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Privacy Screens
11 products
Overlooking is the most common complaint about a garden and the hardest to fix, because the obvious answer — a taller fence — runs straight into planning limits and a neighbour's opinion. A freestanding screen sidesteps both: it stands where you need it, blocks the sightline rather than the whole boundary, and can be moved.
The range is laser-cut metal in black and green, 150cm to 198cm tall and 38cm to 45cm deep on the stand, in willow branch, banana leaf, grid, leaf, triangle, twisted line, rhombus and bamboo patterns. There is also a planter box with a back trellis and a screen designed as a climbing frame. Prices are £95 to £119.
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Garden Planter Box with Back Trellis, Grey | Kaiku
From £95
Banana Leaf Metal Privacy Screen with Stand, Black | Kaiku
From £99
Grid Metal Privacy Screen, Black | Kaiku
From £103
Leaf Metal Privacy Screen, Green | Kaiku
From £103
Leaf Metal Privacy Screen, Black | Kaiku
From £105
Bamboo Metal Privacy Screen with Stand, Black | Kaiku
From £109
Rhombus Metal Privacy Screen with Stand, Black | Kaiku
From £109
Triangle Metal Privacy Screen with Stand, Black | Kaiku
From £109
Willow Branch Metal Privacy Screen with Stand, Black | Kaiku
From £109
Metal Privacy Screen and Climbing Trellis, Black | Kaiku
From £114
Twisted Line Metal Privacy Screen, Black | Kaiku
From £119
How to choose
Block the sightline, not the boundary. Sit in the chair you actually use and look at what overlooks you. In most gardens that is a single window or one gap, and a 1.8m screen placed three metres from your seat covers it — while a screen against the fence covers almost nothing.
Freestanding is the point. Rear-garden fences and walls are generally limited to 2m without permission, and screens attached to a boundary count towards that height. A freestanding screen inside the garden is a different thing, but if the site is a listed building or in a conservation area, check locally before buying.
Weight or fix the base. A 2m panel with a leaf pattern catches wind, and the ones supplied with a stand still need weight on that stand — a paving slab, a planter or a ground fixing. Screens with a denser pattern catch more wind than open ones.
Use it as a growing frame if you want it to disappear. The trellis and climbing designs here are made for it: a clematis or a star jasmine over two seasons turns a metal panel into a green wall, and does more for privacy than the metal did on its own.
Common questions
- Do I need planning permission for a privacy screen?
- A freestanding screen inside the garden is not the same as raising a boundary fence, which is generally limited to 2m at the rear without permission. Check with your council if the property is listed or in a conservation area.
- How tall a screen do I need?
- Sit where you actually sit and look at what overlooks you. A 1.8m screen placed two or three metres from the seat blocks a first-floor window; the same screen flat against the fence blocks almost nothing.
- Will it blow over?
- Not if the base is weighted or fixed. A 2m patterned panel is a sail in a gust — put a slab or a planter on the stand, or fix it to the ground, and check it after high winds.
- Can I grow plants up these screens?
- Yes, and it is the best way to use them. The trellis and climbing designs are built for it, and a clematis or star jasmine over a couple of seasons gives far denser cover than the metal alone.