24 Jeffrey Drive South Windsor, CT 06074 | (860) 610-2030
24 Jeffrey Drive South Windsor, CT 06074 | (860) 610-2030
Patio design is one of the most impactful ways you can add value to your home.
The right patio space can turn a simple backyard patio idea into a dream outdoor living space.
Patio custom design can incorporate a warm and cozy fire pit to gather around, lush plantings and landscaping to suit any level of gardening ability, or even build in extra seating. Extend the living space of your home by adding more usable square footage. An uncovered space can provide a place to grill or enjoy a sunny afternoon while covering a space with a roof, trellis, or pergola adds even more dimension.
Ultimately, though, big or small, a finished outdoor patio creates a place for community and gathering, as well as a place for quiet solitude. Get the most out of your home with a space designed to perfectly suit your needs, climate, and design aesthetic.
A Custom Designed Patio Breathes Life into a Home. Each design element reflects your lifestyle as an individual while bringing the look together in a cohesive way. Whether you wish to go big or small, the options for customizing the look, feel, and function of your space are limitless.
There are currently some innovative design trends throughout the market.
Save your favorite patio design idea pictures on Pinterest or Houzz, and soon you will see that certain trends appear and reappear in your folders as your style preferences and patio dreams become clear. If you can say “I like this fence detail” or “that
On our website, you can see examples of landscaping, patios, lighting, water features, and more. Remember, any look can be scaled to suit your design preferences, your space, and your budget, so don’t be afraid to think big.
A patio is never just a patio when it serves as an aesthetic extension of your personal lifestyle.
Current trends in patio design focus on innovation and creative use of space. Which of these options speaks to you?
Fire element: This can be as simple as a fire pit or as complex as an entire, fully functioning outdoor kitchen. A fire element provides physical warmth, extending the use of the space well into colder months. It provides aesthetic warmth as well, creating a hearth as a focal point for gathering with friends and family. Fire is also functional. Barbecuing, making pizzas, or simply gathering to make s’mores adds to the use of your outdoor space.
Unique planters: Think vertically with creatively placed retaining walls, a leaning trellis, metal tiered plant stands, or vertical planters that stand alone and are movable, or that are permanently integrated into your design.
Pop of color: Ensuring a bit of colorful flair comes through in your design will brighten the space and showcase your personality and personal style. Add color with landscaping and plant choice, with varied stonework, or with a brightly painted trellis or pergola.
Creative lighting: Incorporate some soft lighting that adds to the ambiance in addition to providing a functional light source. Consider strands of fairy lights or clear light bulbs for a soft, clean look. Many options are solar powered or rechargeable.
There are several backyard covered patio ideas to help increase versatility with any outdoor space. The addition of shade, opportunities to incorporate plant life for color and visual interest (and to appease your green thumb!), increased opportunities to define a space and create options for seating: are all elements that are enhanced by covering the space.
Perhaps the biggest benefit to outdoor covered patios is the way this extends your living area by creating an extra room without actually expanding your home. You will essentially have an outdoor living room or even kitchen without the need for building permits, or the expense of adding walls or dealing with the hassle of a major renovation.
The top 3 things you should know about covered patio structures:
When considering backyard covered patio ideas, it is important to keep in mind that the design is about more than simply adding a roof structure to a part of the backyard. Covered patios need a floor of some sort to still function properly as patios.
While designing a covered patio structure from the ground up is a great way to customize your outdoor space, we can certainly add a covered element to
What’s the difference between a pavilion and a pergola?
While both offer a little (or a lot) of privacy, make your space stand out, offer versatility to the space coupled with visual impact, and offer shade options, pavilions and pergolas have key differences as well:
Pavilion:
Pergola:
Simple and beautiful, paver patios are often the focal point of usable outdoor space. Preparation is the key first step, with clearing the area of grass and soil. Next, we add
Here are the top 3 things you should know about paver patios:
They are affordable: While the initial installation cost may be high, paver patios require little to no maintenance over time. That makes paver patios a long-term, budget-friendly solution.
They are low maintenance: No regular sealing or washing is required. Bonus: at Bahler Brothers, we use polymeric sand in our paver patios which keeps the weeds away.
Drainage is key: No one wants a flooded patio. Drains can be incorporated into the design, hidden from view, and sloped away from your home for proper water egress.
The perfect patio need not be all on one level. Using vertical space helps create visual interest as well as incorporate seating options. Raised patios are good solutions when your home is a bit higher than the ground. Incorporating stone steps is visually appealing as well as helps to accommodate having a house at a different level than the patio foundation.
