At first glance, this beautiful Georgetown TX patio is a celebration of color in flagstone. What you don’t see are the old wooden railings and pickets that previously spoiled the view. The homeowners have their view restored, and they are thrilled. Archadeck of Austin heard the client, loud and clear, and we delivered.
We need to state, right up front, that Archadeck of Austin builds decks, and we build patios. We don’t want to take sides. There are times when a client will ask us to replace a patio with a deck. There are times a client will request that we replace a deck with a patio. This is one of those times.
— Before
The home’s deck, made of pressure-treated wood, was old and outdated. It had reached the end of its useful life, as we like to say. The homeowners’ least favorite part of the deck were the bulky wooden railings and pickets, or balusters. Those wood railings and pickets were so wide and thick, they effectively blocked the view of anyone sitting on the deck. They also blocked the view of anyone inside the home who wanted to look out through the windows and into the back yard. The clients were quite tired of looking out through the windows and seeing railings and pickets.
— Before, notice how the deck railings obstructed the view from within the home.
— After, the views are open and airy!
You might think, since the deck was elevated several steps from the ground to meet the floor level of the home, they needed another deck. But as you see here, a patio can have steps, too. There is no requirement that a patio must be flush with the ground.
Beautiful Flagstone Patio in Georgetown, TX
Archadeck of Austin designs and builds the most beautiful custom patios and hardscapes in Georgetown, TX. The patio project featured here is a prime example! One of the prettiest color blends we have ever used, the flagstones making up this patio surface include Silver Mist, Rosa, and Mexican Cream. Together, they are stunning.
A custom patio deserves custom hardscapes, of course! We built the retaining walls/seating benches with limestone matching the home’s exterior and topped the retaining walls with smooth Lueders stone in Buff. The low walls take the place of railings and pickets and, hallelujah, they don’t block the homeowners’ view of the back yard.
Part of the beauty of this patio/hardscapes project are the flagstone steps that gently descend into the back yard. Graceful and sweeping, the steps extend wider than necessary. Let your eye follow the steps to the left and right of the patio entrance, and you’ll see they continue below the seating walls. The homeowners want to use these extended steps to hold potted flowers and plants, creating a terrace garden along the sides of the hardscapes.
The entrance to the patio features black aluminum handrails with returns, suitable for anyone needing something to hold onto while walking up or down the shallow steps. At the end of the retaining walls on each side, we added a railing and pickets in black aluminum as well. Be sure to note that these railings do not obstruct anyone’s view of the yard. On one side, the railing continues along the walkway from the side yard. While the deck had wood steps leading to a brick pathway, we extended the flagstone to create shallow steps and a flagstone walkway.
Do you want to replace your old deck with a patio? Do you want to replace your old patio with a deck? We can accommodate clients from either side of the deck/patio controversy. Call Archadeck of Austin today at (512) 886-8367 to schedule your free design consultation.
Jim Schallon, Lead Designer at Archadeck of Austin.
