The title image features Beacon Hill Flagstone patio pavers.
Don’t let a small space dampen your enthusiasm for outdoor relaxing and entertaining. If you want to give your patio a more expansive feel, start by choosing the right patio pavers. Here’s how the right patio pavers can enhance small outdoor living spaces in Hopewell Junction, NY.
Think Big
Conventional wisdom says that small spaces should use small materials and furnishings. However, this approach often ends up creating visual clutter, which can make your small space feel even more crowded.
Don’t be afraid to think big in small spaces. Large pavers (for example, the 24” x 24” Skyline or Arcana pavers from Unilock) create a more expansive feel because there are fewer joint lines to break up the space, especially if you choose joint sand that is the same color as the pavers.
Both Skyline and Arcana pavers would give your outdoor living space a fresh, modern appeal. Skyline comes in two neutral colors (Medium Grey and Chamois), and Arcana comes in a range of deliciously exotic colors: Vivanto, Corvara, Lugano, and Modena. Combined with natural materials such as stained wood and natural boulders, you could create a multidimensional, multi-textured backyard space that feels spacious, chic, and practical.
No Straight Lines
Paver orientation and laying patterns are two more ways to make your patio appear larger. Laying square pavers at a 45-degree angle to the home creates the illusion of more space by drawing your eye to the corners of each paver and then immediately to the neighboring paver, once again creating visual engagement.
Create a larger-feeling space by opting to avoid straight lines that would make the eye race through the space, only to come to an abrupt halt at the edge of the yard. Instead, you could choose a curved patio that encourages the eye to slow down and take a more relaxed journey through the landscape. A rounded patio paved with bricks that fan outward in a “sun ray” pattern is not only visually stunning, it is an expansive look that encourages the eye to continue looking outward, even after the pavers come to an end.
Pavers that are available in random bundles (a large rectangle, medium square, and small rectangle) let you use an ashlar laying pattern which looks completely random and avoids lines that shoot through the patio. Beacon Hill Smooth from Unilock is a wonderful choice for a flagstone-look paver without pronounced textures, if you prefer a sleeker look.
More Texture
Adding textures also keeps your eye engaged in the space rather than shooting toward the perimeter. Textured pavers look especially beautiful in the low light of morning and afternoon.
Beacon Hill Flagstone pavers from Unilock feature a realistic yet barefoot-friendly flagstone texture and beautiful blended colors including Almond Grove, Fossil, Sierra, Tuscany, New York Blend, and Steel Mountain.
Blended Colors
Avoid creating a stark border between the patio and surrounding landscape. While light colors can make a patio feel larger and dark colors can make it feel smaller, you also have to consider the landscape.
Choosing paver colors that are very light when the surrounding vegetation is dark can visually shrink the patio. In a backyard that is lush with greenery, choosing pavers in a mid-tone or darker color can help blend the patio into its surroundings by creating less of an obvious border.
