the other side of the fence. LOL.
Oh my, I am sure they understood. After you explained right 😉
Oregon girl here. Deer, lots of trees, wildlife, etc… STILL have neighbors.
that’s just what i have been looking for… my hubby finally agreed we need privacy when our new neighbor is on his deck (old neighbor never used his deck). this is decorative w/o being obvious. thanks.
Vanessa the lattice looks so pretty. Your side garden is beautiful, love the stone path! The little story at the end cracked me up!
Ha – gotta love the honesty of kids right?! Thanks for the shout out – I how it turned out! Your yard is beautiful!
that is a great idea! we did something similar with reed (bamboo) fence.
Yah gotta love kids! You’ve done an amazing job with such a difficult area! I felt awkward putting up something for privacy on my deck but the neighbour seems to like it. Whew! ~ Maureen
Hey I live in Oregon and I love privacy. Our house has a yard that is almost 99% private, of course the front yard is not, but our courtyard and backyard is pretty closed off. I love the photinia look, we don’t have it in this backyard but it is a nice ‘look’ and is low maintenance. Good job on your ‘new patio’ screen.
What a great solution … and I love that secret hide from the kids space … and too funny what your son said to your what I’m assuming are lovely neighbors! Kids!
🙂
Linda
Our neighbor quit talking to us after we put up a privacy fence screen along our new patio area. The purpose to block out their huge outdoor A/C unit that sat in our backyard. She didn’t like looking out her window at it, I didn’t like her peering into my yard all the time. She called the cops, she wanted it down. Then the real neighbor war progressed with them hanging big blue tarps along the rest of property lines blocking out our garden sun. This year we fenced the entire side off from them with 6 foot privacy fence and they called code enforcement. We were told to put the “good side” toward them. Instead we backfaced the fence with the cheapest we could find and they got the “good side” of that. They can put their own fence up if they want, they still wont speak to us and all we wanted was a little privacy.
Vanessa, what an awesome idea! And it looks beautiful!
Beautiful! I love it. Especially the area with the stepping stones! –Katie
I love this!! It looks amazing. I love doing something special and unexpected on the side of a house. It’s a place most people don’t utilize. Your little space is intimate and beautiful.
This is gorgeous!! And don’t kids say the darnedest things?? LOL — I could totally see this happening to us. 🙂
xo Heidi
Love your lattice fence Vanessa and cute story too! 🙂
LOL- Love your project-You really did a great job with the landscaping and the lattice. Gotta love a kid that tells all. That is why I will never share my bra size with SweetCheeks! xo Diana
Such a great idea and I love the story…just made me smile. I love the idea of instant privacy and it’s perfect that you can hang a lantern It’s an awesome look Great job.
I love the little side nook in your yard! It’s just beautiful! I too have debated adding lattice to one side of our deck, but it’s about 25 ft off the gound and I hate the thought of my hubbs being up that high screwing something in. So for now I’ll live with it, and drool over yours!!!
Oh…out of the mouth of babes…they are so honest and straight forward…Lattice is a great idea for privacy and also it is attractive!…So next time, you may have to put one up in the middle of the night….the transformation of that area in the yard is fantastic…
Actually, my favorite description of Oregonians are “Hunters & Gatherers,” & I only say that because we used to be those people…lol! Yep, we were tree huggers & wore clothing of hemp — no, just kidding about the hemp clothing! Great way to add some privacy, & I love jasmine.
Had to chuckle looking at the photos of your children, namely the little boots your daughter was wearing. Part of my kiddoes’ winter attire (sometimes all year) were always red rubber boots — kind of miss those cute little boots!
CAS
Such a pretty backyard Vanessa…the lattice looks perfect! I could use some Oregon weather about now!!! XO, Aimee
That’s very similar to what I want to do on our deck. I would enjoy time out there more if I had a little more privacy.
Love the lattice! I could use some of that myself! And, don’t you just love the way that children spread information, especially info that you don’t want spread? LOL! That little privacey area is so pretty too! A place to hide out is always a good thing! Thanks for sharing! Hugs, Leena
This is a great idea! And I had that certain, “yeah I’m hanging a curtain on my porch to to block the sight of your house, but don’t take it personally” sort of incident earlier this week when I was finishing my mini porch makeover. 🙂
Have a great day!
Angela
It looks GORGEOUS!!
We live in Oregon too and we did the same thing on our deck! I like the idea of the Jasmine and lanterns!! http://doubletheblessings-amyh.blogspot.com/2011/10/track-homes-privacy.html
That lattice looks nice. Your deck looks better than mine. Love the yard transformation. Thanks for sharing at wow. I know this was by accident, but you left my link off.
Heart is leaping! Thanks so much for featuringShredded Flank Steak Sliders.
“Lattice turned Deck Privacy Screen” was indeed a fantastic post and I actually was in fact very satisfied to come across it.
Thanks for your effort-Cathryn
Thanks for taking free time to create “Lattice turned Deck Privacy Screen”.
Thanks a ton for a second time ,Rosetta
This is awesome! We have a beautiful window that lets in a lot of sun BUT it looks out to our carport. Gross 🙁 this may be the perfect solution! Pinning it!
Have an awesome Easter!
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My little dog has always gone out into the yard but now there is a big dog next door. They dont get along very well. I am looking for an inexpensive way to keep her on my back deck when I let her out of the house. The deck is already built and has only X type rails around it. She can and will jump threw and off the porch. I need a way to secure the deck, but I dont have very much to spend … Can you give me an idea as to what I can use ??? thanks debbie
THis is a great idea! how did you secure the 2×4 to the deck ?
I have scoured the internet, and this project is the closest example I can find of what I want to do on our deck. It looks great!! I do have a couple questions for you….what dimensions are the lattice panel you used? And did it come framed like that or did you construct it yourselves? If it was premade, where did you buy it? Thanks!!!!
Hi Allison! I’m so glad you found it!! We no longer have that on our deck since the whole thing got a makeover last summer but we did buy it pre-made from Lowes and it came framed already. I’m fairly certain that we did not have to cut it to fit because it was a couple of inches short on either side. Hope that helps!
Thanks so much!
OMG I’ve been looking for something like this for year. However I have no idea how much to buy or what. Neither my husband or I are very handy. How do w start?
Hi Irene! What you need to do is measure out the length of the railing on your deck where you will attach the lattice. Then head to the hardware store and you will see different lengths available. Depending on how much you need you might have to use two right up next to each other and attached to the railing. Hope that helps! 🙂
It look very nice, yet I would like to have the measurement for the post used and type of screws etc. A list of materials will be helpful for those of us who do not have a knowledgeable partner. Thank you
I also would like to know the answer to Anne’s and Ginna’s questions.