As the long, hot summer stretches on, it’s essential to create a shady niche in your garden where you can relax on a hot day. Architects of modern homes appreciate the importance of outdoor living and include superb areas in the design of new suburban homes or townhouses near the beach.
Older suburban homes around Cape Town have no glamorous extensions. Creating a summer patio beside the house or in the garden can be easily done with a bit of imagination and careful planning. Elaborate structures attached to the house are expensive to build and not always necessary.
A shady corner decked with comfortable furniture under a tree beside the house will often be just as rewarding. And if you only have a small area, consider increasing the perceived size of the area by adding a well-positioned mirror.
If you are looking for an outdoor living area in your garden, now is the time to plan. Take a careful look at your garden and consider these important points.
* PURPOSE: What do you plan to use your garden patio for? If you’re a retired couple who like reading in the shade, you will need to plant shade trees. If you like sunbathing, avoid planting large trees.
Also remember that the family evolves. You may need a garden patio for an odd Sunday braai beside a children’s sandpit now, but be aware that the sandpit may need to be converted into a water feature or flower bed in time.
* POSITION: The best place to put a patio is where people gather naturally. It may be a spot beside the lounge or a protected corner at the end of the garden where you like to go after a hard day at the office.
A north-facing patio is always best if it can be done. If you want a shady north-facing patio, plant a tree two to three metres from the patio to the north-west. This will give you early-morning sun, but protect you from the midday and afternoon rays. Use existing infrastructure. Trees will take a few years to provide protection from the south-easters. Walls and a neighbour’s tree can always be used as temporary protection.
* ACCESSIBILITY: Avoid a site far away from the house if you intend using your patio as an outdoor dining room. The easier the access from the kitchen to your outdoor room, the more likely you are to use the area.
* SIZE: Never make an outdoor patio too small. A cosy spot is wonderful, a cramped spot will never be used. Don’t be concerned if your patio virtually takes up the entire garden. The aim is to create an outdoor room that is used.
Also remember that there are many ways to make a tiny garden seem larger. For example, one can attach a mirror partially obscured with trelliswork to a far wall to create an illusion of distance. You can also manipulate plants. Plant shrubs with small leaves in the distance and large leaves close up. Or plan a border of red and yellow flowers close to the house and a border of pale pink and white at the end of the garden to create a vista of distance.
* STYLE: Look carefully at the style of your house before designing a patio. An English cottage will look charming with a patio in the garden which includes a rustic brick floor and dark green furniture. Italian tiles, marble columns and large white sofas may appeal to you, but they will jar in the garden of a traditional home.
* FOCAL POINTS: A patio should be a focal point that draws people towards it. People are always attracted to water, statues, pretty hanging baskets or an unusual group of plants. Take advantage of this fact and place your patio beside existing features in your garden which attract attention.
* EXTERIOR DECORATING: Decorating your outdoor patio is no different from decorating a room in your home. One has to decide what to put on the floor (brick, tiles, brushed earth, paving, grass), around the walls (climbers, shrubs) and across the ceiling (trees, awnings, umbrellas). One also has to decide which type of weatherproof furniture would be most appropriate.
Advances in technology have greatly improved the durability of garden furniture and you will find a vast range of outdoor living accessories. Most of the garden furniture manufactured is now resistant to ultraviolet rays. It is also fade-proof and stain resistant.
Lightweight aluminium furniture suites have all the beauty of the old cast iron, but because they are covered with high-quality stove enamel finish they don’t rust at the coast. Even wooden outdoor furniture has now been treated against rot and insect infestation.
Designing and building an outdoor garden patio can be as inexpensive as you wish to make it. Summer is a glorious time to be outdoors however, so a patio is worth considering. - Weekend Argus