UPDATED: here’s the final reveal of our space!
DIY bamboo privacy screen:
I was gathering ideas and inspiration for privacy screens (here’s a round-up of some awesome ones) and I just wasn’t loving anything that I saw for our space.
I originally looked at lattice, but just because it seemed like the easiest and most standard thing to put in this space. Well, I was kind of surprised by how much lattice we’d need to fill the space…and it would have been over $200! Not really what I was hoping for, plus, I don’t really love the look of lattice. So, $200+ for a look that I don’t totally love? No thank you!
I started revising my thinking. We didn’t want it all covered up, but we wanted to close it off a little bit to make it feel more like an outdoor room. I ended up coming up with an idea that I thought could look really awesome or really bad…and we went for it. Thank goodness I am head over heels in love with it!!
Say hello to our new DIY bamboo privacy screens:
Aren’t they unique?? I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like them!
Here’s what you need to make yours:
-
Thin wood strips – have them cut them to the desired lengths at the hardware store
I didn’t take many pictures of the process – we were rushing to make them before we had my little guy’s first birthday party! But here’s a slideshow of 4 silly little drawings to show you how we assembled it:
Basically, the bamboo is framed by the wood strips. You could definitely try to assemble the frame on the ground and then attach it to your structure, but we found that it was easier for our space to build it directly to our existing wood structure.
I made sure the wood was stained & dry before we started building them – and the wood was already cut at the hardware store to the dimensions we needed. This made it really easy!
We attached the two outside beams first to the outside of the structure. Then, screwed L brackets in to the wood to secure the bottom.
Then I put 3 cup hooks into the wood on top, and one cup hook on the bottom, and hooked the bamboo fencing on them.
Finally, we added the other two wood strips, added two more L brackets, and we were done! They’re fastened tight, so the bamboo doesn’t have any where to move. Here’s what it looks like from the side:
The bamboo fencing that I bought was actually 6 feet tall, so I cut it right down the middle to make 3 feet strips, which is how long we made our privacy screens. Work with your space and your dimensions to see what would work best for you!
Since it’s bamboo fencing, it should be able to withhold the elements pretty well. It’s already been through a very windy thunderstorm…I’ll let you know how it does this winter!
Here’s the view from outside the deck:
This space still obviously has a long way to go, but I love the direction it’s headed in! We’ll be working on getting that concrete fixed up next – wish me luck!!
UPDATED: here’s how the space turned out! Click here to see lots of other great pictures of this transformed space:
Like this post? Sign up for my free e-mail newsletter at the bottom of this post!
Posts you’ll also like:
What a great idea. I’ve heard those screens are really expensive. It’s so smart to make it yourself. Pinned!
They really are, Heidi!! We’re all about saving money & looking good while doing it over here 😉
huh. now this is a great idea. i love how they are individual sections of bamboo. great inspiration!
b
Thanks so much!!!! <3
Love! Such a great idea. Hey what color is that chair? It’s amazing.
Thanks Molly!! It’s “Mint Sprig” by Behr – I got the flat paint & primer … actually just the sample size so it’s only a few bucks 🙂
I love this! I really love how the bamboo gives a bit of privacy but still maintains an outdoorsy feeling.
Just wondering how it stands up to the rain…mold…and wind.
Hi Rose! We lived with these for about a year, and there was one time that one of them came out of the wood with heavy winds. We were able to easily re-attach it and didn’t have any problems. Since they’re made for outdoor use, we had no problems with rain 🙂
I drove past our old house the other day and these still look amazing! They look exactly the same as the day they were installed 🙂
Love it! Going to try to talk my husband into doing this for our porch!