Readers’ Favorite Patio Renovation Stories of 2019
Outdoor living rooms, fire features and terraces feature in the most popular Patios of the Week
It seems as though many popular patios could pass for indoor living spaces, with cushioned furniture, luxurious lighting and statement-making tiles and pavers inviting hours of outdoor lounging and entertaining. The five most popular patios from our Patio of the Week series in 2019 sure delivered on that trend, with one design upping the ante with a sculptural fire feature and another showcasing a tile-backed fountain. Read on for our countdown and let us know which one you like the most.
The sculptural fire pit, with a bundle of stainless steel rods designed to resemble branches, is the patio’s standout feature. The rods sit atop a hollowed-out concrete table that houses the natural-gas fire feature. The result is a dramatic, fiery focal point visible from the garden and inside the house.
The patio pavers are bush-hammered Eramosa limestone, 12 by 24 inches each, in a neutral gray, contrasting the home’s red brick facade. De Brabandere arranged the pavers in a running bond pattern, also referencing the brick exterior.
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The patio pavers are bush-hammered Eramosa limestone, 12 by 24 inches each, in a neutral gray, contrasting the home’s red brick facade. De Brabandere arranged the pavers in a running bond pattern, also referencing the brick exterior.
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4. Modern Take on Spanish Revival
Patio at a Glance
Who uses it: A husband and wife who both work from home
Location: Westchester neighborhood of Los Angeles
Size: 325 square feet (30 square meters); 13 by 25 feet
Designers: Megan Blu and Alison White of Blu and White (interior design and development), Charles A. Samson (architecture) and Madison Modern Home (staging)
It was this patio by Megan Blu and Alison White that inspired a couple to buy this modern Spanish Revival home in Los Angeles. “They saw the patio and spent a lot of time sitting on the sofa and envisioning sitting out here with their laptops or watching games on a TV over the mantel,” White says. “The patio was the feature that sold them on the house.”
The patio sits to the side of the house, something architect Charles Samson had proposed. “We both thought this was a great idea because it made the most of the lot — it didn’t take space away from the backyard,” White says. The location allows the backyard to have a potential future pool and gives the patio an enclosed, room-like feel.
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Patio at a Glance
Who uses it: A husband and wife who both work from home
Location: Westchester neighborhood of Los Angeles
Size: 325 square feet (30 square meters); 13 by 25 feet
Designers: Megan Blu and Alison White of Blu and White (interior design and development), Charles A. Samson (architecture) and Madison Modern Home (staging)
It was this patio by Megan Blu and Alison White that inspired a couple to buy this modern Spanish Revival home in Los Angeles. “They saw the patio and spent a lot of time sitting on the sofa and envisioning sitting out here with their laptops or watching games on a TV over the mantel,” White says. “The patio was the feature that sold them on the house.”
The patio sits to the side of the house, something architect Charles Samson had proposed. “We both thought this was a great idea because it made the most of the lot — it didn’t take space away from the backyard,” White says. The location allows the backyard to have a potential future pool and gives the patio an enclosed, room-like feel.
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The patio sits off the dining and great rooms, making for easy indoor-outdoor flow, which is crucial in Southern California. (It also shares a two-way fireplace with the great room.)
Douglas fir beams overhead provide shade, enhance the room-like feel and support an outdoor chandelier. Making the room an open space also allowed the designers to create it without contributing to the home’s overall square footage, which is regulated by the city.
Cement tile from ARTO give the patio a Spanish Revival vibe, tying it in with the rest of the home while still feeling fresh and modern. “It was a splurge, but it is a showstopper,” Blu says. “And it was a really great thing to be able to use a tile that was made locally here in L.A.”
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Douglas fir beams overhead provide shade, enhance the room-like feel and support an outdoor chandelier. Making the room an open space also allowed the designers to create it without contributing to the home’s overall square footage, which is regulated by the city.
Cement tile from ARTO give the patio a Spanish Revival vibe, tying it in with the rest of the home while still feeling fresh and modern. “It was a splurge, but it is a showstopper,” Blu says. “And it was a really great thing to be able to use a tile that was made locally here in L.A.”
