How to Disguise Your Garbage Bins
Need to hide unsightly bins in your garden or driveway? Take a look at these design-minded ideas for inspiration
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You probably don’t give much thought to your garbage cans, other than remembering to put them out on the right day. But we all have to store our trash and recycling bins somewhere, and doing so can be a challenge on a smaller property, especially if you don’t want them to be an eyesore. If you’re struggling to find a stylish way to store your bins, check out these smart and inspiring ideas. Now, is it black or green bin day this week?
You probably don’t give much thought to your garbage cans, other than remembering to put them out on the right day. But we all have to store our trash and recycling bins somewhere, and doing so can be a challenge on a smaller property, especially if you don’t want them to be an eyesore. If you’re struggling to find a stylish way to store your bins, check out these smart and inspiring ideas. Now, is it black or green bin day this week?
Create a brick shelter. Built in red brick to match the house, and tiled with slate, this practical storage area blends with the property’s exterior and actually enhances the space with its character and interest. The look is mirrored in the raised bed at the front of the drive for a coordinated finish.
A custom compartment on the left neatly houses the bin, while two smaller storage compartments on the right make room for stacking recycling boxes.
A custom compartment on the left neatly houses the bin, while two smaller storage compartments on the right make room for stacking recycling boxes.
Make it part of the garden. The aim of this front garden design was to create a wildlife haven, and rather than see the bins as an unsightly obstacle to be hidden away, the owners decided to make them integral to the design.
They created a sturdy wooden structure with a living roof that works as an extension of the garden and is planted with wildlife-friendly flowers and foliage.
See 12 ways to create a wildlife haven in a small garden | Find a general contractor in your area
They created a sturdy wooden structure with a living roof that works as an extension of the garden and is planted with wildlife-friendly flowers and foliage.
See 12 ways to create a wildlife haven in a small garden | Find a general contractor in your area
Design it into an outbuilding. In a larger space, an open-sided outbuilding like this one is ideal for storing and hiding bins. It’s painted a heritage shade and is partly screened in front with evergreen topiary to create a visually appealing feature — a great way to smarten up a drab drive.
This idea would complement a traditional or cottage exterior, but if your style is more contemporary than country, you could choose a sleeker style, or paint it a darker shade to tie in with the exterior of your home.
This idea would complement a traditional or cottage exterior, but if your style is more contemporary than country, you could choose a sleeker style, or paint it a darker shade to tie in with the exterior of your home.
Tuck it into a border. Can you spot the trash bins on this drive? They’re neatly tucked away in the wooden box to the left of this image, and the impact of the structure has been much reduced by positioning it in a decorative floral border and planting low standard trees right alongside it.
The structure also has a green roof planted with succulents to further disguise the box and make it as visually appealing as possible.
View more images of this front garden
The structure also has a green roof planted with succulents to further disguise the box and make it as visually appealing as possible.
View more images of this front garden
Build a clever storage wall. If space is limited, why not make your recycling containers work extra hard by turning their storage area into a boundary wall, as these smart homeowners have. This neat wooden shelter screens the bins from the road while creating a clean, contemporary-style wall.
Extend your fence material. In a small garden you will want your bins to disappear as much as possible. Creating a screening structure from the same material as your garden fence can be a good way to make them recede.
A neat wooden box like this will discreetly store your bins whether in the front or back garden.
Discover 10 ways to bring your interior style into your garden
A neat wooden box like this will discreetly store your bins whether in the front or back garden.
Discover 10 ways to bring your interior style into your garden
Screen off a corner. Don’t want a large box-like structure in your front garden? You could create a custom screen like this one instead, which curves neatly around a small corner of the garden, screening the bins from the house.
Construct a mini enclosure. If you have the space, an open-topped enclosure like this one can be a really smart way to store and disguise bins and other unsightly pieces of garden equipment. By painting it the same color as the house exterior and accessing it via a central gate, this shelter is an unobtrusive and elegant solution. The open top means bins are easily accessible too.
This single wooden container is neatly sheltered behind an exterior wall, hiding it from view when looking out of the house into the yard, but within easy access of the side gate.
Using the same wooden paneling as the fence and the shed on the opposite side ties the structure in with the rest of the building and helps to make it as unobtrusive as possible.
Tell us: How do you hide your trash and recycling bins? Let us know in the Comments below.
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Using the same wooden paneling as the fence and the shed on the opposite side ties the structure in with the rest of the building and helps to make it as unobtrusive as possible.
Tell us: How do you hide your trash and recycling bins? Let us know in the Comments below.
More
How to Give Your Driveway and Front Walk More Curb Appeal
Shop for outdoor products
By using a screen like this, you can section off as much of the garden as you need — to store bikes or garden equipment as well as bins. To blend in the structure even further, you could grow climbers up and over the screen or along the wall behind.