You’ve worked hard to cultivate a gorgeous outdoor environment that you’re proud to show off. Lovely trees, shrubs, and flowers bring natural beauty to your space, as does a perfectly manicured lawn and carefully selected pathways or fencing.
Unfortunately, all this can be compromised by seemingly unavoidable eyesores that reflect the necessities of daily life. Utility boxes, water faucets, and garbage cans, in particular, threaten to destroy the lovely aesthetic you strive for with each gardening session.
Of course, these essentials cannot completely be abandoned as they serve critical functions for your home and your livelihood. That being said, they need not take away from the appearance of your lawn or garden.
A little creativity can go a long way as you take a more detail-oriented approach to hide outdoor eyesores. Inspiration abounds on social media and within the pages of your favorite DIY magazines. We’re also happy to help! Keep reading to find several clever ideas for hiding your home’s most annoying eyesores:
Landscaping Ideas To Hide Utility Boxes
Responsible for housing electrical transformers, telephone connections, and much more, utility boxes play a vital role in the everyday function of your household. They also limit the efficacy of your landscape design. Bulky, boxy, and undeniably unappealing, they are among the most challenging outdoor elements to hide.
Larger solutions may be needed for camouflaging purposes, so be prepared to experiment. When in doubt, give these options a try:
Build a Wooden Screen
Whether created with fence boards, pallets, or even scraps, wooden screens bring a rustic aesthetic to a space otherwise dominated by your utility box. Up the ante by adding planters to your newly created dividers.
Level Up Your Shrubbery
Properly placed shrubs can make utility boxes a lot less visible — especially from a distance. Make full use of hedges, rose bushes, or even a trellis with a creeping vine.
Paint the Utility Box
Simple yet effective, a few coats of paint can do wonders for the appearance of your utility box. This will not hide the box completely, but it could make everything a bit more cohesive. After all, the biggest problem with a utility box is often its contrasting color.
How to Hide Outdoor Water Faucets
Water spigots are incredibly useful, but they can limit the efficacy of your otherwise detail-oriented landscape. When in doubt, give these solutions a try:
Hide Faucets And Hoses With Flower Pots
This is one of the simplest strategies for hiding an outdoor faucet. Simply place the hose inside a large flower pot before setting the entire pot in front of the spigot. You’ll get bonus points if you use a decorative flower pot. A sophisticated pot with a cover is also a viable option if you want your spigot to be entirely out of sight.
Place Ornamental Rocks In Front of Spigots
Large rocks can serve a variety of functions around your home. They might not block off water spigots completely, but they’ll definitely make faucets less visible. Remember that a single rock may actually call more attention to the area — but you can always add several for decorative effect.
Make the Most of Shrubs
Outdoor faucets are often placed low enough to the ground that they can be hidden with help from moderately sized shrubs. Juniper bushes, for example, are a great choice for obscuring unsightly faucets. Even perennials such as ferns or daylilies may stand in the way, making it far more difficult to spot previously pronounced spigots.
Call Attention to Faucets With Bricks or Natural Stone
Another option? Don’t bother with hiding outdoor faucets or spigots at all. Why not play them up, so they become a central component of your outdoor design? Natural stones and bricks lend sophisticated beauty to the otherwise unappealing appearance of a faucet. Reframe these essentials as ornamental, and you just might find that you look forward to using them.
Don’t Forget About Winterizing
As you search for solutions to make spigots more attractive (or less visible), keep in mind that you’ll also need to come up with practical options for the winter. Spigots can be a place of vulnerability, so you may need to invest in an insulation solution. There are plenty of DIY options available, but these aren’t typically all that attractive. However, a faucet cover should provide the protection you need without taking away from the wintery appearance of your home.
Ideas For Hiding Garbage Cans Outside
Garbage cans are an unfortunate necessity for modern living. They look terrible — especially the brightly-colored trash cans that your local waste management company forces you to use. These instantly distract from an otherwise pristine lawn. Here are some options to help you keep your garbage can out of sight:
Build a Shed
Your garbage can need not always be on display. As long as you bring it to the curb on trash day, you’re free to keep it in a more discreet location. A shed is an excellent option that provides additional functionality beyond mere garbage can storage.
If you don’t already have a shed, now might be the perfect time to add one. Not interested in constructing a large shed? A small version meant specifically for trash cans is a realistic possibility.
Hide it Behind Plants
As with the other unsightly features in this guide, a trash can will be far less of a visual impediment if it’s hidden behind a few shrubs. Tall options will prove necessary, so be prepared to add lilacs or dogwood to the mix.
Place It in Your Garage or Backyard
This may be one of the most low-effort solutions for your trash can, but it’s definitely worth considering. A garage may be the best location if you have a high-quality bin that keeps smells contained.
You can also keep your trash can under your deck or tucked away elsewhere in your backyard. Make sure you have a clear path available so that dragging the trash to the curb feels like less of a chore.
A Little Extra Effort Goes a Long Way
Not every element of your yard may be pristine at the moment, but that doesn’t mean you need to settle for a less-than-gorgeous landscape. Whether you try modest camouflage solutions or turn an eyesore into a landscaping marvel, you should have no trouble achieving the stunning outdoor space you desire. Don’t be afraid to get creative and play with fun ideas that level up your home.