Raised patios also use elevation to define multiple spaces. A raised area can provide delineation between a seating area and a dining area, for example. Or perhaps you would prefer an outdoor kitchen or grill area to be separate from your guest or relaxation area. The simple addition of an elevated space provides combines function with a professional, customized look.
A multi-level patio can make a small space seem bigger. If linear space is at a premium, building up makes greater use of available space, resulting in more usable living space with an attractive, professional finish.
Multi-level patios are a smart way to accommodate an uneven slope of your yard in a way that looks intentional and adds function. Installing a multi-level patio to take advantage of uneven ground can be far more cost-effective than leveling out the ground to accommodate a flat patio.
Levels can be divided by stonewalls that serve as additional seating, further enhancing the function of the space. With multi-level design, the possibilities for customization of the space are virtually endless.
Enhancing your space with a natural stone look enhances your outdoor space by adding texture and a sense of collaboration with nature. Natural stone pavers come in varying
Choosing the right patio for your space can feel like a daunting task. There are many custom options for materials, design features, and finishing touches. All of these options allow for wonderful opportunities to customize your space, but when you aren’t sure where to begin, having so many choices can feel overwhelming. That’s when it’s best to work with a professional who not only knows how to install a top quality patio, but who can work with you to consider your wants and needs, and make suggestions for the patio that will truly suit you best.
The most important consideration when choosing a patio design is the size of the outdoor space that will be transformed. Is your yard big or small? How much of the space do you wish to leave undeveloped? Do you do a lot of entertaining? Perhaps your yard is a unique size or shape. Regardless of the details, considering the available space is always the place to start.
If you are considering an attached covered patio, the design needs may differ than if you are considering a paver or stamped backyard concrete patio. Most patios are installed just outside the back door of the home, making a pavilion-style cover potentially impractical. Homeowners associations may have rules about home additions or building permanent structures, which should be taken into consideration as well. Consider how natural light may be impacted into your home once a roofed structure is up against the house. Perhaps a pergola or umbrella would suit your space and style instead of a fixed roof.
The answer to this question is, of course, up to you. However, there are many ways to incorporate your personal style with current and time-tested design techniques. When choosing a patio design, consider these patio design basics:
Design connectionIt’s important to consider your existing space, home design, and personal preferences to come up with the design that works with your existing space rather than against it.
What aspects of your home do you love? Is there a color scheme that you find particularly pleasing? If so, you could play off of the color of your shutters or backdoor to find that same color element in a paver stone or mixed into stamped concrete.
What are the focal points of your home? Do all eyes go directly to the back door? Does your house have strong lines or a softer façade? Using a rounded patio design with the straight lines of a Craftsman style home, for example, has the potential to create contrast, or the looks may clash. Perhaps a square or rectangular design will extend the line of your home, creating the illusion of a more usable, livable space.
What kind of physical space do you have available and how can you use that to your best advantage? Even small spaces have vertical design options to maximize usable space without feeling crowded. If you know you’d like a fire or water feature installed, it’s important to consider the physical requirements of that space to ensure you have enough room for people to sit comfortably nearby.
There are more options to incorporate color into a patio than you might think. Take a look around your yard and the back of your home. What color is your back door? Is there a particular native plant that has a striking color flower or bold green? Even different shades of brown and other neutrals offer colors that can be drawn into the design to create a cohesive look with lots of visual interest.
The sun is a key consideration when incorporating color as well. Planning your patio design around sunlight and, just as importantly, shade plays a role in how different colors are enhanced throughout the space.
Design features such as mixing different shapes stones for a border, integrating multiple patterns, and installing multiple textures or texture designs can all add differing levels of visual interest to a patio. A border can make a small space seem bigger and more defined.
Larger spaces can lack a focal point unless a different type of hardscape element is incorporated to keep the overall patio visually cohesive. Whether stamped, embossed, or smooth, contrasting textures can enhance a patio design without making it look busy or overdone.
Outdoor roomsThe option to create a beautiful, custom-designed outdoor room is a beautiful and practical way to expand and enhance your living space without actually creating an addition to your home.
An otherwise simple space can be transformed by adding a roof or similar structure such as a pergola, and can be as simple as adding
One key benefit of an outdoor room is that it enhances your ability to use your outdoor space even in off-season months.
Live in a cold climate? No problem. Simply install a fire pit, fireplace, or even gas-fueled heat lamps to allow you and your guests to enjoy some outdoor time.
