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Design Dilemma
louhaughton

Should I paint my garden wall?

Lou
5 years ago
Hi, the wall at the back of our garden looks like the photos so I’m currently deciding whether to paint it a light colour all over. What do you think I should do?
Featured Answer
  • Carolina
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    I love it as it is. Doesn't look out of place at all. It adds character. Embrace the wall ;-)

    • Comments (36)

    • susanglascoed
      5 years ago
      Pressure wash the whole thing or paint it black which shows off planting better than any other colour.
    • Lou
      Original Author
      5 years ago
      Thanks. Will painting it a dark colour by over bearing? The black strip of colour at the bottom has been there since we moved in.

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    • E D
      5 years ago

      I actually quite like the wall as it is.

      Unless you prefer a very neat garden in general I think it will make a great backdrop for some substantial and lush planting, depending somewhat on the aspect of the wall however.

      Have you considered building a garden wide planter against the wall?

    • Lou
      Original Author
      5 years ago
      Thanks ED. We have plants as borders of the lawn and our budget won’t stretch to a large planter. I like the rustic look but the rest of our garden is quite neat so I think the wall looks out of place.
    • Sonia
      5 years ago

      I love a rustic brick wall, but yours is a bit of a hotch potch and I think it would look better painted. Choose a colour you love and go for it. Black would be okay if you were going to put some plants in front of it. On its own I think that would be a bit bleak. Without planting, it will always look rather imposing, so may I suggest you buy, when budget allows, a couple of large pots and fill it with tallish planting? It will improve the area greatly.

    • Kazza None
      5 years ago
      I also like it and would just pressure wash it. I don't think it looks odd with the rest of the garden being neat. I think that adds to it. It's like the rustic brick effect wallpapers that are so fashionable, with one wall papered and the rest painted nicely. You've got the real thing!!
    • Daisy England
      5 years ago

      If you do paint it are you going right up to the top? Will your neighbours see the border line? I understand you asking the question as I think it would annoy me too.

    • Lou
      Original Author
      5 years ago
      Was planning to paint the whole thing and I hadn’t thought about where to stop the line of paint on the border! Not sure a pressure wash will remove the paint at the bottom, it’s been on there for a number of years! Can a builder usually remove paint from bricks? Some areas might need re pointing too
    • Daisy England
      5 years ago

      I'm betting a good pressure wash will shift the majority of it but in the process of doing it will also remove anything aged so you might end up needing to re point. It's a high wall.

    • Juliet Docherty
      5 years ago

      Does it ever get direct sun on it? If so I would paint it a light colour as it would reflect lots of light back into the space and make it appear larger. If not them a mid tone.

    • Leslie Tamani
      5 years ago
      Hi Lou
      We redid our garden about 10 months ago and adding brick was the finishing touch - painted cement walls but introduced feature of red brick. It’s such a characterful feature - maybe get the advise of a builder on how it could be cleaned and repointed
    • minipie
      5 years ago

      I like it too! I'd actually leave the wall alone and use a dark grey stain on the fence and shed so they go with the wall better, also provides a more sophisticated look imo. Are you able to grow climbers up the wall, with trellis or wires - that would help disguise the different coloured patches. You'd need a couple of planters at the bottom for the climbers but they needn't be large.

      PS although your neighbour's ivy will take over anyway given half a chance!

    • minipie
      5 years ago

      If you do paint it I would leave the black bit as it helps break up the wall, maybe have a sage green/grey above up to the next dark line and then leave it natural above that. Remember anything painted is just adding a maintenance job however, especially if the wall is s facing.

    • PRO
      All 4 Property
      5 years ago

      Hi Lou! I would try to clean the entire wall as much as possible, then repaint the black up to where it is now. I see you have a decked area there. Is it where your garden furniture goes? If yes, then you could take advantage of the wall and make the whole area feel like an "outdoor room": put some outdoor decoration on the wall, a string of lights, hanging baskets or a couple of shelves with posts. Your furniture will go in the middle of the "room". Some larger pot plants around the corners will look good too. You can even put up some sort of sun sail. I've attached a few images with bits of what I've mentioned to give you an idea as I can't find a perfect image to show you exactly what I mean. If I get across one soon I'll put it up.

