Patio design

Here’s why you should design your patio with care

Whether it’s simply for sunbathing, for the kids to play on, or for barbecues, a patio is the perfect place to be outside in the fresh air while still enjoying the comfort and feel of a cozy living room. It connects the indoor and outdoor areas and is a transition from your own four walls to nature. However, to enjoy all the benefits of a patio, you should first put some work into the patio design. There are countless different variations and shapes that you can use to design your patio. But the most important thing is always to adapt the terrace to your personal living situation. Is the terrace often used by children? Is it needed for garden parties? Do you often eat on the terrace? Will the terrace serve as a separate living room? These and many other factors should play a major role in the design of the terrace. In the following text, we will give you all the information and basics you need to customize your patio. After that, it will be a breeze for you to perfectly match your patio design to your personal needs.

Basics of patio design

The basis of any patio design is the floor. It shapes all further approaches and has a great influence on the further terrace design. Therefore, you should be especially careful when choosing the right floor. In the following, you will first learn everything important about the different types of floors and their advantages and disadvantages. The most common materials for patio floors are wood, natural stone, concrete, tiles and WPC.

Wood

Wooden floors look very natural and provide a particularly warm ambience. Since wood is a natural product, wooden floors provide a smooth transition from the patio to the garden. In addition, the wooden floor requires virtually no maintenance and can easily last for 20 years. Moreover, laying the wooden floor can be done by yourself. However, since not every type of wood is suitable for the terrace floor, you should look very carefully when choosing the type of wood. In order to withstand the weather conditions all year round, the wood should be very robust and able to withstand pests. Popular types of wood for patio design, which are very resistant to weather conditions, are, for example, Bangkirai, Douglas fir, larch or Robinia wood. Since wood does not heat up so much when exposed to sunlight, wooden floors are especially very suitable for terraces that are located in the midday sun.

Natural stone

Natural stone is characterized mainly by its individual pattern and makes each terrace floor a real unique specimen. Natural stone slabs are somewhat more expensive to purchase, but are characterized by a very long durability and a noble appearance. You can lay natural stone slabs yourself with a little effort and clean them very easily with a broom and water hose.

Concrete stone

The same applies to the much cheaper concrete slabs. They are not as individually designed as natural stone slabs, but since they have a uniform shape, they are much easier to lay yourself, which brings another cost advantage. In addition, concrete block slabs dry extremely quickly and require little cleaning. Visually, concrete block slabs look sturdy and natural.

Tiles

Tiles have a smooth surface and a high-quality appearance. They are easy to maintain and withstand all weather conditions. However, if it has rained, they dry very slowly and should usually be dried with a flatbed. To avoid later inconveniences, when buying tiles, be sure to check that they are frost-proof and non-slip.

WPC

WPC is a mixture of wood and plastic. WPC planks are very weather resistant and are also easy to clean. They do not radiate such a naturalness as, for example, wooden planks, but can be specifically changed in appearance. Therefore, there are many different designs among the WPC planks, so that there should be something for every taste.

Furniture

The heart of the terrace design is the terrace furniture. It decisively determines which activities are carried out on the terrace and can significantly increase the relaxation factor of your terrace. There are no limits to your creativity when designing the furniture on your patio. However, the basis of the patio furniture should definitely be the patio table and patio chairs(polyrattan). More unusual outdoor furniture such as beach chairs, hammocks, Hollywood swings, sun loungers, beanbags then additionally transform your terrace into your own personal relaxation oasis.

Choosing the right roof

The patio roof plays an important role in patio design. When roofing your patio, you must first decide if you only want to be protected from the sun during a few summer months or if you want your patio to have a solid roof all year round.

mobile sunshade

If you plan to only use your patio for sunning in the summer anyway, an occasional mobile canopy will probably suffice for your patio design. For this occasional roofing, either awnings, traffic light umbrellas, awnings or sunshades come into question. The main advantage of these mobile roofing options is that they are inexpensive to purchase. In addition, mobile roofs give you more freedom of choice and flexibility regarding the sunlight on your terrace. However, one disadvantage of mobile roofs is clearly their dependence on the weather. As soon as it rains or storms, the vast majority of mobile roofs fail and should be brought in or put under as soon as possible. Further sitting on the terrace is thus impossible.

fixed roofs

So, if you want to relax on your terrace regardless of the weather at any time of the year, you should get a fixed terrace roof. Fixed roofs provide year-round protection from the sun, rain and nosy neighbors. Many different materials can be used for the roofing. The basic framework of fixed canopies is usually made of wood or aluminum. Wooden frameworks are very sturdy and inexpensive, but require a lot of maintenance. Aluminum frameworks, on the other hand, are much more expensive than wooden frameworks, but they withstand weather conditions even better and hardly require any maintenance. When it comes to the material of the roof, you can also choose between transparent materials – i.e. glass – or opaque materials. The advantage of a glass roof is that you can always enjoy the sun and at the same time you are always protected from the rain. In addition, it is much warmer under a glass roof than under an opaque roof when the sun is shining in winter. With an opaque roof you are always protected and in the shade, but you have to leave your terrace to sunbathe. If you want to combine both options, you should purchase a shading system in addition to the glass roof. This will provide shade and still allow you to sunbathe on your patio.