Porch Patio Design
December 20, 2007
Porch and patio serve different purposes. A porch welcomes the guest and gives visitors the first impression of your home. A patio serves as a place to rest and relax, and makes a venue for dining, entertainment, and other outdoor activities. Begin your porch and patio design by identifying the purposes of the areas.
Unlike designing the interior of the house which is limited to the 4 walls of the room, designing the porch and patio is more complicated as you have the outdoors environment to consider. But taking these 7 important design elements into account, constructing porch and patio design is made easier.
Theme. A particular theme sets the final look for your porch and patio. Before moving on to the construction plan, make sure that you have a identified and drawn specific theme to your design.
Cover and Canopies. There are lots of options for porch and patio covers and canopies - aluminum patio covers, arbors, awnings, corrugated metal roof, gazebos, offset umbrellas, pergolas, sail shades, traditional roof, trees, trellis, and umbrellas. Your choice should basically be between the protection from the sun and rain. Covers may be a permanent construction or movable covers.
Flooring. Depending on the theme or design you have, patio and porch flooring options widely vary. Prices also range from cheap to outrageously expensive. Some may last for a couple of years while others can last for a very long time. Popular choice for porch floorings are wood, tile, concrete, and brick while patio flooring options are stone, stone veneer, plain concrete, concrete pavers, brick, tile, stamped and colored concrete, and flagstone. When choosing what flooring to use, consider your budget, durability, and the overall appeal of the material.
Furniture. Picking the right furniture for your patio and porch should be based on comfort, purpose, and theme of the design. Basic types of patio furniture are tables (laminate top or glass top) and chairs. For patio furniture, you have swing, rocker, garden bench, and chaise lounge. Choose patio and porch furniture made from wicker, aluminum, iron, wrought iron, rattan, and wood (teak and cedar). One tip: Start with the basics and add new pieces over time.
Materials. A well-designed porch and patio basically will include the same materials used for the exterior for the rest of the home. This way, your patio and porch will appear as part of the home structure. Materials should withstand the elements and time. Choose materials based on strength, maintenance demand, colors and patterns, flexibility, reparability, and cost. To give you an idea, the strongest, easiest to replace, has a wide selection of colors, shape and size, and requires the least maintenance is paving stone. But it is also the most expensive. Concrete is the cheapest with moderate strength and maintenance requirement. Brick varies its strength depending on how it is made. It is prone to chipping but can be replaced easily.
Color. Multi-color palettes add life to the design. If you want to achieve a slight transition from the interior to the patio and porch, use the color you have on the walls of your interior.
Special features. Finally, depending on your taste, add a special feature to your patio and porch design. Some of your options are fountains, waterfalls, hot tubs, fireplace, and mini pool.
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