    • andrewbooton
      5 years ago
      I wouldn't even power wash it. I think the wall is beautiful as it is. Just get some nice pots of various heights and sizes and plant them well.
    • PRO
      Celery. Visualization, Rendering images
      5 years ago
      last modified: 5 years ago

      I would not do anything. It looks great! Decorate it with lights.

    • Pat Auld
      5 years ago
      If you have or could run an electric cable down to the wall, then a nice water feature surrounded by climbing plants attached to trellis would look lovely. Once you start painting bricks you will have to maintain it and not sure it would look right at the boundaries against your neighbours ‘non painted’ walls.
      Something like a clematis Montana or jasmine would grow quite quickly and you would have the lovely perfume too.
    • Jonathan
      5 years ago
      I also would not paint this wall because it will require additional maintenance and I can’t imagine you preferring it to now. You are right it looks bare but plants and trellis and lights and mirrors and lanterns and bunting are all good for decorating this lovely feature
    • Emily
      5 years ago
      I would definitely paint the fence darkest grey or black and leave the wall because i like the character and also it’s very high I wouldn’t want to cause maintenance and I wouldn’t want to disturb it and cause damage. Has a deck been built there because the wall is south facing?
    • Emily
      5 years ago
      I know they are expensive but I think if you planted pleached beech in front of your deck you could create a lovely outside dining/lounging “room” between the trees and the wall. Depending on distance from house to deck the sight line to the windows beyond might then become obscured without you having to have anything as high as next doors tree. And pleached trees won’t give too much shade that you can’t enjoy sun on your deck. Couldn’t find exact pic but try to imagine trees planted before your deck starts so you’ve got plenty of room.
    • Bow Sward
      5 years ago
      Its beautiful as it is - lucky you to have it already. I would paint the fence and shed - black or even yellow perhaps
    • Bow Sward
      5 years ago
      Or paint the fence the same colour as the decking and the shed black
    • carocat24
      5 years ago
      It is great as it is, string up some solar fairy lights and spend your budget on plants not paint and builders.
    • A S
      5 years ago
      I think you should go neutral
    • Bow Sward
      5 years ago
      Suggest you take some more photos and print them off - then you can try out the approaches that have been suggested by painting over the photo prints - will help you decide without any risk
    • HU-450582908
      4 years ago

      Would love to know what you decided as I have a similar quandary and there are some great ideas here

    • PRO
      Ensign Accessories
      4 years ago

      One word - yes - this was done last year, and I wanted the rustic look


    • PRO
      Guy Taylor Associates
      4 years ago

      Hi Lou, is the whole wall built from the same yellow brick? It’s looks like a really nice brick and I’m wondering if it possible to get it looking more uniform (like the rest of the garden) with brick cleaning. Something to consider with painting is the extra maintenance introduced.

    • E D
      4 years ago

      FYI, this is an old post. 🙂

    • PRO
      Ensign Accessories
      4 years ago

      Whoops - Would love to see the end product.

    • E D
      4 years ago

      Yea, me too.

    • Lou
      Original Author
      4 years ago


      Thanks for everyone’s comments despite the post being quite old! we got a builder round to sandblast the wall however he wasn’t able to sandblast the dark bit so for now we’ve painted it. I‘m thinking we change the colour at the bottom but I still don’t quite know what to do with it? I’m also thinking of tall planters on the right hand side to disguise the neighbours fence. Keen to spend as little as possible! Any ideas? Thanks all x

    • Lou
      Original Author
      4 years ago



    • E D
      4 years ago

      Looking lovely and fresh. 👌

    • Sonia
      4 years ago

      Looks nice. You can buy pots from Wilkos at a reasonable price, or on eBay. Plastic is the cheapest option but just make sure they are big and have holes in the bottom. Fill them with compost and add some shrubs, something like bamboo, Japanese maples or Fatsia japonica. Really most shrubs do well if the pot is big enough. Keep it well watered, daily if it is hot and sunny. For a bit of colour pot up some roses too. It will make a huge difference.

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