When designing your outdoor living space, you can consider your patio as the glue that holds it all together. The ideal transition platform, it can either be connected directly to your home or accessible via a tiered staircase. Your patio also serves to introduce your yard and your backyard swimming pool.
Typically an open space, the patio possibilities that define your aesthetic are endless. What’s also nice is that the patios built firmly on level ground don’t require safety railings, so you can really get creative if you wish to frame it in alternative artistry. Whether tiki torches or planters bursting with verdant greenery and blooms, this area can be defined and redefined as your tastes and needs change.
Backyard Patio Ideas
The most cost-effective way to outfit your patio is to decide its use. Will it have a primary function?
Party Patios
As the name implies, if your house is the party place, then you can really give your guests a warm welcome with an Italian-style trattoria. How about a brick pizza oven with adjacent wine fridge and built-in beer tap? Add a crisscross of LED light strings for an outdoor festival look. The aromatherapy from the pizza alone will set the ambiance! Overall, this tone offers easy, outdoor dining when you scatter cozy chairs and small side tables for a casual feel.
Zen Zone
Because patios are not hindered by walls, you can create any mood you wish. Brightly colored sun sails shielding a section from the sun will define a space you can outfit with your yoga mat and a nice rattan trunk in which you can stow your essential oils and towels. After your yoga session you can enjoy some relaxing time in the sun on a wonderful chaise lounge that boasts colors in the same palette as those triangular swatches of color overhead. Color is a unifying factor that will transform any patio to one that feels more custom.
Relaxation Corner
Perhaps you wish to define your patio as a no-technology sector. Even if your books are on your iPad, you can cut back all the chatter by silencing your phone and leaving the TV to the family room. A couple of generous club chairs with ottomans offer the perfect venue to sink into some “you” time. To make the space even more tranquil, affix sheer curtains to a rod supported by two vertical poles so the material can flutter softly in the breeze. When the curtains are connected by rings, you can easily move them to the side to open up the space.
Alfresco Entertaining
As more and more families capitalize on the often-unused space that lies just beyond their sliding doors, outdoor kitchens have been, and will continue to be, the rage. Besides the wonderful freedom and easier clean-up they afford, you may continue to add on to them as your budget permits. You can start with a few burners and a sink and eventually move on to add an electric- or charcoal-powered grill or a dazzling array of outdoor cabinetry that can house everything from recycle bins to hidden prep boards with refuse containers. Whether you have a casual dining bar erected to encircle the kitchen or a more traditional stand-alone table with chairs on the patio, this will become your new favorite room in or outside the house!
Sports Patio
If there’s not a season you don’t enjoy, then you may have just found the spot for your own new sports center! But be warned. Once you see this design idea from BestProducts.com there may be no looking back! Their television recommendations vary in price to accommodate a variety of budgets. When you can watch Monday Night Football under the stars with your friends and family on a TV designed to offer a high-quality image and tolerate the elements, then you’ve just elevated your game.
Types of Patio Materials
Like all backyard retreats, you want to consider how you’ll use everything from the pool to the patio or deck to determine the materials that suit your budget and your needs. According to Backyard Boss, “Your outdoor space should be a reflection of your personality and home. It will be what you want it to be and if you apply necessary passion toward it, your guests will feel right at home.”
Although brick is a classic material, its versatility is what makes it a smart choice for a patio. Red paved rectangular bricks are a staple. Besides being able to paint or whitewash them, their shape alone lends to an endless selection of design patterns to dress up the outer fringes of your patio or to create an interesting starburst in the center. You can really make the patio your own by changing up what you use for the grout lines. Backyard Boss suggests: “If you prefer a graveled look, you could easily space the paver bricks slightly apart from each other to fill in the gaps with tiny pebbles, grout or even stained glass – get creative with it!”
Additionally, the best way to work with standard, single colored bricks is to employ differently shaped bricks in your design. You may be using a simple red brick, but just two or three complementary sizes will indulge innovation and make a statement.
As accents, you can have the steps constructed of brick that lead from your house to the pavered patio. Sturdy and proud, they will offset paver stones and can be splayed nicely into a semicircle to establish a grand entrance.
With bricks available in all finishes and colors, you can either make them the star of the production or the element that showcases your pool, your spa, your fireplace, or your landscaping. The timeless combination of hard and soft will provide that outstanding look which shines. With a strong foundation, you can make any vision possible.
When you define how you wish to use your new patio, you can consult with your contractor to decide the best materials to support it.
If you only have space for a postage stamp sized patio to accommodate your grill or wish to feature a patio on a grander scale, brick is an affordable staple you can dress up or down to build the backyard of your dreams.
Providing pool and home improvement loans since 1979, Lyon Financial loves backyard pools and design. We also love the difference we can make for your family by providing something that puts years of memories within reach. Call 877-754-5966 for more information about our personalized financing solutions.
