Decorating & Design
June 2, 2023
The Best Backyard Fences From The H&H Archives
Fences can do so much more than divide a property. These multitasking fences offer privacy and serve as a support for lighting, garden accents and plants — all while looking handsome. Read on for the best fences from the H&H archives!
The slatted divider on this Montreal deck lets the breeze and sunlight come through while providing privacy.
This cedar fence has a “moon gate” to frame the view of the manicured garden and classic summerhouse in this Toronto garden. Lattice panels encourage the growth of climbing flowers.
Designer Connie Braemer opted for a sleek black palette in her client’s Toronto backyard. The contemporary fence features vertical slats lined with small square sconces for an ultramodern aesthetic. A row of shrubs along the fence softens the hardscaping and dark color scheme.
The fence in designer Michael Angus’s backyard serves as a support for vines for a magical garden feel.
Not all fences need to make a huge statement. This neutral one blends into the background to let other elements shine and is adorned with a discreet sconce to light the seating area below.
Outdoor lanterns line and illuminate a lattice fence in this downtown backyard. The sleek black fence brings a tailored look to the space, replacing the cement retaining wall and chainlink fence that came before it.
This fence serves as a support for statement-making woven pendant, and the wiring is concealed by tucking it along the fence under a board. “Adding pendant lighting outside creates so much intimacy and acts like a ceiling,” says Sarah Keenleyside of her fence.
A trellis performs a disappearing act for this fence (concealing an unsightly telephone pole) and lends support to vines — an effective way to soften hardscaping.
Owner Lisa Murphy felt like she was trapped in a concrete box when she was in her city yard. The solution was incorporating a long planter filled with grasses to soften the lines of the fence and bring in more greenery.
In Mazen El-Abdallah’s downtown backyard, the fence accommodates the trunk of a mature tree with a cut-out so the tree can provide a canopy of shade. Pro tip: In a small yard, painting a fence a dark color creates the illusion of more space.