7 Clever Small Patio Ideas on a Budget

Patios are one of those features that can make your home come alive with beauty. They can be detached or attached to your house.

They are versatile and allow for variety of materials such as stones, tiles, bricks, and rocks. Patios are mostly built on concrete floors or sand and don’t need any form of railings around them.

With just a set of chairs, a table, and an umbrella, you can set up a patio in your home and enjoy the benefits it brings.

The beauty and value it adds to your home, the spot for relaxation it provides, the shade it provides when you use your smart phone and devices in the open air, and the makeshift dinner table you get on a cool evening in the open air are just a few of the benefits.

 

Small Patio Ideas on a Budget

Setting up a patio may be expensive or inexpensive, depending on the ideas you have on how you can utilize the materials at your disposal. Below are some low-cost ideas for setting up a patio in any building.

 

1. Choose the Perfect Spot

The term ‘perfect’ is a thing of personal opinion or maybe a bit of exaggeration of something you might find pleasant. But in the case of choosing a spot to site your patio, there has to be a perfect spot in your home.

This is the first step and the most important. Every other idea you have to implement will revolve around the spot you choose.

For some, the perfect spot is any area of the home that’s green; green from grasses, flowers, trees, and any natural plant. It may get more beautiful when this spot is located on the hill side of the home where you can see the aesthetics of the well laid-out lawn of your yard or have a view of the street and watch passers-by.

The perfect spot may just be by the poolside or under a tree where you can easily monitor the activities of your home, especially your children as they play around. Whatever location fits your definition of ‘perfect’, set up your patio there. Once you’ve gotten the perfect location, any other feature may just be an icing on the cake.

This idea is the simplest and easiest to begin with.

 

2. Use Gravels

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The beauty of gravels in constructing a patio is more than what meets the eyes. If your patio is sited under a tree or around trees and shrubs with stubborn roots, you may choose to use gravels for its flooring. The gravels will suppress growing roots and cover the already obvious ones.

Gravels also improve the aesthetics of your patio. You may decide to mix them with other decorative stones to make the view more appealing.  They form a steady platform to mount your table, chairs, and shade.

They are also a good choice of flooring in areas that that are usually flooded or wet with moisture.

Depending on the availability of gravels in your area, gravel patios can be far cheaper than most types of patios. Gravels are also economical for small patios.

The installation and maintenance procedures are quite simple. These give them an edge over other options.  

 

3. Lay Some Tiles

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Laying tiles on the floor just before you set up your chairs and table give your patio a classy look that could take away the breath of visitors.

There is a wide range of outdoor tiles you can choose from. They include tiles that can accommodate different climatic conditions, heavy weights (in case of added equipment around your patio), and also suit your budget.

Considering the various types of outdoor tiles available on the market and their various prices, it’s best to get consultations from a tile retailer or tile sale representative. They can easily recommend the right type that fits your budget.

 

4. Construct a Fire Pit

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If you love the fire place and the feeling that comes with sitting by the fire while having a chit chat with your loved ones, reading a book, or sipping a cup of coffee, then you can design a patio that gives you all of that.

By simply making a circle or square of raised blocks, you can form a fire pit where you can burn some woods during the cold weather.

Constructing a fire pit doesn’t require much, especially if you’re going for a wood burning fire pit. You only need a small space in front of the chairs and a pit made with blocks or concrete slab.

There should, however, be enough ventilation and no overhead shade if possible. If you must put a shade, it should be made with heat-resistant materials and should be high enough to resist the heating effect of the fire.  

There are different types of fire pits to consider for your patio.

 

• Wood burning fire pit

This is the oldest and most natural form of fire pit. Watching logs of wood burn on a winter evening is an interesting sight. You should, however, ensure a safe distance between the chairs and fire pit. Also, ensure proper ventilation to avoid filling the whole place with smoke.

 

• Gas fire pit

 Unlike the wood burning fire pit, a gas fire pit can be installed in a semi-closed patio. It is smoke free and does a good job at keeping the atmosphere in the patio warm. It’s best to have a fire extinguisher handy in case of accidents.

You may choose to install electric heaters if you’re more concerned about getting your patio warmed up during cold weathers. They are portable and can be used in both enclosed and open spaces.

 

5. Plant a Shady Tree

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If your lawn is devoid of a tree or an overhead shade, or the perfect spot you found for your patio doesn’t have the kind of shade you require, then consider planting an umbrella shaped tree.

Planting a tree is not expensive. And the tree can be pruned to cover just the desired area of land.

You may visit a horticulturist to give you an advice on the kind of tree that will be suitable for your patio. If you can’t afford the services of a horticulturist, you can do it yourself by asking friends and families for their advices, or browse through the internet for ideas.

 

6. Try Some Wood Works

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You can beautify your patio by shaping and joining woods together using simple pieces of equipment at your disposal.

You can construct some wooden seats by yourself or with your family during some family time. This can be a fun experience for everyone. If your tight schedule won’t let you construct them by yourself, you can hire someone to do it for you.

You can also construct a permanent shade using wood branches and thatch roof. If you’re finding it hard selecting the right type of wood to use, bamboo sticks may suffice; they will make your patio lovelier.

This idea is easy and less financially tasking to execute, especially in places where there are abundance of trees. However, you must avoid illegal felling of trees. You must also obtain a permit to carry out such constructions if it’s a requirement in your locality.

 

7. Use Artificial Flowers

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Planting some natural trees, flowers, and shrubs might be telling on your budget, especially when you have to keep maintaining them to look good.

It gets even more financially draining when the climatic condition of your locality doesn’t support the growth of your desired flowers. In the face of all these, you may choose to go artificial.

You’d find a lot of outdoor flowers made to look like real flowers if you visit a flower shop. You can pack them into a flower pot and place them at strategic locations around your patio. Artificial flowers require little maintenance and allow for flexibility in design. The best types to get are those made from silk; they appear natural. 

You can go creative about it by putting them on or beside the wall where the fence light will shine on them and make your patio look beautiful at night. Also, you can spray some fragrance on the flower or put some in the flower pots so that you breathe in scented air while you enjoy the cool evening.