How to Design a Patio Room
A patio room presents the opportunity to be outdoors without being bothered by insects or by an afternoon shower. You can use the room to take a bug-free dip in a hot tub or turn it into an casual dining area. You can adapt your room for entertaining, dining, relaxing, crafting, exercising or gardening. The choice is yours, and with a good layout and the proper furniture, it can be a room your family uses year-round. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Graph paper
- Pencil
- Flooring tile, hardwood, or slate
- Furniture
- Rugs
- Shades or blinds
- Plants
Instructions
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Sketch several different layouts of the room on graph paper. Choose a purpose for the room. Decide what the primary function of the room will be. Sketch several floor plans on graph paper, testing various layouts for functionality. If it will be an additional dining area, make the table your centerpiece of the room, adding a small conversation area in another part of the room. If your patio room will house a hot tub, place a screen in front of it for privacy, and for hiding when not in use. Think of how the room will look from the outside as well as the inside.
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Terracotta tiles absorb the heat of the day and release it at night. Choose your flooring. A terracotta or slate tile will absorb the heat during the day and release it at night, making your home more eco-friendly. This is also a good flooring choice if you will have a lot of container plants in the patio room, since it is water-resistant.
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Use traditional patio furniture for a relaxed look. Add furniture. The windows used in most patio rooms today help protect against harmful sun rays by deflecting up to 90 percent of the ultraviolet light. You can use traditional patio furniture, made from wicker, rattan or teak for a relaxed look. If you like the look of upholstered fabric furniture, use an indoor/outdoor fabric that is fade-resistant. Great strides have been made recently to give these fabrics more color and style. The hottest trend today is pub tables and chairs for intimate conversation areas.
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Use a colorful, fade resistant rug to make the patio room cozy. Accessorize the room with a rug. Use an indoor/outdoor style, or a thick, warm, rug that will resist fading. Add lights, end tables and plants for a finished look. Use screens to create privacy and quiet corners. Add bamboo roll-up shades to control the light.
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Add bird houses near your patio room to attract wildlife. Add yard art that you can see from the patio room. Bird baths and bird houses will bring wildlife to your yard. A waterfall will provide a calming sound when you open the windows. Add outdoor lights so you can enjoy your yard at any time of the day or night.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit elegant dining room image by Paul Hill from Fotolia.com pencil draw graph image by Anatoly Tiplyashin from Fotolia.com terracotta image by Alison Bowden from Fotolia.com furniture image by Galyna Andrushko from Fotolia.com Rug image by Pomidors from Fotolia.com bird house image by MHPhoto from Fotolia.com
