How To Revamp Your Patio Area Whilst In Lockdown
/With the whole nation being told to stay at home, people are taking advantage of their gardens more than ever. From a glance at social media, it is clear that many have taken up gardening and are finally getting around to those odd jobs in the back yard that they had been avoiding.
One often forgotten area of the garden is the patio. For us Brits, it only gets used for a few months of the year, this forgotten space that is part of the garden yet also an extension of your house. It’s an area that is often devoid of any design as it isn’t part of the landscape designer’s remit nor an interior designer’s scheme. Hence it often ends up as a decked space with some garden furniture, with little consideration into its design.
As everyone is using their patio space more than usual, I thought it would be great to look at how you could revamp it. We want our patio areas to be comfortable, cosy and inviting - the same as we want our homes to be. So here are a few ideas:
Colour and Style:
Start of by choosing a style and a colour that you like. If you are worried that your patio space will look out of place in your property then get inspired by what’s already there. You could use a colour taken from the flowers or trees in your garden or be inspired by the style and colour in your house. If your dining space opens up into your patio, include that colour in your patio space so you can create a seamless design inside your home and out.
Image From: House Beautiful
Soft Furnishings:
Soft furnishings are the prefect way to bring some colour and style into your patio area. There are loads of outdoor cushions available to make your seating as comfortable and colourful as you require. It’s best to have one main colour and then a couple of accent colours, for example, adding black & white patterns and mustard can add some interest and vibrancy to the grey cushions that came with your garden furniture set.
Image From: Argos
There are also some amazing outdoor rugs that you can buy to bring some colour into your patio which would also serve to create a more domestic look by bringing the inside out to your garden. These outdoor rugs are made from woven plastic, so they won’t get ruined if it rains and they are also super lightweight making them easy to pack away.
Another key piece of soft furnishing for the garden is the blanket - perfect for wrapping up in whilst you cuddle up with your family in the evenings with your hot chocolate around the fire pit or even in the morning with your cup of coffee and newspaper (although, realistically, this is probably an app on your phone).
Lighting:
Lighting can bring a calming ambiance to your garden in the evenings. Festoon lighting is a really exciting way to light up your patio space by either creating a canopy above the dining space or hanging it around your garden fencing. This means you can evenly disperse the light and make the patio space much brighter in the evenings.
Another way to light your patio space is with candles in jars (so that they don’t blow out). There different styles of jar you can use for the candles, a hurricane lantern being quite a classic design or you could even reuse a jam jar if you are going to go for that quintessentially English look.
Image From: Crazy Chic Design
Shelter:
By creating some sort of canopy above your patio it will feel more enclosed and therefore cosier. As previously mentioned, the idea of festoon lighting is one possibility but you could also create a covering with a parasol, a sail shade (like the one in the photo below) or, if you like a bit of DIY, you could build yourself a pergola. There are many different colours and styles of parasol and shade sails so you can again bring some colour to your patio space.
Image From: Pinterest
Potted Plants:
If a patio space was to have no furniture in it then it would literally just be a blank space with some flat paving. By adding some potted plants you can bring some of the greenery from your garden to the patio space. It’s also worth considering the shape and colour of the pots that you use so they can tie in with your patio furnishings. If you decide to incorporate the colours from your house, this will help your patio create a perfect blend of your garden and your home. Try arranging your pots and planters in groups of threes or fives for a more sophisticated look that will give shape to the space and avoid too much linear progression.
Image From: Stephanie Williams Designs
Photography By: Impact Photography
By thinking about the colours and style you like and adding a few domestic items into your patio space you can make an entirely new cosy place to sit out in both in the daytime and in the evenings. Enjoy!