If you love to spend time outside, then you probably dream of having a large backyard with a lot of space for al fresco meals, outdoor parties and family gatherings. But, sometimes life doesn’t care about what you want and you end up with a small patio that barely fits your furniture. However, with some smart design and good planning, even your small patio can look and feel comfortable, airy and relaxing. Here’s how you can do it.
Embrace the open floor concept
In order to expand the visual space of your small patio, you might want to embrace the popular open floor concept and remove as many walls and barriers as you can. If you keep sight lines flowing uninterrupted, you’ll achieve a much larger visual space and avoid that uncomfortable boxed-in feeling. To further open up the space, use a simple color palette and a lot of bright shades.
Create an illusion of depth
If you think your small patio lacks depth, you might want to pay closer attention to your greenery. Place smaller plants in front of the larger ones for a layered look that will create an illusion of depth. However, keep the plants fairly simple to avoid the cluttered look.
Make size your priority
When choosing your furniture, opt for something simple and straight-forward, but pay special attention to the size of the set. There might be a set that’s gorgeous and perfectly fits your style and color palette, but if it’s too big, it will completely smother your patio. Besides size, keep an eye on the shape too. Rectangular furniture usually looks better in narrow spaces, while square pieces look great in symmetrical ones.
Folding furniture, anyone?
If you have a really small space, then don’t hesitate to get folding furniture. It can be easily stored when you don’t need it and you can quickly free the space for some other activity. There are even folding chairs with cushions, so comfort will not be a problem.
A practical built-in bench
A built-in bench is another great seating option for a small patio. It takes up much less space than normal chairs and more people can be seated around the table. A built-in bench can look even more amazing if the materials from your facade continue all the way up to your bench for a truly integrated look. However, they offer very little flexibility, so choose your priorities carefully.
Invest in good protection from the elements
Having a beautiful gazebo or wooden pergola is a dream of every outdoor lover. However, they are known to take up too much space and leave you boxed in in your small backyard. But, don’t worry. You can still get amazing protection from the elements and keep your space with a stunning retractable roof pergola. It provides great shade during summer and a great rain outpouring system that will keep you dry during the rainy period. On the other hand, when you want to catch some sun and enjoy the breeze, just press the button and the roof will retract. Plus, its small construction size doesn’t take too much space on your patio.
Add interest to your floors
A good outdoor rug can successfully create an illusion of a bigger square footage and break up the monotony of the space. Even though you want to draw a little attention to your outdoor rug, you don’t want it to overwhelm the space with too bright and aggressive colors and patterns. A simple pattern in black and white will fit into any space and create an uncluttered and well-thought-out look.
Now that you know that even the smallest of outdoor spaces can look inviting and comfy, go ahead and give your patio a little makeover and enjoy it all year round.
