We're totally redoing our backyard and putting in a patio. I'm looking for inspiration - what would your ideal patio look like? What would you put on it - fire pit? table and chairs? Tell me all your patio hopes and dreams 
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I would looooove a wooden pergola with wispy curtains. A fire pit would be nice, but we don't have the room. I'll take the pergola
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My ideal patio has storage....and built in planters.
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@2PeasinaPod: Oh that sounds amazing! @looch: yes, I'm thinking planters or else some big pots. We just put in a long planter box along the garage and I love love love it.
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If you live somewhere with any significant bug population when the weather is nice and do most of your outdoor entertaining/hanging out in the late afternoon or early evening, I'd put in a space that's screened in. The aesthetics suffer a bit, but I try not to feed the mosquitoes and bug spray makes dinner rather less appetizing.
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I really like our patio, though it could be a little bigger. We have room for a large table, and we have a fire pit with resin adirondack chairs around it. Ideally, we'd have some cover from the sun and some comfy seating too.
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@honeybear: ahh yes this. bugs drastically reduce the time we spend in our backyard!
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@honeybear: We are lucky to live in a mostly bug-free zone. I bought a citronella candle when we moved in two years ago and we haven't lit it once!
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An eating space, a fire pit, an outdoor cooler. My dream would be a plumbed sink and workspace next to my Traeger and gas BBQ so we could do all cooking/prep outside.
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We just put one in! I love it. It is paving stone and we waterproofed the underdeck and added a fan, so we can sit outside even when it rains. We also purchased a firepit and plan to put in a small hot tub in the future. I added large pots with flowers and a fountain. And a hummingbird feeder since I live watching them zip around.
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Our deck is totally covered so we can be outside in less-than-perfect weather, and half of the roof is translucent so you still get sun coming through. It's awesome. We have a big comfy sectional with big ottomans, and it's perfect for lounging with kids and dogs. Fire pit and a good grill are essentials. In dream world, I'd also love a hot tub and a dining set, but the sectional takes priority; comfiness is key.
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I actually think I have my ideal patio, although it's a deck. It's pretty big, on one side we have a round table with 6 chairs and an umbrella in the middle, on the other side we have a loveseat, 2 chairs, and a coffee table with an offset umbrella for shade. We have terracotta pots with flowers and herbs in various groupings, and a sand/water table against the wall. It makes me so happy, it feels like paradise to me.
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I live in an NYC apartment with no outdoor space so I fantasize about this often. It's the ONLY reason I consider leaving the city for the burbs.
Basically here's my dream.
A big seating area (sectional) and bar that's covered with a ceiling fan.
A separate dining area with a grill.
Off of the main deck in the yard a built in fire pit and lots of cozy chairs. -
@erinbaderin: That sounds AMAZING. I'll have to start researching patio furniture.
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I dream about lounge chairs or hammocks for naps
Our patio right now is a mess! Legos and sand everywhere. The children are slowly taking the sand out of the sand table and turning our patio into a beach!
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I think it all depends on what type of weather you've got. I used to fantasize about a sitting area with curtains, rugs, lanterns next to a cottage-looking greenhouse. But the summer is so short and it rains so much around here, it would mean I'd be constantly moving and cleaning.
It's funny because there's a lot of local-ish blogs that feature this look. But it's just not practical where I'm at. The amount of pollen that would accumulate in just one day would be ridiculous
Now I'm more into that low-maintenance/weathered look. An arch, a place to sit, meandering pathways, and tons of flowers would be ideal.
https://www.pinterest.se/pin/99431104243573700/
http://kellydiy.com/diy-pergolas/diy-pergola-7/
https://www.pinterest.se/pin/AY9r9GfCebRiujSFgcmrI6QHVVfT0bd7dTCqgPTmL3B3QMW0TxdRy04/
https://www.pinterest.se/pin/99431104258238303/
https://www.pinterest.se/pin/99431104248302073/ -
We are actually building our "perfect" back yard (aka patio).. which happens to be a multi level deck due to the grade of our lot.
There is one level that runs up against the house the entire length of the house which was there when we bought it.
We are going to remove some of the railing and make illuminated steps, like 3-4 steps down to a second platform (deck) which will hopefully have a fire pit and some sort of shade.. not 100% sure but I'm thinking pergola.
Then well have another set of illuminated steps to the lower level which will have a playset for the kids. I literally can not wait to get it done!!! We are doing it in phases though so it might take a while to be complete. This summer we are doing the lowest level/play set area.
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We have a smaller deck (12'x14') and a new paver patio (11'x14') with a fire pit on the edge. The deck is largely used for eating/cooking - it has a BBQ, a lil kids picnic table and umbrella and a round table and 4 chairs for adults. Its nice. The patio is new...so nothing on it yet.
Ideally...we will have the following on our patio:
-Back edge (patio is 45 degree angle from our back corner of our property) backdropped by tall Arborvitae - drapped with solar twinkle lights.
-Sides edges in annuals
-Grass side of fire pit 4 adirondak chairs
-Patio with a sofa for lounging
-Big board with our initial & name covering the firepit when not in use...In a perfect world...I'd have a patio big enough for one side to have a pergola over a big rustic farmhouse table...pergola is covered in vines and twinkle lights...probably not a reality in our current house...
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@SugarplumsMom: Yes I can't even imagine the maintenance on some of these patios!
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@SugarplumsMom: That's a good point. We're lucky to live in an area with a shortish summer, but it never rains in the summer, there are no bugs, dry heat during the day and cool in the evenings. Those links are beautiful!
@Ajsmommy: That sounds awesome! We already have a small deck, but our backyard was entirely tall weeds when we moved in, so we're super excited to be able to finally use it.
@Mrs D: This is super helpful because it's basically our situation. We've already got a small deck with a table and chairs. The patio is probably going to be about 15x18' and made of pavers. We're thinking of almost exactly what you described!
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Just ordered some new outdoor cushions as a result of this thread. I have been putting it on the back burner for years! I enjoy our patio except I would add another chair and get my husband to remove the rusty (but working) exercise bicycle. Btw I didn't know we even had a pergola. I call it a swingee chair. DH repurposed and latched together big palms to make a shady covering. We have lush plants and sound of a waterfall from our aquaponics nearby.
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@808love: A pergola is the wood structure with a slatted roof. One of those pictures has a bench under one. But a swing is different.
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@ShootingStar: Oh!! Thanks! Yah, our swing has a slatted leaf covered roof so guess it is close enough for our purposes.
Now I know exactly what that is. Our friends have one. I call it a wood awning. -
My ideal (although not for my backyard...too small)
I would have a large stained/stamped patio that had a partially covered eating area for 6 + and area with a built in fire pit with room for chairs around it to socialize. There would need to be a space for our smoker and grill and room for storage box for backyard toys to go.
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I'd love to see some pics of these patios! It's nice seeing real life inspiration that isn't unattainable like some of the stuff you see online.
We have an issue with mosquitoes and caterpillars (which have been terrible the past few years) in our backyard so I would love to have a screened in area. We do have a 12x12 patio now with an outdoor sectional and we just got a deck box so we can store the cushions out there now instead of lugging them inside/out. So I like our set up but ideally we'd add a 2nd story porch off the back of the house (walkout basement) and then get a screened gazebo for the lower patio. We will probably move instead
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This isn't the best picture and I colored over my husband but this our patio. My husband did it himself last year and I love it.
We don't use the patio a lot since we have a large covered deck with our grill and a table/chairs. My husband is currently adding a pergola over the 1/2 of the patio not exposed to the fire pit to provide some shade during the day.
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