Live in a warm climate? No problem there, either. Screened in walls could keep the bugs at bay, ceiling fans will help you stay cool, and the entire structure will be built to take advantage of the direction of the wind to enhance natural air flow.
While a usable outdoor space can certainly enhance any home, there are important pros and cons of paver patios to consider in determining whether a paver patio is
Pro: Pavers and durable and long lasting
Paver stones are typically made from concrete but can be made from clay brick or natural stone. With a solid foundation and proper installation, paver stones are made to last. They are installed to be flexible, with many joints. This allows pavers to withstand changes in weather and are generally even stronger than the concrete foundation of a home.
Con: Paver patios take longer to install than concrete patios
Because of the need for a layered and professional foundation as well as the need to install each of many paver stones individually and then seal together, the installation process does take a bit of time to complete, usually around 3-5 days. Poured concrete can be installed in a few hours, but does take 1-3 days to cure before you can use it. Either way, professional installation will take a bit of time, but in our opinion is well worth it for the lifetime of enjoyment you will have with your custom patio.
Con: Paver patios can be more expensive than other options
There are two ways of looking at this. Do you want to save money with the installation, or do you want to save money over the long run with a virtually maintenance-free patio? There are definitely cheaper options than paver patios, but many of them have other drawbacks, such as requiring maintenance down the road. With a paver patio, you will likely spend a bit more up front to have the patio installed, but after that, all you’ll need to do is enjoy your custom-designed outdoor living space.
Pro: Paver Patios are Better for Varying Climates and Seasonal Changes
Winter is the hardest time for patio materials. Moisture repeatedly freezes and thaws, and the ground expands and contracts. This can lead to cracks, settling, and dips
Con: Paver Patios Grow Weeds Over Time
The sand used to connect the paver stones will need to be replenished over time, lest weeds begin to grow through the spaces between the stones. There is
Pro: Paver Patios are Low Maintenance
This might be the greatest pro for paver patios. Once the patio is installed, all you really need to do is sit back and enjoy it, with the occasional addition of more sealer to keep the sand intact.
One of the key factors to consider when beginning the design process is how you will use the space.
EntertainingAre you an avid entertainer? If so, there are ways to design a space to incorporate your hosting needs, whether your property – or your budget – is big or small. If dinner parties are on the agenda, you may want to consider how adding an outdoor oven may impact the amount of space you wish to set aside. Multi-level patios can create designated spaces for eating and relaxing, while a retaining wall can be designed to provide additional seating.
Whether novice or expert, there are ways to incorporate your gardening desires and experience into your patio design. How will your gardening interest impact the space and layout of the patio? For smaller spaces, a vertical plant stand can hold mini-pots with herbs for a private herb garden. Native plants can grow with little to no maintenance. Or, perhaps you wish for cutouts to accommodate a flower or vegetable garden to be incorporated into
The most important function of any patio is to have a usable outdoor space to suit a variety of needs. The best patio designs not only incorporate your personal style,
A well-designed landscape can add color and texture to any yard.
A fireplace becomes the focal point of the patio design and a major player in the outdoor living space.
Bring a clean, organized look with elegant design & function to any yard.
A professionally lit landscape illuminates and creates scenes that completely transform your outdoor living space.
This is perhaps the most important question to ask before you get started, as your budget will drive the design process. This is also the most difficult question to answer. The key to remember is that a patio can cost whatever you need or want it to cost, depending on the design you have in mind.
The items that make the most impact on price are the type of material, size of the patio, and cost for both initial installation and maintenance in years to come.
Type of materialAre you interested in pavers or perhaps backyard concrete patio ideas? Pavers can cost more to install, but concrete can cost more to maintain over time. Plus, there are many options when it comes to pavers, and a range of prices as well. Basic concrete paver stones, brick, natural stone, flagstone – these are all different materials with different price points.
Choosing to cover your patio will likely add to the cost as well. A fixed roof, such as for a pavilion, will last the lifetime of your home and allow for expanded options for spending time outside. A less expensive option is a pergola, which can be big or small, permanently affixed or portable, all depending on your preferences.
It is logical that the larger the patio, the greater the cost. One way to offset costs is to consider a less expensive stone for a larger area. Unusual shaped spaces can also affect the cost because stones may need to be specially cut to accommodate curves or unusual shapes. Labor costs increase with larger spaces as well, because it will take more time to lay a patio for 1,000 square foot space than for a 200 square foot space.
Paver patios generally cost more to install than stamped
