How I Designed Our Patio

We are finally getting close to the end of our patio project but before I share the final results, I thought I’d let you know how we ended up here in the first place.

I have loved our property ever since I laid eyes on it, but I new one of our first big projects would have to be creating a patio. We have a gorgeous view of the pond from our back door but no where to sit and enjoy it. I’ve always been someone that loves being outside so it drove me crazy to have this beautiful space that we couldn’t enjoy.

I always start a new project by dreaming big and really thinking about what my idea of a perfect space would be. A few elements that inspired me early on in the process were brick (because it reminds me of my grandmothers patio), outdoor string lights (because they remind me of a small Italian restaurant we went to on vacation many years ago), and some kind of water element (because the sound reminds me of spending summers by the pool and it ties back into the pond).

Once I had a few inspirational elements, I could really start to dig deep on my visual research. I looked at thousands of patios and studied the images I was drawn to. Ask yourself “why do I like this?” “What about this design inspires me?” It can also be just as beneficial to study images that you don’t like. By doing so, you are able to stay away from certain design elements that you don’t find appealing.

After I had a good idea about the style I was able to take a step back to think about what would make the space the most practical for us. Now, it’s important to note that sometimes this step needs to happen before you start your visual research. However, depending on the project, sometimes you can get away with putting the design first.

A few of the things I had to consider while designing this space were the well, the size of the patio, and the cost. Our well currently sits almost right in the middle of the patio. So instead of trying to work around it I decided to make it a feature by putting a small water fountain on top of it. For the size of the patio I used our current sidewalk as a guide and also kept the size of our patio furniture in mind. Lastly, the cost can often be the trickiest element to deal with. Going into this project I knew that there was a possibility that we would be redoing this project in the future so it was important for us to keep the cost down. This is why I decided to use the ground cover in-between the bricks and pavers. This design should let us create the desired look for a smaller investment. But if you really want to know how it holds up make sure to sign up for our newsletter!