Hot Tub Privacy: Clever Design Tricks

Unless you’re some kind of exhibitionist, walking semi-nude beneath your neighbors windows probably didn’t form part of the fantasy life you imagined when the possibility of a hot tub first came to mind. What you’ll be glad to know is that even if you’ve gone and installed the thing already, there are a good number of landscaping ideas for privacy around hot tubs that will make sure you don’t have to worry about peeping toms or judgmental voyeurs making your relaxing time a tense or nervous experience.

The absolute best idea for a hot tub privacy design – in terms of providing privacy, at least – also probably goes against what most people find so attractive about the idea of a hot tub – being outdoors in hot water. In other words, you can install your hot tub inside a hut-like wooden structure, one in which you can soak, steam and perhaps even enjoy the garden view through some tinted windows. Alternatively, you could leave one side of the hut open, for a haywain-island-type bathing experience. If you’re short for space on options like these, you could always convert one of the rooms in your home into a sauna room.

So, on the other side of the coin, you have hot tub privacy designs that rely on nothing more than a little intelligent landscaping. Espalier trees are one great solution – these are trees specially trained so that their branches grown out to the sides, forming a barrier of branches that will block prying eyes and look stunning at once. They also take up very little space. The same can be said for bamboo, which are low hassle, quick growing and provide a kinky jungle atmosphere. These also act as a great windbreak. If you’re looking for something more lush, go with evergreen trees like holly – deciduous or needle-bearing trees are best avoided as the mess they make and insects they attract will often be more hassle than they’re worth.

While inground hot tubs or hot tubs built into your deck are lovely, there’s something very distinctive about the Asian backyard hot tub – designed of cured wood, their elegant lines make them a feature of their own, while they’ll also be easier to service and maintain if something breaks down in the pump room.

If you’re more worried about your kids tripping and falling into the hot tub, you’ll probably want to go with less attractive options like high steel fencing or walls – anything to keep the endlessly resourceful kids out of the danger zone. However, don’t allow your security feature to turn your recreational area into a bleak place – you can double the effect of your security feature by spacing potted plants along the walls and growing their branches to interlace with one another.

One of the more spectacular hot tub privacy designs that has seen a recent resurgence in popularity amongst those looking for a truly magical, secret-garden feel to their hot tub experience involves building a pergola that runs up to the hot tub. A pergola is essentially a trellised corridor up which creepers and other plants are grown, creating a leafy corridor that culminates in an equally green dome that surrounds the tub, trapping the rising moisture for an even steamier, more private experience, and protecting from wind and rain when the weather turns.

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