22 Jun 12 Ideas For Stylish Patios
The Holland Landscapes Team pride ourselves on being able to build top quality, stylish patios. Here are some ideas for patios that will inspire you to upgrade your garden.
Patios are a popular choice in modern gardens and for good reason. A well built patio creates additional living space, offers an area for entertaining and needs far less maintenance than lawn or planted areas. That means that the garden becomes more attractive, enjoyable, and relaxing whilst saving a homeowner time, effort and money in upkeep.
But a boring area of plain old slabs soon loses its appeal if it is poorly built (and therefore unsafe) or the design is unimaginative.
Here are 12 ideas for patios that you will never fall out of love with.
1. Include Some Built-In Seating
Having bespoke seating built into your patio is a genius idea. Not only will it be totally original, if carefully designed and made it will also be robust, stylish and very easy to care for. No need to spend time lifting it in and out of the shed, it’s always there for you. So if you feel like sitting out on a bright winter’s day, you can just do it.
This patio has a low wall which is not only decorative, it’s practical too. This garden slopes slightly and there is a change of level between the patio and the path beside it. This raised seating stops anyone from toppling down the step.
Our client uses this terrace for outdoor entertaining and the built in seating makes a perfect perch for guests.
2. Replace Some Pavers With Planting Pockets.
This is one of my favourite ideas for patios. Of course it’s not quite as easy as just lifting a slab, and popping in some plants. Preparing the ground for a patio involves making the surface beneath the pavers as solid as possible. And that’s not a great environment for plants. However, when the process is carefully planned from the outset. The results are stunning.
3. Build A Circular Patio
There are no rules to say that a patio has to have straight edges. It’s just a natural presumption that you can’t fit a square paver into a round space. Skilled landscapers however, can do almost anything.
Take a look at this circular patio with it’s very attractive edging. Trust me, it looks amazing when viewed from an upstairs window.
4. Make More Of The Space With An Outdoor Bar
How do you see yourself using your patio? Does your wish list include spending long summer afternoons and evenings sharing refreshments with good company? If it does, your experience will be much better if you have an outdoor bar. Just imagine being able to top drinks up without running in and out of the house. You could have a fridge-freezer out there, for beers and ice-cubes. A wipeable worktop – because spillages are inevitable. And a safe place to store bottles so that they won’t get knocked over.
When it’s not being used as a bar, a feature like this can be a potting table, a food preparation zone for barbecues, even a space where you can work from home.
5. Add A Water Feature
This picture gives you two ideas for patios. Firstly, there is a bespoke water feature with an underground reservoir. Secondly, this patio has a gravel surface instead of the more usual stone pavers. It creates a very relaxed look and feel. The perfect place to relax and listen to a podcast or to enjoy a good conversation with pals.
6. Light Up Your Patio
Outdoor lighting brings takes any patio to a whole new level. Clever lighting design will ensure that even in winter time your patio is something to be proud of. Lighting extends the amount of time you spend in your garden in summer. It provides all year round interest and can give you a great view through your window on colder days.
7. Design An Interesting Laying Pattern
For me, it’s the laying pattern that brings out the beauty of the the pavers. There’s no reason why you can’t play with differently shaped and sized paving stones to create some lovely designs. When you are thinking of patio ideas, think too about adding extra interest through the materials you use and the way they are arranged.
This patio in West Mersea is a fine example of creating patterns with paving stones.
8. Build Your Patio At 45 Degrees To The House
It’s strange, isn’t it, how most people, when playing with different garden design ideas, think that a patio should be a rectangular slab right outside the back door. That idea works beautifully in some gardens, but put the patio at 45 degrees to the house and you create a diamond shaped space that points towards the rest of the garden. Do you see what I mean?
With an offset patio, you lead the eye away from the house and you also have the opportunity to hug the seating area with planting.
In this picture, the patio is still a work in progress, but it’s complete enough to show important it is to think outside the box when it comes to hard landscaping. After all, you will be living with it for a good long while.
9. Surround Your Patio With Raised Beds
Ideas for patios in small gardens may feel as though they are a bit limited. But a good garden designer, like Katie at Tapestry Design Studios will soon find a way to inject some interest into a space. Raised beds for example are a brilliant way to add colour to a patio without taking up too much room.
In a larger garden, raised beds can delineate different zones within the plot by bringing planting up closer to your eyeline (particularly if you are sitting on a patio). In a small space, raised beds can make the garden feel bigger and greener.
These beds are still waiting for their plants but can you imagine what this patio will look like once they have established. Even better, the view from inside the house will be of lush green vegetation rather than just the stylish but inanimate paving slabs.
10. Use Contrasting Colours
In the 35 years that Holland Landscapes has been building gardens, we’ve brought a lot of different patios to life. This one has a particular place in my heart.
I love the strong colour contrast between the pavers in this project. Those wonderfully earthy browns seem to be energised by the contrasting black edging. So stylish.
Never be afraid to play with contrasting colours when designing your patios. But try not to be too off-the-wall. Remember that you might want to sell your property one day, if potential buyers love your patio as much as you do, the sale will be much quicker.
Your landscaper or garden designer will be able to supply you with sample pavers to help you decide which ones look good together.
11. Try Clay Pavers
Patios don’t need to be made from stone. Clay pavers are a wonderful alternative. There’s something about the texture and colour of clay pavers that instantly makes a garden look more mature.
12. Soften The Shape Of Your Patio With Smooth Curves
We’ve talked about circular patios, but what about curves? In my opinion, curved patios are not built as often as they should be. Can you picture yourself sitting on this patio with an early morning cup of coffee? You’d immersed in the sights and scents of that planted area, what a wonderful way to start your day.
These are just twelve ideas for patios, but the possibilities are endless. Holland Landscapes has built over 500 gardens with patios and the number is still rising. Our garden design and build service can transform your outdoor space with the perfect patio for you and your family. Call today to arrange a consultation.
Discover more about different types of patio pavers
Find out about the garden design process from the team at Tapestry Design Studios
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