We live in a charming town of townhouses in a sizable city! Every owner takes special pride in the exterior appearance of their home, & we are no exception.
When we purchased the townloft a few years ago, we had central air conditioning installed. Naturally we’ve been easily delighted with the results – on the inside of the home, that is! Outside there was an ugly air conditioning device that stood out like a sore thumb in the small yard between the building & the sidewalk. I hastily looked into creative ways to hide the unit, & found some entirely great ideas. One option was to purchase sizable pottery, plant tall grasses inside, & place them in front of the unit. Or a picket fence could block the unit, & there are so many things to accessorize a fence to make an charming appearance, and different colors of paint, plants, lights, & ornaments would accents the fence itself. There are also portable privacy screens made of weather-resistant resin that come in a variety of colors. Similarly, there are iron trellises that can make a charming screen when vines & plants grow on them, giving an appearance of a vertical garden. With each of the ideas comes a caveat – be sure to leave enough space for air circulation of the air conditioning compressor. Also, be sure that whatever the option of cover, you should make provision for straight-forward access for an HVAC worker in case of the need for service. In the end, I chose the iron trellis option, since it would require the least amount of upgrade work & also had longevity. And down the road when we call our HVAC dealer for service, the trellis is seriously portable – & charming!