Read more about this patio
3. Curved Terraces on a Steep Lot
Patio at a Glance
Who uses it: A young family of four
Location: Richmond, Virginia
Size: Patio: 283 square feet (26 square meters); deck: 314 square feet (29 square meters)
Designer: Outdoor Dreams
Design-build firm Outdoor Dreams transformed a formerly unusable sloped lot into a terraced series of outdoor rooms for a family with young children to enjoy. The attractive curved patio seen here is on the lowest of the three levels; a deck and a lawn play area occupy the upper two.
Built-in seating follows the curved retaining wall above the patio. The slope behind is planted with a mix of grasses, shrubs and perennials that enclose the space. A fire pit and lounge chairs allow for cozy lounging.
The small patio pavers are set in polymeric sand — a mixture of fine sands and polymers. The material, which hardens as it dries, keeps the pavers in place and prevents weeds from growing through.
Patio at a Glance
Who uses it: A young family of four
Location: Richmond, Virginia
Size: Patio: 283 square feet (26 square meters); deck: 314 square feet (29 square meters)
Designer: Outdoor Dreams
Design-build firm Outdoor Dreams transformed a formerly unusable sloped lot into a terraced series of outdoor rooms for a family with young children to enjoy. The attractive curved patio seen here is on the lowest of the three levels; a deck and a lawn play area occupy the upper two.
Built-in seating follows the curved retaining wall above the patio. The slope behind is planted with a mix of grasses, shrubs and perennials that enclose the space. A fire pit and lounge chairs allow for cozy lounging.
The small patio pavers are set in polymeric sand — a mixture of fine sands and polymers. The material, which hardens as it dries, keeps the pavers in place and prevents weeds from growing through.
A new deck made of kiln-dried pressure-treated lumber sits off the house and is reached through French doors. An outdoor sofa and furnishings create a lounge nook that overlooks the entire backyard
The deck connects the house to the backyard, with a set of stairs leading down to the grass play area on the middle terrace and the fire pit patio on the bottom level.
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The deck connects the house to the backyard, with a set of stairs leading down to the grass play area on the middle terrace and the fire pit patio on the bottom level.
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2. Backyard Fun for a Family of Four
Patio at a Glance
Who uses it: Christina Valencia, Kele Dobrinski and their three sons, Jack, 5, Wyatt, 3, and Adler, 1
Location: Land Park neighborhood of Sacramento, California
Size: The backyard (including pizza oven, fire pit and deck) is 1,650 square feet (153 square meters).
When Christina Valencia and Kele Dobrinski moved their family to Sacramento from a “tiny” apartment in San Francisco three years ago, the backyard “was just dirt,” Valencia says. The couple, who co-own the creative studio Colossus, completely overhauled the outdoor space in addition to their 70-year-old home.
An outdoor fire pit and tiled wall fountain anchor the new outdoor lounge. Visible from inside, the black-and-white porcelain tiles reinforce the modern-meets-Spanish Colonial Revival style Valencia wanted, and tie in with the home’s decor and color scheme. “We wanted [the fountain] to be present but not be overwhelming,” Valencia says.
The stucco-covered gas fire feature matches the home’s exterior. It’s topped with poured concrete, creating a ledge. “In terms of durability, it’s awesome,” Valencia says.
Patio at a Glance
Who uses it: Christina Valencia, Kele Dobrinski and their three sons, Jack, 5, Wyatt, 3, and Adler, 1
Location: Land Park neighborhood of Sacramento, California
Size: The backyard (including pizza oven, fire pit and deck) is 1,650 square feet (153 square meters).
When Christina Valencia and Kele Dobrinski moved their family to Sacramento from a “tiny” apartment in San Francisco three years ago, the backyard “was just dirt,” Valencia says. The couple, who co-own the creative studio Colossus, completely overhauled the outdoor space in addition to their 70-year-old home.
An outdoor fire pit and tiled wall fountain anchor the new outdoor lounge. Visible from inside, the black-and-white porcelain tiles reinforce the modern-meets-Spanish Colonial Revival style Valencia wanted, and tie in with the home’s decor and color scheme. “We wanted [the fountain] to be present but not be overwhelming,” Valencia says.
