To think my kitchen has the worst view ever?

[MarianneVos]

Just bought a house. What I didn't notice when viewing was that the kitchen window above the sink has a lovely view onto a brick wall of another part of the house (an extension), about four foot away. You cannot see anything else apart from the brick as it extends in both directions.

Can anyone suggest anything that I could do to the wall to make it a bit nicer to look at while I'm washing up?

I don't want to do anything to the window itself (eg any kind of cover on the glass) as due to having this wall so close to the only window the kitchen is dark enough as it is. So it needs to be something on the wall.

I guess I could do hanging baskets? Ideally something non living so it's nice all year round and is low/no maintenance though.

Ideas please!

Sparrow terrace is very cute.

Does ivy damage walls? I used to rip it down in my old house as I was worried about it messing up the bricks/mortar.

A mosaic if you’re into that kind of thing?

Though I think it’s worth giving the idea of a little vertical kitchen garden a go, unless the wall gets no light. Paint the wall in a light colour to capture and reflect light and warmth. Then put pots of varying heights and styles in front of it and plant with herbs such as rosemary, thyme (lots of varieties including trailing ones), sage, laurel, oregano, chives, mint etc… Lots of these are easy to grow, quite robust and many look and smell nice throughout the year. Bees will love them too. You can add pots with changing seasonal flowers if you like. You could turn it into a little oasis!

Not ivy - does terrible damage to walls! I have to waste many hours each year taking it down from mine. It grows like crazy in my garden .

what about lots of lovely plants on your windowsill?

Wall sculpture?

You need some actual real greenery that provides habitats for insects, gives off oxygen and cools down the microclimate. What you absolutely don’t want when looking at a brick wall is anything fake and plastic that will fade. If you want something year round and low maintenance then you need a hardy evergreen.

Yes, this. But make sure it commemorates a few key members of your family & puts the noses of everyone else in the village out of joint, though.

I was coming on to say the printed shower curtains. A lot of people in the DIY gardening groups have used them and some look great...not sure what they'd look like in real life though, think you do still need some real greenery around them so they blend in

* I don't really know anything about street art beyond liking Banksy, but in general I like quite abstract art eg Rothko or Pollock if that helps at all?

I'd be tempted to try a DIY version. Though you can get shower curtains... not really sure a plastic Pollock would work but it'd be fun at least.

Perhaps a bike rack or two?

Someone here recommended Charles & Ivy for decorative screens, as in this pic.

Our kitchen window is the same: we changed the glass to a patterned one, so it's no darker & it matches the back door, which is at one end of the kitchen.

I've just gone down a rabbit hole of garden curtains - you can change with the season ...

My mum's kitchen window looks out on next doors garage wall, a lot less than 4foot away. what possèssed them to do this I don't know.

Or break an existing one to give you an excuse for the new one.

I think it depends on the state of your brickwork, type of ivy you plant etc. You'd have to do your research, RHS is a good place to start. If not ivy then a trellis and evergreen honeysuckle? I guess it depends on how much sun the wall gets as to what you can do with it.

We have this too - Edwardian terrace with a side return.

We have a bench as a focal point and lots of plants. Check that they will work with the light levels you have there. Ours is very shady so we have shade tolerant plants in lovely pots.

My neighbour who lives in a mirror image of our house has plants and an outdoor clock on the wall opposite her kitchen window.

Could you put a large mirror on the wall to reflect the light back?

She has this clock.

https://www.johnlewis.com/thomas-kent-analogue-skeleton-roman-numeral-outdoor-wall-clock-50cm-black-bronze/p4271098?sku=238030787&sppc=2dx927000716800993833mixedhomeeBAU&tmad=c&tmcampid=2&gbraid=0AAAAAD2el1xp1tvsdohVQhiyH3wcwj8Lr&gbraid=0AAAAAD2el1xp1tvsdohVQhiyH3wcwj8Lr&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwfiaBhC7ARIsAGvcPe7oTtCcBIW7bgqoFrEEVoam82BzH266nSdlE9Es0o6rb7FGsptlyIaAl9sEALww_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Mural, climber and lighting and put a little table and chairs in the outside space or something 😍

Paint it and get extending trellis to cover it then have some live plants dotted around to soften it up a bit

Plant it up, ivy doesn't damage walls if they are modern/in good condition but you can also get trellis and grow other things. Plants could make this space really beautiful and special. Loads of people have wonderful narrow back yards.

Do not put up plastic plants, they are only acceptable to people with no soul!

Ha ha love this ! 😂

Personally, I'd go for planters and climbing plants but if you're likely to kill off living plants then consider a faux living wall. These are from QVC and are much nicer than the cheap and nasty ones. Perhaps add a garden mirror as well,

Years ago I saw a large painting for a garden. It was a tall gate (close up) with fields behind. If I remember right, it was marketed as a way of giving the illusion of a bigger garden.

it won’t, of course, because you’d know it was a painting but it might inspire some lovely day dreams while you scrub the pots 🙂

😂😂😂🤠🕵🏾👮🏼‍♀️💂👨🏼‍🌾👩🏼‍🍳👩🏽‍🚒🧑🏻‍🎨🧙🏻‍♀️🤶🏽

Trellis, and then weave (good quality) fake ivy garlands through it thickly. Total non-maintenance and gives greenery.
I wouldn't paint the wall.