So… Now what? How do you know your work will pay off? 

A patio isn't something insignificant, and coming up with a layout is a good deal of work. But you might give up before you even start because you don't want to waste your time and money.

Read on, and you'll see how to make it all work.

Why You Start Viewing The Patio As ‘Cramped’ After a Couple of Days

The first couple of days, you’re all happy and excited that you’re finally finished with the project. You’re looking at the patio through pink lenses. Everything is nice and dandy until it isn’t.

Once the novelty wears down – which is typically after a couple of days – you’ll start noticing things that annoy you. And then you’ll feel even more frustrated because you’ve spent so much energy and resources on this project, only for it not to be perfect.

At this point, you're fine with all of it, and you're just happy to have a functional patio.

But how functional is it really? The more time you spend there, the more the annoyance will build up. Something's off; the realization finally hit you. It REALLY hit you.

The problem is that using the patio area from day to day isn't the same as looking at your patio from a window and admiring how pretty and color-coordinated it is. Sometimes, you have your hands full. Other times, you're in a rush, or there's another person there. The way you're moving through the patio doesn't match the layout, but you couldn't figure that out before.

Another reason why a small patio starts to feel cramped overnight is that most small patios are designed for one specific use. And usually, that's a quiet afternoon with nothing going on. But mornings are different than that, and so are evenings. And your layout doesn't change according to what you need at the moment.

And what about those ‘weird spots’ that never seem to be used, like you could’ve used them up more efficiently.

And before you say you don't have at least one, you do. Most people do.

Almost every single patio has it, no matter how small or big it is. It could be an antique chair that you bought because it's beautiful, but it's too uncomfortable, so it just sits there and looks pretty. Or perhaps you have a table placed in what seems to be a great spot when you look at it, but it's impossible to reach when you need it. 

Those are so-called dead zones, and although they're always a waste of space, when you have a small patio, you're wasting space you're already short on.

Now, you might say that you simply won't have a lot of furniture and that's that. 

But the strange thing is that the lack of furniture and knick-knacks doesn't mean you'll have space. You could have one chair and one table, but if the chair is blocking the door, then the patio feels tight. 

The problem only becomes visible once you start using the patio, which is why so many people spend their summers being annoyed at their small patios and not being able to understand what went wrong.

Layouts That Still Work After a Week

If you're just thinking about putting a patio in and you don't have one yet, then this will all be a lot easier for you. If you work with a reputable deck building company, such as Crafted Decks and Porches, you can make sure the design is functional from the start.

But even if your patio is already built, there are still ways to make it more functional and open. Here's what to pay attention to.

More Room for Walking (More Than You Think You Need)

You probably have no idea what amount of space you actually need in order to move around comfortably. A 20-inch gap between the chair and the wall might look okay, but you won't know if it is until you try to move through it with something in your hands. Most likely, you'll spill your coffee trying to squeeze in there, which means the gap is fine to look at, but not to live with.

Always leave more room than your gut tells you to. If you think 18 inches is enough, then leave 24.

That extra bit of room means you won't have to shimmy past your own furniture every single day.

Don't Put Everything in the Middle

A lot of people look at a patio, then put the table and the chairs right in the center. That makes sense because it makes the space look neat and balanced, but the problem is that it also blocks every path across the space. 

How will you get from the railing to the door without going around something? You can't. 

How can you get from the grill to the table without a detour? You can't.

It's much better to push the furniture to one side and keep the other side open. That open side is where you can walk freely, and if you're able to do that, then your small patio becomes much more comfortable.

Less Furniture

When you keep things simple, you're much calmer, and the place becomes easier to maintain. 

Think about furniture as a square space. Each chair you want to buy will take away a couple of inches. What about the table, the outside sofa, the firepit, the grill, etc., etc.

This way, you can easily see what you’ll be left with if you cram all of it into the area. If what’s left is too much, then there are greater chances the entire finished patio will annoy you more than it’ll make you happy.

None of this means you should keep the patio empty, but think twice about what you decide to put there.

Make Sure Every Corner Is Easy to Reach

The way most people arrange

A patio is figured out by figuring out where the chairs will go, and then they fit everything else around them. But that's the backward way of doing things because where you sit isn't as important as how you get there or how you leave.

What usually tends to be the important thing here is the path from your door leading towards the grill, or how much space you need to be able to pull out a chair comfortably without the person sitting feeling like they’ll fall over or are squished against the wall. If there are too many obstacles or you have to feel pressed constantly while sitting, these types of things will make you want to avoid using the patio altogether.

Figure out the walking paths first, then put the chairs in the space that's left over.

Conclusion

People often associate small spaces with claustrophobia. If the patio is small, that surely means it’ll be cramped, right? 

Well, turns out – no. Not really.

To sum all of the above up, think about the layout, your everyday life (how you’ll use the patio; what for), ignore social media and magazines, and don’t buy furniture that’s too big simply because it seemed like a good idea in your head.

Basically, everyone uses their passion in their own unique way. Think about that. How will YOU use it? And design it based on that.

This has to do with the fact that no matter how amazing, how spectacular it looks, your patio will be annoying (or full-blown useless) unless it makes your life easier/better.