How To Cover A Boring Fence [15 Stunning Ideas]

There’s nothing better than having a vibrant landscape surrounding your home. Fences add structure to the lush surroundings, and they serve as a functional fixture by keeping wild animals away from our greenery. However, fences can sometimes look plain, and it can make our landscape look unfinished and awkward.

Fortunately, there are many ways to get around this. Having a plain and boring fence is an opportunity to get creative, just treat it like a blank canvas where you can express your personal style and aesthetic.

Having something to cover the fence can make it either blend with your landscape or make it stand out—it all depends on your preference. If you want it to blend into the garden, incorporating it with climbing vines or hanging plants is the way to go.

You can also try going the minimalist way and simply paint the fence in vibrant color. Although you won’t be covering the fence itself, its flaws and weathered surface could at least be hidden so the fence could look fresh again.

If you want the fence to stand out, you can hang fairy lights or any unique light fixture on the surface to give it a warm glow that can make your landscape feel more inviting.

Incorporating recycled or up-cycled materials can also do wonders for your plain fence—just make sure to make them all visually cohesive in terms of form and color.

We have gathered ideas that will help you dress up your boring fence so it would look more visually appealing in your landscape.

1. Use Climbing Plants or Vines

Incorporating climbing plants on the fences will make your landscape look more fresh and lush. It will make your landscape feel richer and teeming with greenery, and it will effectively cover up your plain fence.

Climbing vines and flowers you can put directly on the fence include wisterias, climbing hydrangeas, evergreen vines, and jasmine. Make sure to seal your fences since the moisture from the plants can damage them.

2. Paint the Fence

Sometimes, fences start looking plain simply because their stain or paint has started to fade. Of course, a faded fence will look drab, so the simplest solution to this would be to repaint them.

You could paint them with the same color, but you can also try making the fences more visually stimulating by painting each panel with a gradient effect. That way, the colors will still look cohesive and the fences will look more vibrant and attractive.

If you want a more colorful effect, you can select a color palette that you think will complement your house well. Paint each panel with this color palette for a playful yet coordinated look.

3. Turn it Into a Plant Wall

There are many ways you can turn a fence into a plant wall, but the easiest would be creating a vertical succulent wall.

To do this, install hangers on the fence and place the small pots directly on the surface. The succulents won’t be too heavy so you won’t have to worry about the structural integrity of the fences.

You can also hang other plants into the vertical succulent wall to add visual appeal to the fences.

4. Plant Hedges and Huge Shrubs in Front

Another way you can cover a plain fence is to distract the eyes from the fence and lead them to the lush shrubs and hedges surrounding your landscape. That way, the fence will fade into the background until you can figure out a way to spruce it up.

If your fences look weathered, it can simply create a rough and rugged look in your landscape which will easily blend into natural spaces. Or, you can use the height of the shrubs to cover them up.

5. Turn the Eyes to the Flowerbed

Incorporating an elevated flowerbed can also distract the eyes from the fence to the vibrant flowers against it. Not only will this be an affordable way to make your landscape more visually pleasing, but it will also make the area wider as it is a space-saving feature.

If you’re planning to surround the flowerbed with wood, make sure to apply sealers on the surface of both the fence and the flower box. Wood is susceptible to rotting and mold caused by moisture, so make sure to maintain it properly so you won’t get burdened by the repairs.

6. Install Fairy Lights

Installing fairy lights on the fence is another easy way to spruce up your boring fence. It can make your landscape feel more welcoming, not to mention it will look vibrant and elegant when you power up the lights.

You can arrange the fairy lights however you want, but you will need a lot of them if you want the fence to be completely covered by the fairy lights. You can try design techniques to make the area more visually appealing, such as:

• Installing them vertically at varying heights, creating an illusion of the light spilling down from the fence
• Creating swirls and shapes, making the lights look unique
• Installing them vertically for a classic design

Try these solar-powered lights, see several color options at Amazon.

7. Hang a Trellis on the Surface

If you want a more classic solution, you can never go wrong with simply installing a trellis on your fence to cover it up. You can fill the trellis with vibrant flowers to make your landscape look more attractive.

You can plant roses on the trellis for a more romantic look, or you can try bougainvilleas for a softer look.

8. Install Shelves on the Surface

Installing shelves on the fence's surface is both a creative and practical solution for a plain-looking fence. These shelves can be a space-saver where you can keep garden trinkets that can be decorative pieces by themselves.

Paint the shelves with a vivid color if you want it to pop, or you can give it a rustic or classic feel by painting it with a neutral color.

9. Hang Decorative Sculptures or Cut-outs

Nothing screams artistic flair quite like cut-outs and small sculptures installed on the fences. These sculptures or cut-outs can be whatever you want them to be, but incorporating dragonflies, flowers, or butterfly cut-outs is definitely on the theme!

The materials can be recycled from metals or wood to ensure durability.

Decorate with these metal, busy bees found at Amazon.

10. Install a Chalkboard

Installing a chalkboard in the middle of the fence is an effortless way to encourage creativity. This is ideal if you have toddlers that can’t help scribbling on walls and fences, and it will spruce up your fence easily!

You can also draw on the chalkboard yourself, which can make your fences more visually appealing especially if you have a knack for it; make it seasonal to accentuate your other backyard decor.

However, make sure the chalkboard is removable so that it won’t get drenched on rainy days. You can build a frame around the fence where you can put the chalkboard during sunny days.

11. Incorporate Recycled Bags-Turned-Planters

This is a great way to reuse your old tote bags. Simply paint them with a color that matches the color scheme in your landscape for a more cohesive look. Put your pots into the bags and hang them up on your fence. You can also plant directly on these tote bags. Simply fill them with dirt and poke drainage holes at the bottom.

12. Install Up-cycled Boot Pots

Boots can also be used as an alternative to traditional pots. These boots can be hung up on your fence to make your fences look unconventional and artistic. For added visual flair, paint the boots with vibrant color. Or, you can simply incorporate colorful rain boots on the fence.

13. Install Mirrored Panes on the Surface

An effortlessly creative way to dress up a plain fence is by installing mirrored panes on the surface of the fences. Make sure to securely attach the mirror to avoid broken glasses on your landscape.

Try a snazzy mirror shape like this sunburst found at Amazon.

14. Paint a Mural

Painting a mural on the fence will make it more visually appealing, and it will reflect your own artistic flair. You can paint it yourself, or you could hire someone to paint a picture that you prefer.

15. Cover with Empty Frames

Empty frames can outline your fence and make it look like contemporary art depending on how you arrange these empty frames. This will give your landscape a creative flair effortlessly.

Final Thoughts

Giving your fence a makeover can be intimidating at first, but there are many ideas that you can explore. As always, make sure to follow your preferences when narrowing down these ideas.