Regardless of the size, having an outdoor space is a valuable luxury. The outdoor area has great potential and can easily become your favourite place in the house, where you can relax after a long day, enjoy the evening sun or spend time with your loved ones. Caring for a patio and backyard space takes time and effort. In this article, we’ll give you some ideas on how to make your brick patio or deck a perfect cozy living space.
Our outdoor area, when arranged according to our preferences, becomes an extension of the interior, where we can spend our free time in, not only caring for our garden but also simply relaxing. Therefore, it is worth arranging a friendly, but also a functional place to take care of your physical and mental health. It can be a charming corner among greenery, intimate seclusion or a place to feast with your loved ones. If the size of the backyard allows it, it is worth planning out several such places, where each of them has a different character, so you can use them depending on the mood of the moment. If the outdoor space is small, you need to choose the most useful solution. Sometimes the family will be satisfied with a set of comfortable outdoor furniture set in the shade. Others need a hammock, and others need a large table at which a large family and a few more friends can sit and chat all evening. The most important elements that will create this space are: the right surface, garden furniture, decorative details and of course – plants. But that’s not all. Depending on the nature of the backyard, walls and dividers may be useful, providing an intimate atmosphere, as well as rockeries and ponds, fountains and hot springs shaping the mood of the space, as well as positively impacting the surrounding microclimate.
Patterned Brick Patio
It is nice to feel the soft grass under your feet, but it is only possible when you move your chairs around from place to place so the lawn isn’t at risk of being trampled. However, if several people will spend time together sitting in one place, you need to think about a paved surface. The more people use your outdoor living space, the more solid and resistant it should be.
A brick paver patio is one of the most frequently chosen types of outdoor living spaces. Paving stones are very durable, resistant to weather conditions and easy to maintain. Aesthetics are just as important as practicalities with paving stones. A brick patio looks good with most architectural styles. It’s a very graceful and stately construction and an elegant extension of the house, which harmonizes with the natural elements to create a cozy feel to relax and enjoy.
Landscape & Retaining Walls
Retaining walls are helpful in delineating certain areas and giving them an intimate character. In a hilly area, retaining walls can protect a patio, garden, or other installation from a dirty mudslide. Stone walls can be made of durable igneous rocks (granite, basalt, serpentinite, syenite) or of porous sandstone and limestone that easily absorb water. Over time igneous rocks become overgrown with algae and may peel, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. It makes them fit nicely into the compositions of naturalistic gardens.
Pergolas & Trellises
Pergolas and trellises can create a sense of enclosure and privacy or secluded areas to relax in. These structures are most often made of wood or metal. Pergolas and trellises facilitate the arrangement of garden interiors and diversify the backyard space. At the same time, they are used to support vines that grow quickly and create shade and a beautiful focal point in your outdoor space. Pergolas and trellises are also a great element where you can exhibit your seasonal hanging plants.
Rest Area Equipment: Gazebo, Grill, Fireplace, Pond, Outdoor Furniture
Gazebo. A gazebo is a great place to relax and enjoy your beautiful garden. This freestanding, open structure surrounded by plants allows you create an atmosphere of warmth and tranquillity. It’s a wonderful space for you to rest comfortably during a break in gardening and host parties in a charming setting, even during rainy summer days. In the gazebo, we want to fully breathe in fresh air and feel the breeze on our skin. Openwork walls in the form of a trellis can be planted with climbing plants, e.g. honeysuckle, miline, virginia creeper. After some time, the gazebo will turn green and may also become covered with flowers.
Grill or fireplace. Preparing food outdoors is a favorite pastime for many people. To make things easier, it is worth placing a grill or fireplace next to the lounging area. If we do not want to have another building structure in the backyard – arrange a place for a bonfire.
Pond, fountain. A pond or a fountain is a great way to add character and serenity to your outdoor environment. A water feature will give your backyard an exotic atmosphere and provide a focal point for the design. It is not only a matter of aesthetics, but also of the microclimate that they create. Flowing water produces a deep resonant sound that creates an atmosphere of peace and relaxation.
Outdoor furniture. Garden furniture is an extremely important accessory. In principle, they are supposed to fulfill their main task, i.e. serve us during the time spent outdoors, although you must know that they also have decorative functions. This is why it’s particularly important that the selection of the set is properly thought out in terms of aesthetics and that it matches other elements, such as the gazebo, plants and decorations that we already have in our garden.
Garden accessories. The composition of an outdoor space is crowned with impressive and elegant details. They attract attention not only with their form, but also with their color. They break the composition, creating a certain contrast to the surrounding groups of plants or the arrangement of the lounging area. It can be a beautiful plant growing in the ground or a sculpture, a lantern, an vintage ornament to hang on a tree or a pergola.
If you still don’t know how to create an amazingly beautiful brick patio or outdoor space around your home, 