Patios

Most of us love spending time out of doors. There is something really invigorating about being open to the elements; especially with the weather we had last week. After an afternoon tending to the beds and borders, it is important to have somewhere to relax and admire your labours. Having a patio outside of the house is a great way to do this. A patio is a place to relax, chat, read a book or incinerate your chicken pieces on the barbeque. A lot of new estate houses don’t put patios in as standard, which needn’t be a problem. Building your own patio to your own specifications can be a rewarding and enjoyable thing to do and done right will enhance the living space of your house.

Designing your own patio

If you are building the patio yourself getting the landscapers in to do the job, the initial procedure is the same. Take the time to decide what you want the patio to look like, this is after all an area just for you, your family and friends to sit and relax. Draw up a plan, deciding what size the area will be and how it will fit in with the house. Don’t concern yourself too much with the finer details like laying slabs or levels; this is to just get the initial ideas down on paper.

Find inspiration.
Get inspiration from friends and families patios and check out examples on the Internet and books from the library. Adapt the ideas to suit yourself.

Do you want a focal point?
A focal point could draw you eye to the end of the patio making it look bigger. These can be anything from a statue, pond, trellis or architectural plants.

What time of day does the sun hit the area?
This is important as it could determine where the patio is to go. If the area gets the sun in the morning and you only sit outside in the evening you might have to build the patio at the end of the garden instead of nearer the house




Budget, how much can you spend?
Remember you can build onto a patio every year to keep the costs down.

What materials will the surface be made from? If the area you want to build the patio is in a shady damp area, then wood may be a bit of a problem as it can get slippy if not treated. There are loads of different surfaces to choose from. Concrete slabs, stone slabs, gravel, and even rubber if you want a soft surface for the children to play. All patio surfaces will need a bit of attention every year, no matter what they are made of.

Will you need retaining walls? If you are building on a slope then you might need to build up the end of the patio. You might even fancy including raised beds for shelter and planting.
Privacy. Will you be on show from the road as you enjoy the sunshine? Privacy is important so screening will play a big part in the design. Carefully planted
hedging or trellis will help.

Lighting. If you are one of those people that stay out until it gets dark then lighting will be important. It is advisable to fit the cables as the patio is being built. This keeps the cables neatly out of the way. Choose from subtle low lighting to crate a relaxing mood to spotlights that can highlight your focal points (make sure they don’t shine into the neighbours windows though)

Furniture. Select the furniture for your patio depending on the available space and the how the space will be used. Your patio design plan should include where the furniture will be placed on the area.

Shade: If an umberella cover in the middle of the table doesn’t give the family enough protection under the midday sun then you might like to think of other methods of protecion. The patio at Lough Eske Castle has an archway running along the seating area. This will eventually be covered with climbers to give shade to anyone sitting underneath.

Have fun with the design and later on in the coming weeks we can look at how to turn it into a reality.

Photo: The elaborate design at Lough Eske Castle has been built on a steep slope so steps were created to acess the different levels.