Rustic Patio Ideas

Designing and decorating a patio, can be a hair-pulling puzzler or an easy-peasy task for the average homeowner, depending on their decorating slant. While the simplest way is to arrange patio furniture around, you can arrange your patio in a particular style, such as modern, English or rustic.

The rustic or country look, when applied to decorating a patio, is a unique but inviting decorating style, that can be pulled off with the right materials and decorative flair. Most rustic patio ideas are based on a two-fold approach; the right flooring and the right furniture.

The word "rustic" conjures up visions of a country lifestyle with a simple yet pleasing look. For a rustic patio, the impression you want is something simple yet aesthetically captivating. An old-world and historical feel, along with the charm and essence of a country or farmhouse.

The patio should have a weathered and long-lived aura but at the same time, should be inviting and comforting.

In your quest to build something rustic and earthy, do not overdo it. Your backyard may come across as rural or countrified. Instead keep colors muted and in brown or reddish brown tones.

Flooring and wall siding are the key tone-setters for a patio. No matter what the furniture or décor pieces, if these two elements are wrong, the entire ensemble can look contrived or cheap.

To capture a rugged or outdoorsy feel, you need to use earthy and natural paving for your patio. Materials should be aged and weathered. So opt for natural, non-uniform stone paving, ideally with little grass patches and flowers poking through the cracks. Dark gray stone paving with light gray or white gravel underneath, makes an appealing contrast floor design.

How about large hexagon shaped tiles in a bronze or reddish brown color? A standout flooring design is to use mosaic earth-colored flooring. To get a stabled look, how about an uneven red-brick flooring, with a pathway leading to a garden.

Try using rough and aged stones. You can even use wooden planks as flooring in a sitting area and a stone pathway leading from it.

If you have a tiered patio, where there is a sitting space, then a small set of steps leading to the garden, the walls around the sitting space, can be fitted over with wooden planks and beams to impart a rustic feel. Redwood or aged bark siding can be used and this compliments the furniture and flooring used.

In fact, you can keep a normal or regular tiled flooring but with the right wall siding material, the patio will still be rustic in essence. If not wood, then try for brick or embedded flagstone or sandstone walls. If you want to avoid siding, then color-wash your walls to obtain a stone and aged look.

For home owners with a large backyard, imparting a rustic feel is all about utilizing all that space in the right manner. A small ornamental pond, edged with stones with a few water plants growing alongside.

You could have a small water fountain or a stone well in the middle of the yard. Or if your garden is slightly hilly or landscaped uneven, you can make a small stone bridge.

Even a small flight of stone stairs is ideal for a rustic patio, the more uneven the stones, the better. A stone fireplace or stone pit not only compliments your patio but also serves the purpose of an outdoor grill. Plus on a chilly fall evening, gathering around an outdoor fireplace, lets you enjoy Nature even in the cold.

You need to pick the right furniture pieces to suit your patio. The wrong piece of furniture can stand out garishly even on the best of patio floors. For example, if you use plastic deck chairs or beach chairs on a rustic patio, imagine the effect. It is equivalent to serving a fine Pinot Noir in a beer mug.

So think along the lines of weathered, aged, classic yet rugged furniture. Wood and metal are two main furniture materials.

Some rustic patio ideas for furnishings include:

• Oak, teak or cedar tables, side-tables, picnic tables and chairs
• Wicker lawn furniture like deck chairs and small coffee tables

• Stone or wooden benches along the pathway
• A hollowed out log bench or just a log propped up by stone
• Twig willow or birch bark shelves and small cupboards

• Wrought iron furniture - garden benches, loveseats and chairs
• Wind chimes and weather vanes
• Iron garden stakes and fencing

• Wooden bird feeders and bird houses
• A stone bird bath
• Garden statues and urns or vases
• Iron or wooden trellis and planters
• A stone sundial
• Miscellaneous small articles - saddles, metal jugs or a chest, clocks, wooden crates, etc.

Keep the following tips in mind, when accessorizing your rustic patio:

• Try to keep a uniform color tone. Do not have lighter-colored chairs and dark tables.
• Nothing should be plastic. If your furniture is mostly wood, do not mix and match with other materials like metal.
• Remember to look for water-resistant and weather-proof furniture.

• Cushions and covers should match the furniture.Choose somber and muted colors, nothing bright or patterned.
• Shop from flea markets and antique bazaars to pick up some aged but cheap furniture.
• You can bronze your metal décor pieces by keeping them out in the sun.

In summation, a rustic country patio is ideal for parties and gatherings as well as spending lazy afternoons lounging outdoors or curling up with a nice book during the evening. So decorating your patio in a rustic style, allows you to have your own countryside corner in your home.