This patio in the Oakland neighborhood of Round Rock, TX, shows how a new patio can bring a breath of fresh air to your outdoor living space. Once again, patio designer Archadeck of Austin hit all the right notes!
A Patio Can Make a Great Deck Replacement
When it’s time to replace your deck, Archadeck of Austin suggests you expand your thinking to include patios as well. There’s no rule saying you have to replace a worn deck with new deck. If you’re open to other possibilities, you might just realize you’d prefer a patio instead.
— Before
These homeowners in the Oakland neighborhood of Round Rock, TX, chose to replace their old deck with a new patio. Their wooden deck had reached the end of its useful life. Not only was it in disrepair, its design had not served their needs as well as they would have liked. The deck had two levels, a design that works better when you have a space large enough to function as two outdoor rooms. In the case of this bi-level deck, neither level was large enough to function that way.
— After
A single-level patio was the right choice because the homeowners wanted more room for furniture and plants. Here’s a design tip we shared with them: keeping it all on one level will afford you more space.
Choose Bench Seating for More Patio Space
The patio we designed for these clients includes an extremely useful section of stone bench seating. It runs along the curved edge of the deck, from the new outdoor kitchen all the way to the steps. Because this patio design offers built-in seating, the homeowners won’t need as much furniture in the center when they entertain a larger group. They have plenty of room for dining and seating—both near and away from the new outdoor kitchen.
Plant lovers may already be looking at these photos and thinking, More room for plants! Yes, the homeowners may use some of that bench seating as a plant ledge. The new patio design offers increased functionality so the clients have several options when thinking about how they want to use it.
Notice the absence of a railing on this patio. Building codes don’t require a railing if your structure is less than 30” off the ground. While a railing can serve as a design element to help define the space, the seating wall does that here.
Custom Patio Designs: Choose Your Materials
As with all of the projects Archadeck of Austin designs and builds, the clients’ choices of materials and amenities result in a unique, custom design. The light-colored stone the homeowners chose for this patio is one reason it feels so fresh, open, and inviting. For the base of the outdoor kitchen and seating wall, they selected a mix of white and nicotine limestone. The kitchen counter space, the ledge along the backsplash, and the bench seating feature surfaces of smooth Lueders limestone in a buff color.
Concrete overlay continues this lighter-than-air color scheme across the patio surface. For a cohesive patio design, the clients wanted a surface color that would mimic the stone used for this project. Sometimes it takes a customized color for the overlay to achieve the right effect, and that’s part of our process! We work with a company that prepares a color board for homeowners, blending several colors to choose from so they’ll get just what they want. Not only is this patio beautiful, but the concrete overlay provides a durable patio surface.
Another design element that adds to the patio’s open and airy feeling is the section of wide radius stairs reaching out invitingly. Notice how the width of each step matches the width of the seating walls for symmetry.
Outdoor Kitchen and Other Patio Amenities
For their new outdoor kitchen, these Round Rock homeowners chose a gas grill system with access door and trash can—always convenient to have nearby. They also chose low-level ambient lighting to make the patio even more alluring—and safer—after dark. We installed photocell-activated masonry lights along the seating walls. The dusk-to-dawn lights sense natural light and adjust for longer or shorter days as the seasons change. The clients will never have to remember to turn their outdoor lighting on or off.
Is it time to replace your aging deck? Interested in a new patio and perhaps an outdoor kitchen? Whether it’s a new deck or patio you want, call Archadeck of Austin today at (512) 886-8367 to schedule your free design consultation.
Jim Schallon, Lead Designer at Archadeck of Austin.
