Patios can make a simple yet elegant outdoor living space
Summer is almost here and we’ll be spending a large amount of time in our outdoor living areas. The thing you need to consider most is how you want to use your patio area. For example: as an outdoor dining room which can be wonderfully relaxing, or an entertainment area with perhaps a bar, or as a relaxing sitting area, maybe with a fireplace? These outdoor rooms allow you to expand the living space of your home for a fraction of the cost of adding onto the house. Just like decks a patio can make the space outside of your home just as livable as your indoor spaces.
So what is the advantage of a patio over a deck, or what’s the difference? Decks are usually raised and give the advantage of walking almost level out from the house and keep you up off the damp ground. Patios are used when the entry door (patio door) is too close to the ground so there is no room to put a deck under it, or out in the yard so you don’t have to climb up on it. Patios can be more integrated with the surrounding landscape as they sit directly on the ground and are clean, dry, low-maintenance and very functional. They also can provide a little more privacy by being on the ground instead of being up exposed to the neighborhood. The thing to remember is you are trying to bring the indoors outdoors by creating an expanded living area in your backyard so in many ways they provide the same advantages.
Patios along with walkways can add continuity and flow between your house and garden. These additions to your landscape can be created from a number of materials such as stamped concrete, brick, wood, concrete pavers, cobbles, slabs of stone or composites, or in combination to achieve the desired effect. These patio materials can be expensive but installing patio stones is a home improvement project you can do yourself on a free weekend. This will leave you money to spend on other features like some comfortable outdoor furniture and give you a lot of satisfaction as well. Today when choosing your materials, as mentioned already there are many shapes, colors and styles to choose from, making the choices seem limitless. Just imagine how much nicer it would be enjoying the company of family and friends on an attractive tiled patio.
Here are some things that you can do to enhance your patio living space.
*Patio areas that are exposed and lack privacy can become a welcoming space by hanging curtains or strategically placing planter boxes filled with colorful annuals or decorative pots with tall, dense plantings which will provide an attractive screen from neighbors.
*If you’re patio area is near a large bare wall you can soften the look with pots of plants or create visual interest by building flower beds around trees.
*You can make outdoor cooking much more enjoyable by adding a patio cover, providing shade on hot summer days and keeping the rain off while your cooking.
*You can make smaller patios feel larger by linking them with pathways.
*At night, you can add candles or some of the quality low voltage lighting that is available today to create a wonderful ambiance for a dinner party.
Having a great patio allows you to bask in sunshine during the day and enjoy the glittering sky at night, the more comfortable and cozy you make your patio, the more enjoyable your outdoor experience will become. I long for good weather so I can lounge on my patio, on my cozy cedar outdoor and patio furniture and read a good book. Patios certainly are a great way to enhance your back yard and enrich your life.
Continually developing “ideas for outdoor living”
May 25th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
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January 8th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
I really need a patio. Thanks for the ideas.
May 4th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
I’m not sure which I like most a patio or a deck. I like them both. Each has it’s own uniqueness. good post
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