5 Patio Ideas for Small Gardens
What’s the ideal size for a patio? You’ll be glad to know there isn’t one. Instead, the ideal patio is one that allows sufficient space to do what you want to do. And if your garden is too small to fit your perfect patio? Ah, that’s the moment when you get creative! In this article the My Build My Way team is offering 5 inspiring patio ideas for small gardens.
Deciding How Big Your Patio Should Be
Start by thinking about what activities you want your patio for. Perhaps you love early morning outdoor yoga, or you want somewhere to enjoy a gin and tonic in the evening. Maybe you’re longing to host al fresco dinner parties or star gaze with your partner on frosty winter evenings.
Whatever your desire, mark out the space you’ll need in your garden, either with string or electrical tape on the ground. Walk around in the space you’ve created to make sure that you have ample room for moving around. If you already have furniture in mind, get the measurements and mark that out too. Create the space in your head, before you create it for real.
5 Inspiring Patio Ideas for Small Gardens
Once you have the basic idea for your patio, you need the bit of magic that will turn it into an area to cherish. Take a look at 5 ways to create your perfect patio, no matter how small your garden is:
5 Patio Ideas for Small Gardens
- Add a Feature Wall
- Create a Plant Paradise
- Utilise Patio Paving
- Build a Beautiful Arbour
- Slim Furniture and Outdoor Matting
1. Add a Feature Wall
If you need a garden spot for dreaming or meditation, a feature wall will help to lift you out of the everyday world. It also distracts from the size of your patio space, and it can make your garden look bigger as a whole. Outdoor feature walls use tiles or mosaic, or canvas and paint, to create imagery that fits with your garden – think botanicals or birds.
Alternatively, you could place a large mirror, or many smaller mirrors in your feature wall to double your garden space in an instant.
2. Create a Plant Paradise
For those of you with small urban gardens, greenery may be a priority as part of your patio design. Rather than allowing pots and planting troughs to eat up your available space you could consider a bespoke seating area that incorporates a raised planter bed behind it for ferns, or other types of prolific greenery.
In order to break up the greenery you could incorporate hanging baskets into your patio space, or wall mounted planters at all levels.
3. Utilise Patio Paving
One of our bolder patio ideas for small gardens is the use of patterned floor tiles to create a defined area in the garden. Decking or stone are sturdy and practical choices for patio flooring, but they can also be a bit bland. Adding a bold and colourful design into the mix draws the eye and creates a contrast to the rest of the garden.
You don’t need to cover the entire patio, mark out a square and use large tiles with an eye-catching design. Porcelain tiles are an excellent choice for outdoor use.
4. Build a Beautiful Arbour
Your patio includes the space above your head as well as the area beneath your feet and bordering you. An arbour framework made using wood, metal, or a pergola gives you multiple options for shade, climbing plants, hanging baskets and – of course – garden lighting. Creating an arbour space adds substance to your patio and will mature over time.
A really lovely option for your arbour is to grow a vine over it, interspersed with fairy lights for a magical patio space.
5. Slim Furniture and Outdoor Matting
If you’re keen to define your patio space with outdoor furniture and accessories, think about choosing slim, rather than expansive. Lightweight, slim chairs and table won’t use up all your space, and they allow for an airiness that makes a virtue of limited space. Instead of porcelain tiling, you might consider outdoor matting which creates a feature without having to be permanent.
We Turn Patio Ideas for Small Gardens Into Reality
My Build My Way helps homeowners to make the most of their gardens and add value to their property at the same time. How do we do it? By ensuring that you get access to the local builders who can be trusted to provide top-quality skills at competitive prices.
If you have an idea for your patio, and you’re excited to start work, we put you in touch with recommended local builders who have been verified by us. We work solely with Trustmark approved building companies, so we can guarantee that they’re reliable and trustworthy.
We’ll get a range of quotes for the work you want doing on your patio and pass the top 3 onto you. We see our job as building consultants to ensure you get a trustworthy builder at the right price without compromising on quality. Once you’ve found a contractor for your project, using our 8-stage process, we’ll quality check the work at each stage before payment is made.
Inspired by our patio ideas for small gardens? If so, we can find you a builder to carry out the work. Give us a call on 0800 2465453 or message us online.