Strategies for Concealing Trash Bins in a Front Yard: A Design Expert Reveals Methods for Camouflaging These Visually Unpleasant Items
In a modern front yard, it's essential to blend large, bulky bins seamlessly with the home's overall aesthetic. Here are some effective techniques to hide bulky bins while maintaining a practical and attractive screen.
Planting Techniques
Planting dense shrubs, tall ornamental grasses, or evergreen hedges can form a natural, green barrier that softens and obscures bins from view. This organic integration of storage into the garden setting provides year-round screening.
Garden Storage Ideas
Installing dedicated bin enclosures designed to house multiple bins (general waste, recycling, compost) neatly is another solution. These enclosures, crafted from wood, metal, or composite materials, often feature lids or doors to keep bins out of sight while protecting them from animals and weather.
Privacy Screens
A wood screening fence or panel, ideally matching the existing perimeter fencing style but shorter (around 48" or higher), can form a stylish visual barrier specifically for bin areas. These screens are easy to install and elevate curb appeal while enabling practical access.
Freestanding Walls
A low freestanding wall built to complement the home's façade or courtyard style can completely block bins from view, providing a permanent and elegant solution.
Combination Approach
The best results often come from integrating these methods. For example, placing bins behind a wood screen or freestanding wall backed by tall planting adds depth and greenery, while keeping access convenient and maintaining practicality.
Location is Key
Tucking bins to the side of the house, near a garage or side pathway, allows hidden access and easier mobility to the curb on collection day without sacrificing aesthetics.
A bin enclosure, a small shed, or a hidden storage solution can be used to keep bins at bay when not in use. Portable privacy screens, like the Serrety Steel Garden Screen from La Redoute, can be used for privacy in outdoor entertaining areas.
If the bins need to be disguised while maintaining curb appeal, a wood screening fence can be used. The bins can be tucked around the side of the house where they can still be screened if needed.
Bin enclosures can help deter wildlife from accessing the bins. A hedge or feature shrub can be a softer look as opposed to a fence and can be maintained at any height desired.
Trent Brown, Founder of Ground Break Design and Author of Amazon's Bestseller "Taking Your Yard from Overwhelm to Oasis", recommends planting the best shrubs for privacy to hide bins in a front garden. Shrubs such as Cherry Laurel, Dwarf Arborvitae cultivars, or other evergreen shrubs make a great screening hedge.
Hugh Metcalf, editor of a website dedicated to helping with all things bike storage in a front garden, emphasises the importance of hiding bins to avoid becoming an eyesore and a feast for foxes.
A garage can be situated in such a way that there can be a short patch of paving to connect the trash storage area to the driveway paving, making it easy to get bins to the curb. A freestanding wall can create a courtyard feel in the front yard and tie in materials from the home.
The light brown NÄmmarÖ Privacy Screen from IKEA is suitable for both indoor and outdoor use, and the two-pack of aluminum and rope garden screens from Sklum UK is weather-resistant and stylish.
By blending natural screening, functional storage, and stylish barriers, bulky, unattractive bins can blend discreetly into the front garden without detracting from curb appeal.
The art of landscaping can incorporate planting evergreen shrubs like Cherry Laurel, Dwarf Arborvitae cultivars, or other similar greenery to create a trendy, colorful, and lifestyle-friendly screen for unsightly bins in a home-and-garden setting. Wooden bin enclosures, designed to house multiple bins, provide a discreet storage solution that maintains curb appeal.