The stucco-covered gas fire feature matches the home’s exterior. It’s topped with poured concrete, creating a ledge. “In terms of durability, it’s awesome,” Valencia says.
Built-in benches flank the fountain; they can be used as seating with storage or as planter boxes. The patio also features a brick pizza oven and a prep station, just out of view here.
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1. Smart Space Planning in a Sloped Yard
Patio at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with two children and two dogs
Location: Virginia-Highland neighborhood of Atlanta
Size: Backyard: 1,475 square feet (137 square meters); patio: 550 square feet (51 square meters)
Landscape architect: Micah Rogers of Boyce Design & Contracting
The owners of this home in Atlanta turned to design-build firm Boyce Design and Contracting to turn their neglected, overused backyard on a slope into an appealing outdoor hangout — including overhauling the outdoor drainage.
Lines of artificial turf add bold geometry to the concrete patio, with a new poured-in-place concrete fire pit and floating built-in bench in the middle. When not in use, the fire pit functions as an outdoor dining table, thanks to a custom built ipe wood tabletop (seen in the next photo).
The new concrete patio also helps to solve the yard’s original drainage issues. “The existing poorly designed drainage pattern resulted in water leaking into the basement,” landscape architect Micah Rogers says. The design team installed the patio on a 12-inch-deep gravel base over a perforated pipe, which collects and directs water into an ornamental grass-filled rain garden behind the seating wall; the water then drains into the soil.
Patio at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with two children and two dogs
Location: Virginia-Highland neighborhood of Atlanta
Size: Backyard: 1,475 square feet (137 square meters); patio: 550 square feet (51 square meters)
Landscape architect: Micah Rogers of Boyce Design & Contracting
The owners of this home in Atlanta turned to design-build firm Boyce Design and Contracting to turn their neglected, overused backyard on a slope into an appealing outdoor hangout — including overhauling the outdoor drainage.
Lines of artificial turf add bold geometry to the concrete patio, with a new poured-in-place concrete fire pit and floating built-in bench in the middle. When not in use, the fire pit functions as an outdoor dining table, thanks to a custom built ipe wood tabletop (seen in the next photo).
The new concrete patio also helps to solve the yard’s original drainage issues. “The existing poorly designed drainage pattern resulted in water leaking into the basement,” landscape architect Micah Rogers says. The design team installed the patio on a 12-inch-deep gravel base over a perforated pipe, which collects and directs water into an ornamental grass-filled rain garden behind the seating wall; the water then drains into the soil.
Terraced board-formed-concrete retaining walls make the backyard more usable by breaking it up into smaller zones, including the deck, artificial-turf landing and lower-level patio seen here.
A covered outdoor lounge sits under the deck, with a daybed built into the retaining wall system that offers the homeowners a place where they can relax during the day or night. A custom aluminum underdeck system protects the lounge area from sun and rain, and houses wiring for recessed lighting and a ceiling fan.
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A covered outdoor lounge sits under the deck, with a daybed built into the retaining wall system that offers the homeowners a place where they can relax during the day or night. A custom aluminum underdeck system protects the lounge area from sun and rain, and houses wiring for recessed lighting and a ceiling fan.
Read more about this patio
More on Houzz
Read more Patio of the Week stories
Browse thousands of patio photos
Find a landscape designer in your area
Shop for patio furniture
Shop for Outdoor Tables, Chairs and Sofas
Item 1 of 4
Patio at a Glance
Who uses it: A family, including a gardening enthusiast
Location: Toronto
Size: The paved area is 360 square feet (33 square meters).
Designer: Sylvie De Brabandere of ACRE landscape architecture + design studio
The owners of this long, narrow backyard wanted to transform their lawn into an outdoor space for entertaining and gardening that would offer attractive views from inside while also screening busy neighboring yards.
The new design, by landscape designer Sylvie De Brabandere, includes a patio with a focal-point fire feature, plus a cluster of new birch trees, perimeter garden beds and raised planters.
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