patio diy dreaming

Spring is definitely here (finally!) and as always I'm looking to my backyard and seeing just a few things that need tweaking. Any yard needs some hardscaping to provide definition, and ours has very little. We've got a deck but could use a stone walkway. And I've dreamed for a years of a pea gravel, paver, or cobblestone patio—really almost any material would do. How much better would our backyard look, and how much better would summer life be, if we could diy something like this?

pea gravel is so charming & seems so easy to achieve, though i know it still requires a lot of labor to prep the ground underneath

great checkerboard design with grass growing between the stone

pavers look diy-able, if perhaps a bit too clean and perfect-looking for my taste

i like the varying shapes and sizes of these stones

brick in a herringbone pattern=perfection

gasp. i am pretty much speechless here

Sadly, a backyard patio is not in the cards for us this year. We have too many other projects and not enough dough to go around. But if you're inspired and have the muscle, determination, and budget to do it, check out these how-tos from This Old HouseStyle at Home, and DIY Network and see how John and Sherry did it here. And then come back and let us know how it turned out!

3 comments

Holly Gruszka said...

These are all dreamy and so well cared for. I'd love to do something like this at our next house. We'll have a small deck but could definitely use some hardscaping.

René said...

Well, if nothing else, these are great inspiration images for when you can start the project. Love each one!

Castlerock Xeriscape said...

The first one is my dream patio, I just love having pergola at the patio, it looks better for me.