Advice on fence paint colours and types

[BettyBi0]

Garden is pretty much a blank canvas at the moment with yucky orange cheap mismatched fences, concrete posts and beige lumpy rendered wall. I don't have the budget to replace with nice fencing so I'm hoping to paint it all a unifying colour.

I'm stumped about what colour to try so looking for advice. What kind of colours have people tried?

I'm thinking of Farrow and Ball Downpipe which is a really dark grey but worried that it might look too dark and industrial. Has anyone tried this?

Also, this is probably a really thicko question but can I use the same kind of paint on the wall, fences and sleepers etc?

[BettyBi0]

Garden is about 6x8m, fairly shady terrace house

[funnyperson]

Farrow and ball is not good for exterior wood.

Border fences are best painted garden colours such as brown, which will be easy to renew and also set off your plants. Although you do see purples and oranges on programmes such as 'love your garden' the reality is that fencing takes up so much eye space that browns and greens are best. Lighter colours or brighter colours can be used for the summer house/garden furniture/pots etc.

Look at cuprinol, ronsel, proteck etc.

A neighbour painted their boundary fence grey some years back and it looked awful.

[DaisyAdair]

I agree with funnyperson, fences should fade into the background and compliment your planting. I've painted fences all garden colours (currently have a green one), and my favourite was dark oak.

And the best fence paint? Wickes own brand is excellent.

[SpaghettiMeatballs]

I've always been told brown is best as green plants look so good against it.

I used Cuprinol Ducksback for the first time last year and really felt it was worth the extra few £ as it went on really well and covered well.

[wonkylegs]

We used black, sounds scary but looks fab especially with plants in front of it
We used this one www.diy.com/departments/ronseal-5-year-weather-defence-fence-life-tudor-black-oak-shed-fence-stain-5l/175980_BQ.prd

[BettyBi0]

Wow black sounds even braver! I think if my garden was a bit brighter I might have the guts to try that. Plus it would be easier getting colour matching with black masonry paint for the render bits and stain for all the wood.

Thanks for the tips on brands. I agree about avoiding gimmicky bright colours on the main fences. I'm hoping to make them just disappear by painting them dark but with a fairly small space I'm not sure the same rules apply.

Do people tend to use the same stains on sleepers as fences or is wood paint more appropriate? I'm planning raised beds around the lawn with a sleeper edge so was thinking of painting it the same colour as the fences

[wonkylegs]

Our raised beds are painted with the same paint as the fences. Black sounds brave but it's actually quite neutral, it's smart but kinda fades into the background much more than that orange that fences seem to come in these days. I guess it's kinda traditional too - black railings etc

[shovetheholly]

I vote against brown - but that's just because I dislike orangey colours! I am actually a fan of using colours for fencing that go with the planting scheme for contemporary designs. I think grey can really work - there was an absolutely beautiful garden at RHS Tatton last year in the back-to-back category (called 'A quiet corner' by Sarah Jarman and Anna Murphy, flying the flag for women's garden design) that made use of a concrete shade of grey and used grasses with pink and maroon tones in them in front. The beauty of it when the sunlight shone through doesn't really come over in pictures, or I'd post one.

You DO need exterior wood paint. However, there are loads of shades available now. The Cuprinol Shades stuff is excellent - I use this at home, the Wilko stuff is not bad either for the cash, but I'm finding it doesn't quite have the staying power of the Cuprinol (I use it at the allotment). Cuprinol do a shade called 'urban slate' which isn't far off the F&B colour.

I used to like sage green colours, but my architect friends are now taking the mickey out of this as naff .

[shovetheholly]

Oooh, found a link - here you go www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-flower-show-tatton-park/exhibitors/Archive/2015/gardens/a-quiet-corner

[BettyBi0]

That's really pretty and modern!

... Off to google urban slate

[shovetheholly]

Yes, it was seriously impressive in real life! The planting uses sanguisorba, which is really maroon in flower, and some of the redder forms of miscanthus (if I'm remembering correctly) so it had this very subtle reddish tinge. It was extremely restful to be in, though it doesn't look so from the pictures. I often find this with garden design, though - flat 2D images just don't capture it sometimes!

[cooper44]

I also think something like downpipe would look great - I love dark grey or black fences.
And just as you'd mentioned F&B - I painted all my fencing in studio green because that's the woodwork colour on my house and 18 months on the fencing still looks perfect. I'm sure it won't be in five or ten years but by then it will be totally covered by shrubs and climbers anyway. So it is possible to use F&B just not the most economical/hardy.

[gingeroots]

A friend of mine painted her fences a blue colour ,sort of chalky grey blue .They look lovely and like the sky work well with her plants .

[funnyperson]

That picture reminds me of a little garden at Chelsea 2 years ago which had an orange and green planting scheme and grey concrete walls. Looked fab. But I don't know how these smaller show gardens translate to family size gardens.
I do agree that photos ever do the 3 d and movement of flowers justice

[echt]

The fences in my back garden are very dark grey, the back boundary one in shade for most of the day then full sun in the late afternoon. In this back bed I have clivia, aspidistra and New Zealand rock lily as ground cover, and agapanthus at the front of the bed, with white justicia and purple plectranthus ecklonii for height right at the back. They glow against the dark grey.

Some of this is no doubt due to Australian sunlight, even at ambient levels, but it's in the half-light it seems most intense.