Hi Everyone!
Happy Tuesday friends! Ok so today lets talk outdoors a bit, shall we…
As I mentioned last week that I’ve been shifting focus lately from interior projects to outdoor ones…..and that means we’ve got to decide on a material for creating a patio area. We’ve got ALOT of yard to work with and after 3 Summers here we DO NOT want to go another one with so much greenscape to maintain. It takes us HOURS to cut, edge, rake, etc. every time. Plus, it requires A TON of water to maintain during the hot dry months. Last year Noami just gave up watering all together halfway through the Summer because there was just no point in it. Bottom line: SOME OF THIS GRASS HAS GOT TO GO!
Since moving in we’ve basically been on clean up and clear out duty. We have taken out a ton of trees that were randomly and thoughtlessly placed throughout (many of them were diseased, dead, or dying), completely replaced the delapidated fence, torn down a health hazard of a pergola situation, and ripped up a badly damaged deck. We are now at the point where we can start planning for a patio area and we have a few things to consider:
- We want something pretty large so it can accomodate dining and entertaining.
- The area we want to create the patio is right up against the house so it will be sort of a high traffic area.
- There’s a big sycamore tree and it’s root system.
- It has to be affordable
- We’d like to do as much work ourselves as possible
Given these constraints here are a few hardscape options we like and think might be best:
Pea Gravel
Pea gravel may be at the very top of the list because of how affordable it is. Plus its super easy to tackle a gravel patio area ourselves. I just worry about things like..how easy is it to talk on? Will chairs easy pull out and push in? Am I gonna get annoyed at rocks making their way into random places? Does is stay fairly even?
Decomoposed Granite
I love love love the look of DG, but ive heard it gets messy and I dont want to have to worry about that on a daily basis. Ive also heard its actually quite expensive.
Pavers
A pavered patio area is the most ideal for me honestly. But the costs add up and I dont think the tree roots will allow for them.
COMBINATION
I actually know Kyle and Morgan and have been in this backyard. Its AMAZING!
What do you think friends? I think im leaning towards a comination of pea gravel and pavers.
Until next time…
LifestyleBlend says
I have pea gravel and now plan to add pavers. Pea gravel alone isn’t practical for gathering. Chairs sink into the dirt below and they are not made for walking. I was also looking into DC for the side of the house which is unused … thought it would be cheaper than PG. Good to know.
Ps … So happy that you’re blogging regularly. Your energy is dynamite.
Shavonda Gardner says
Hi Sandy! Thank you so much for the input. I was worried about the chairs sinking in situation. I think we will definitely do pavers under the dining areas where we would need it to be more practicle. we also may need to put some under the area where a sofa would be. I will say DG is expensive here where I live. It could be much much more affordable for you. Plus its only a small area so youd probably be just fine.
And thank you for your sweet compliment. Im so happy to be back! Ive missed it so much.