Ideas: Patio

This project here pretty much exemplifies how I want to do our future backyard patio. This particular one is for a garden path, but I'm sure it would work as a patio with just a few changes.

Obviously we'd need to make it wider, which would be no problem. Also, I'm thinking that, although flagstone is lovely, we might use stepping-stone tile things, like this:

The process is pretty simple. Lay down weed-block fabric:

Then dump some sand on there, get it wet, and press it down:

Place the stepping downs down in the sand where you want them:

Then, fill in the gaps with some fine gravel:

Shouldn't be too complicated, right?

I'm really excited at the idea of finishing this over the summer...maybe even sooner. It's all of matter of how much funding we can dedicate to the yard, you know? Anyway, just some thoughts.

Idea: Patio Dreams

One of our next projects will inevitably be working on our yard's landscape.

Pretty much it's a wasteland at this point, nothing but dirt and rocks and weeds. And because we don't have a ton of money to spend and because we don't want to waste a lot of water, we are leaning toward a lot of rocks and xeriscaping concepts to decorate our bland yard. See, we live in a climate with fairly hot summers and snowy winters, so keeping certain kinds of landscaping alive can be a bit of a challenge (and not to mention a waste of water...I'm lookin' at YOU, lush, stretching, green lawn!).

There is a lot of potential in this here yard. It may seem desolate now, but hopefully we can work on it to the point that it looks decent AND doesn't cost much to maintain. Like, for example, the pictures below:

Flt rocks and gravel make a flat-ish area that's great for relaxing. This would be great for a backyard patio!

I love this look! It is a lot like the above picture, but more polished.

Decorating with lots of rocks, shrubs, and other plants. No grass in sight, and it still looks lush and beautiful.

They just used a nice gravel as a patio area for their table set-up. Seems simple and easy to execute.

Bark, rocks, and stepping stones make up this garden area. And I love the decorative grasses too--these plants do well in our area.

(all images found using google...I do not own them, etc)