One Room Challenge: The Patio Design Plan

Last week I showed you the “before” of our patio in its current state. This week I’m sharing my design plan because a. winging things just isn’t going to cut it, and b. it is oh so motivating to “see” your dream space come together before your eyes even if it’s just on paper for the time being.

We’re still currently in the midst of demo and prep work, and I’ve been making lists, ordering the last few pieces, and making sure that we’re at least somewhat on schedule. The first round of pieces I had picked out early this spring sold out before I got around to clicking order, so there have been a few iterations. Still, I’m grateful for that because I am excited about where things have landed.

We live in the city, so just having a yard is a huge deal, and while ours isn’t large by most standards, it’s big enough to work with and an upgrade from the little balcony space at our last place. I feel like we haven’t made the most of it before now, so I’m excited to get to create a space we love where we can entertain guests.

The concept for our garden is a French potager or “Kitchen Garden,” and we have two large raised beds that we grow veggies and herbs in along with a few edible flowers. Alongside the house, we have a dedicated “cutting garden” where we grow flowers to arrange. I wanted the patio to tie into this idea, so we brought in a few French-inspired pieces and gave it all a California Modern twist.

When laying out the space, I tried to create zones that address different needs. I loved the idea of creating a space that felt like an outdoor room by adding in elements like the pendant lights, outdoor rugs, and an outdoor mirror. A simple pergola creates a dining room adjacent to a little DIY outdoor kitchen and adds some much-needed shade, and a concrete fire pit turns coffee table with the addition of a wooden top.

I also took into account lighting (there is currently none), shade and heat. We don’t have any power or gas running to the yard, and the permitting process is notoriously slow, so we decided to opt for alternative options that can switch over later. The fire pit and grill both run on propane but are designed to be easily switched over to gas, and we are going 100% solar with the lighting— which also means we can run them as much as we like without worrying about the power bill. For shade, we’re building the pergola with a kit by the brand Toja Grid, and I also purchased a sturdy canvas beach umbrella and a base that can easily be moved around the yard as needed, whether the kids are in the sandbox or I’m reading in the egg chair. For heat, we have a fire pit and a space heater that can be placed wherever it is needed.

When I first started to create the design boards for the space, I left the deck as is, but there were just too many wood tones and too little contrast between the fence, pergola, furniture, and deck. I swapped it out for a medium blue-gray tone, and everything clicked together, so we’re going with a semi-opaque stain in that shade. Staining the deck is one of the first things we need to tackle, follow by replacing our rotting fence (the biggest budget breaker and most time-consuming project of the lot), but once we lay the foundation, I’m excited to see it all start to come together. Check back next week to see what we have planned, and if you want to see it unfold in (mostly) real-time, follow me on Instagram.

Thanks for following along; you can check out what the rest of the participants are up to over on the One Room Challenge blog