Patio advice...

2 years ago

Hello! We have a patio at the back of a terraced house. Would love to do a quick update on it as it is very tired and unused. Thinking to:
- paint the fence a warm white
- paint the walls a bright white
- bring the same table to one side
- left corner bench and hanging mirror/behind
- potted plants peppered in corners
- winding plants on back fence
- BBQ stored at the back right
Anyone got any first thoughts that say a big no to the above, if so please share :)

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Comments (6)

tanya817
2 years ago
I'd paint the fence black... it will make any greenery and flowers really stand out and give a wow factor, as well as string lights. It would make a much nicer contrast to white walls too
Sav K
Original Author
2 years ago
Ooooooooooo
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Hi. If budget is tight rendering is not an option, why not just paint the wall and railings, be bold with your colour choice, that will make a massive difference and as Eliza says take the wall from the 70's to contemporary. Please don't put stones/ gravel or similar onto any existing solid surface, they wont stay put and they will act like roller bearings. There isn't a cheap and certainly not a free solution. I think Eliza's other comment about remove the slabs and cover with shingle is the best solution. Ideally remove slabs level with sharp sand, cover with geotextile membrane and then add shingle. Sharp sand and pea shingle for drainage from a builders merchant are the cheapest solution at about £45/tonne bag. Fancy landscape stone is virtually the same but massively more expensive. you are limited on colour. Break up the expanse of gravel with olives, bays, lavender and rosemary in pots and you have an instant Italian feel, look and aroma. 1 tonne bags of shingle @ 50mm will cover around 15 sq m. For any sort of paving laid on a proper base you are looking at £100 sq m.
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Had some thoughts about your garden and came up with a rough sketch:) (see pic). Decking outside the garden office would look nice but I’m not sure about bringing it all the way to the house as decking can take a fair amount of maintenance although you can get composite decking or slabs that look like wood which would probably be easier to look after. I think breaking it up and having some planting would be nice and more pleasing to look at. So on the sketch I brought the decking to surround the office windows then added a small seating area and space for planting which could include a small pond or water feature. This could be like a contemplation area where you can relax and have a tea break:) Instead of decking pathway I think slabs or tiles to match the patio would be better. The patio I’ve kept as is but extended a little to include bbq area. Did think that putting the bbq on the right side of patio might be good as well. Put in some extra planting areas but that’s just because I like plants:) planting pocket is basically a hole in the deck but some tall grasses or similar with lighting would look great on the left side of the office and help to balance things out. Not sure on a pergola mainly because I think adding another tall structure on the left would make that side of the garden seem overly busy but it’s entirely up to you what you want. Anyway hope this gives you some fresh ideas:) P.s. sketch is not to scale.
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tanya817
2 years ago
Spa Garden https://www.houzz.in/photos/spa-garden-phvw-vp~47881095
Sonia
2 years ago
The thing it lacks is plants. You mention pots, but they do take a bit of maintenance during dry weather. They need watering every evening when it is dry. You could remove some paving slabs around the edges, add compost and then plant. Then water in every day, unless it is raining.
Daisy England
2 years ago
Who actually owns all 3 sides of the fence? If you own all the fence then you can paint but legally if you are not the owners of all 3 sides then you need to get permission from the owner.

I can see that it’s overlap so if you do paint it the colour may dribble through.
PRO
The Rooted Concept Garden Designs
2 years ago
Hi there,

I agree with Tanya. Dark coloured walls and fences would actually work better there as it will make the boundaries receed and make your patio look bigger.
Also agree with Sonia. This patio really lacks greenery, and I don't think that pots dotted around would work well (appart from being hard work to maintain as sonia mentioned, pots dotted around tend to make a space look a bit disjointed and incoherent). I would go for either propper brick built raised beds (maybe with some seating inbuilt in them) or big trough planters. Would try to make the planting spaces as wide as possible and maybe use them to create sessions and a journey through the patio (obvs it would all depend on the actual dimensions of your patio). Also, investing in planting space would bring you the possibility of adding tall plants that would bring height to this space (which it lacks as well, in my opinion). My best advice is to really take your time thinking about it before you start doing the works. With small spaces there's not much room for error and every little area should be well utilised and thought of.
If you need professional help, please have a look at my website to see the range of online garden design services that I provide (including sketches, which are very budget friendly) and do not hesitate to get in touch!

Deborah
The Rooted Concept Garden Designs

Patio advice...

Comments (6)

tanya817

Sav K
Original Author

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Patio advice...

Comments (6)

tanya817

Sav KOriginal Author

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Sav K
Original Author