How to Make a Great Patio Area

To make a great patio area create shade with a veranda, have solid decking or paving, make the space pretty with garden and buy a quality barbecue.

Many homes in Australia have some sort of patio area, even kit homes, which are perfect for entertaining, creates a space for children to play during wet weather or if you want them to get out of the sun and is somewhere for you to relax on a warm day. To make a great patio area there are several things you should include.

Veranda or Awning

Your patio area will need shelter and you can either extend your veranda out to cover the patio or have an awning which can be attached to the exterior wall of your home and pulled out when you need it. The benefit of this is you can fold it away and let the sun in through you windows, keeping your home warmer in winter, plus get it out of the way if you want to use the space for something else.

Paving or Decking

You will need a hard surface, which you want it to be even. If you lay pavers yourself make sure you use a spirit level to get them straight and even, otherwise pay a professional to put them down for you. A timber decking always looks nice, although it will require you to re-stain it every few years as the weather gets to it. A decking is best when your home is built on a sloping block or you can have one built up if your garden is flat.

Garden

Put a garden in around your patio which will soften the hard edges of your deck or paving and provide extra shade. You could have plants in pots around your patio and also hanging baskets. Grow climbing plants, such as wisteria or climbing roses up the veranda posts and up over the veranda so that your patio blends in with your garden.

Barbecue

No patio area is complete without a good barbecue. Invest in a good quality one as it is better to get one that will last. You will find that if you have a great patio area you will spend a lot of time out there, particularly in summer, and a barbecue is a quick and easy meal to have through the week as well as an easy way to entertain. You don't need to plan a barbecue like you do a normal party. Just let your friends know on the same day and pull a few steaks and sausages out of the freezer and you are set.

Outdoor Kitchen

If you have the space and the budget and feel that you will use your outdoor space often you could install an outdoor kitchen. This makes entertaining a lot easier as you are then able to prepare all you food outside. Have a decent amount of bench space, a sink and even a fridge and you can run your whole party from out on the patio. The chef need not be stuck indoors away from the guests at all.

Play Area

If you have children think about their needs when you set up your patio area. Allocate an area just for them to play, with a small table and chairs for them to draw, play games and build cubbyholes when it's wet.

Three Factors on Making Wise Choices with a Patio Umbrella

Homeowners will find that the patio is an excellent place to spruce up with furniture and fixtures like table and chair sets, planters and even swings. Still, most homeowners will opt for a beautiful, practical and affordable patio umbrella for many reasons.

And with the wide range of patio umbrellas in online sites and stores, homeowners and café owners will have little difficulty in finding the products that will best suit their intentions. The trick is in choosing the right umbrella for the patio of which some choices are market umbrellas or popular Sunbrella outdoor umbrellas. Fortunately, the right choice can be made by knowing the product selections based on size, pole and style, which this article briefly discusses in turn.

Sizes

Patio umbrellas come in various sizes from the single models to the family units. This way, everybody with a desire for patio umbrellas has a choice, be it a person who lives in a small apartment with a tiny balcony or a café proprietor with almost an entire sidewalk to cover.

The choice of the patio umbrella in terms of size depends on a balance of two things. Buyers must measure the area in which the umbrella will be placed in on one hand and the desired area to be shaded on the other hand. For example, a standard 4x6 feet umbrella will shade a bistro table set while a 9x10 feet umbrella is sufficient for a 72-inch table with 6 chairs.

Poles

As can be expected, most patio umbrellas have a pole in the middle in the same way as the portable umbrellas. The pole itself as well as the umbrella's ribs can be made from a variety of materials including wood, aluminum and fiberglass. Its height can start at 8 feet tall, which is sufficient for most people of average height, although most patio umbrellas have adjustable pole heights.

However, if a patio umbrella without the pole is desired mainly because it gets in the way, in a manner of speaking, an offset umbrella and a mounted umbrella are the next best choices. The wall-mounted patio umbrellas are popular among café owners with a patio for customers who like to dine al fresco.

The patio umbrellas can also a tilt function. Basically, the umbrella's pole can be tilted depending on where the sun is shining at the moment and, thus, it always provides sun protection without actually moving the entire umbrella plus the table and chairs.

Style

The patio umbrella can also be chosen based on the style, which comes in two forms. First, the table umbrella where the pole is threaded through a hole in the center of the table and then the cover will be mounted on top. The bases for these patio umbrellas are usually lighter because the table provides for additional stability. Second, the freestanding patio umbrellas require a heavier stand to counterbalance the weight. Manufacturers offer stands with three or four points for this purpose.

No matter the size, pole and style chosen in the patio umbrella, one important thing must be ensured when looking for the best in this category. The fabric used on the umbrella must be weather-resistant, ultraviolet ray-resistant and fade-resistant. This way, the people underneath the umbrella can, indeed, become protected as best as possible.

Kelly Marshall is a writer for Patioshoppers.com – the leading online patio retailer for patio furniture.