Updated traditional patio design plans

Ideas for sprucing up our weathered deck and patio

It's no secret that I love old houses and that it was the major selling point for buying this house, but the other big convincer was the yard. We spend a ton of time outside and were spoiled with a nice yard at our previous home, so it was a must have on our list. I knew from the time I saw the listing that I wanted to buy this house, but I needed to see the yard!! Luckily, it turned out to be perfect for us, just in need of some maintenance.

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Before

There is a lot to be done on the property (exterior maintenance, brush clean up, etc), and we've been slowly chipping away at it. This summer we decided we want to put most of our focus on sprucing up the deck and patio area.

We spend a lot of time outside while the kids play and we also love outdoor entertaining, so we really want to create a cozy and inviting space to hang out.

But we want to do it on a budget for now because there are much higher priority projects hogging the budget. (Like new windows need to come before a new deck)

So we're working with the existing space and giving it a little love.

It truly has good bones, it's just very old and unmaintained. There is an old wooden floating deck that you can tell someone put a lot of love into designing and cutting each end board on a curve. I wish we could keep this design forever, but we estimate that it is about 25 years old, and it really looks it's age.

We will have to replace it eventually, but we're hoping to squeeze a few more years of life out of it by using Behr DeckOver which is a solid stain that fills cracks and is supposed to prevent further damage.

Under that big magnolia tree, I'm envisioning a large outdoor rug with a dining table. I'm dreaming of a long rectangular wooden table with big chunky square legs that can seat 10 people, but that's not in the budget this summer, so I picked up a cute little antique dining table for $50 that I'm going to seal with outdoor poly as a temporary solution.

There is also a white gravel patio surrounded by beautiful trees and a mulched garden. This space has the potential to be gorgeous, but the gravel has eroded over the years and is full of debris from the trees creating the perfect environment for weeds. The edging stones have sunk down several inches so that they no longer keep the mulch contained. The grass on the back side is growing into the mulch. The trees are overgrown and touch our heads when we are walking through.

A good refresh of landscaping, pruning of the trees, and a fresh layer of leveled out gravel will do wonders here. I also envision a seating area and a chiminea.

We've also got a good amount of wall space that feels very empty and unusable on the narrow end of the deck. I'm going to paint the beams to match the porches which will add some interest to the otherwise bland space. And I'm hoping to find a tall hutch or potting bench to take up some of the narrow area and create a space for serving dishes or a drink station during cookouts.

We could also use some toy storage and a more attractive way to store the hose.

This space will probably take all summer to spruce up as we chip away at it little by little, but here is my design plan as of right now. A little traditional, and a little modern. Just how I like it!

Patio design plan

Decor Sources

• Chiminea
• Planter
• Light fixture
• Outdoor rug
• Dining table (Similar. I am using an antique table)
• Patio dining chairs
• Patio chat set
• Faux olive tree (I am looking into a real tree too!)