Do you have bulky gas meters, AC units, vents and more sticking out like sore thumbs from the side of your house? Fret not! Here are three ways to cover them up, while still staying stylish.

Privacy Screens 

The house pictured below has 2 AC units and a large furnace exhaust that needed to be covered up. Here is what they both looked liked before:

Voila! Building 3-sided privacy screens out of recycled fence boards cover up the ac units, while still leaving enough space to not impact air flow.

Painting Exhaust Pipes 

These white exhaust pipes do not match this dark home at all. One is an intake and one is an outtake. You have to turn off the HVAC- keep it off for the day (dry to the touch) so the paint fumes aren’t sucked in. Make sure to mask the brick off so you don’t paint your brick. Use an exterior spray paint that will stick to plastic, in this case we’re doing black to match and give it a good spray. Pictured below is before (right) and after (left).

Corten Steel Planter 

These two AC units are actually going to be at the ends of a custom Corten steel planter. If you’re not familiar with Corten steel, it’s the hottest in outdoor design right now. It almost looks like a rusty colour.

This planter is made to match, filled with a beautiful garden and is going to curve around the sidewalk to prevent people from cutting across their lawn. Although this isn’t a DIY, there are standard sized Corten steel planters available online if you want to embrace the look at a lower price point. Pictured below are a few examples.