I loved our neighbors at our old house. They are wonderful people and they have two adorable dogs. Here’s the problem: every time their dogs saw our dogs through the chain link fence, their dogs would bark maniacally at our dogs. We needed something that would block their view of our dogs, without having to replace the fence. We needed a privacy screen.
Here’s how to turn old shutters into a privacy screen – and the whole project cost less than $15!
I knew I needed to find materials for the privacy screen that were big, but also inexpensive. So, I went to the salvage yard. Turns out they had several large plantation-style shutters outside, and they were already connected together in pairs with wood cleats.
Anyway, I asked how much the shutters cost and he said that they were free (!!); someone had just dropped them off there. Free was perfect!
Note: You can often find shutters just sitting at the curb. People renovate or remodel and put these out in the trash heap all the time. You can also find inexpensive shutters like this at a local Habitat for Humanity ReStore.
I dug a little trench along the fence line to nestle the shutters into and leaned the shutters up against the fence:
Remember how I said that pairs of shutters were connected with wood cleats? Well, I screwed the cleats together to essentially create one large panel of shutters.
I also had some smaller shutters that I had gotten at a garage sale at the start of the summer ($10 for the lot). I figured I could use the smaller shutters to cover up the holes in the larger shutters.
I painted the smaller shutters to add pops of color on top of the darker shutters. I used indoor-outdoor spray paint + primer to paint the smaller shutters, and, when the paint dried, I screwed the smaller shutters to the larger shutters.
The first shutter is up!
I thought this would be a great project to get my daughter involved. Also, she REALLY wanted to be involved. I used this project to teach her how to use a drill.
Again, Hank is supervising.
She loved helping and using the drill, and I loved that she is learning how to use tools. It’s important to me that she learns to DIY.
My daughter drilled the screws into the lower parts of the shutters; I took the higher parts she couldn’t reach.
Then, we went to the garden center and got some plants to put in front of it and poof! We had a colorful privacy screen:
The view from our breakfast room window now is not of the neighbor’s dogs, but of bright, happy colors:
Picture taken from the breakfast room.
Next time you see shutters sitting by the side of the road, at a yard sale, or at a salvage yard, think about turning them into a privacy screen like this!
Want to see some other great, easy garden projects? Check out the rest of the Power Tool Challenge projects for this month!
Repurposed Toddler Bed into Potting Bench Thrift Diving
DIY 2 x 4 Porch Swing Virginia Sweet Pea
Shed Window Flower Box Designed Decor
How to Build a Window Box Planter H2OBungalow
Old Drawers into Porch Planters My Love 2 Create
Reclaimed Wood Potting Bench My Repurposed Life
DIY Concrete Paver Planter Domestically Speaking
A "recovering lawyer," I turned in my power suits for power tools and a life of DIY. I believe in merging old and new to make a house a home.
I love this idea! And it’s so neat that your daughter learned to use the drill! I’m definitely going to have to check out Lifecycle Building Center.
Thanks! LBC is only open on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, but totally worth going. Maybe we can do a field trip some time!
Super cute Karen! I love the different colors together. Great job!
Thanks, Shanna!
Karen, I love your idea of using shutters as a fence, and the colors you used – but my fave thing is that you got your daughter in on the action! Future DIYer on the rise! 😉 Awesome project.
Thank you! She had fun helping.
Smart solution! And I love that you have your girl using power tools!!!
Thanks! I love that she wants to help and learn how to use them. I actually bought her a tool belt for Christmas, but it’s a little big for her still.
You got super lucky to find the supplies you needed without spending a lot of money. This probably looked particularly good after the plants you planted filled in. I know you don’t live there anymore, but wouldn’t it be fun to hang a few mirrors on those shutters?
Thanks, Paula! That would be a great idea!!
Hi Karen! Super idea for a privacy fence! Loved the colors. Smart move teaching your kids about power tools early:) Pinned!
Thanks, Wendi!!
I’m late to the convo but found this post invigorating. I live in a twin with a shared deck divided by a privacy panel. My neighbors’ dogs nose along the base and edges of the divider and my boy can only be so patient with their bpundary issues. Mainly he does well but I can see how stressful it is for him.
The other day I stepped out to walk my dog and a neighbor from a couple doors down asked if I wanted some shutters. I thought how much my husband doesn’t want me hauling junk home so I deferred saying I’d ask him.
I probably walked 50 feet when I realized they could be an added barrier between the dogs. We returned from our walk and I immediately retrieved the shutters, while other women on the block cheered on my find—I’m not kidding.
They are pretty rough because they are antiques and spent years in a previous neighbor’s garden as an architectural visual element. But your blog post really buoyed my confidence about the project, especially because we have the same motivation. Thanks for writing this!
Love it! I can’t wait to see what you do with the shutters and how your privacy screen turns out!!
Thank you for the feature!
Thank you for the feature!