Personally I think the longer sides visually widen a space….. so choose which way you prefer in order to make the patio with either seem wider or deeper.
if you lay them going across the width of the main direction that you look in (like the photo that Sonia attached) then it tends to look wider and your eye isn't distracted as much by them, especially if they aren't perfectly lined up. If you have them the other way then they have to be much more perfectly aligned to look good but they will lead your view out into the garden more. It depends what you're trying to emphasise and on the look that you're trying to create. You could also play with the bond patterns - so instead of brick bond type style as in Sonias photo, you could have all joints lined up. Or you could go wild and try a herringbone type effect!
Sonia
brinbug
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