Garden patio ideas

A garden patio provides a versatile space for you to dine, relax, cook and eat food, and even grow plants. It can be designed to complement the overall look of the garden, incorporate seating and/or storage, and include any 'must-haves' like a built-in barbecue or pizza oven. Before you start choosing your new patio, work out how much space you have and what you want from it – do you need space for a barbecue and dining or seating area? Do you want to have planting pockets in the patio itself or will you be happy with container displays? And how about installing some eco functionality to your garden while the patio is being dug, such as creating a land drain, soakaway or underground water storage tank, to reduce the amount of rainwater being sent into the sewerage system and save water to use on your garden?

Whatever your needs, there's a patio for you. Start with the paving slabs, which give the patio its overall look. Do you want dark or light coloured stone, a modern or traditional look? As well as colours and finishes, paving slabs come in a range of shapes and sizes – if you want a formal, uniform look then go for slabs all the same size, but for more of a rustic feel choose slabs cut to different sizes. Think about adding planting pockets to soften the feel of the patio, reduce rainwater run-off and create focal points, which can also bring the garden closer to the house.

Garden patio ideas on a budget

New patios can be expensive, but with patience you can source reclaimed or secondhand slabs, and consider doing the work yourself. Browse your local Freecycle or Facebook Marketplace pages for sand, hardcore, cement and other materials left over from building jobs, which may be available to buy cheaply or may even be given away for free. Consider also going for a 'crazy paving' look, which is coming back into fashion and can be a low-cost alternative to buying new slabs – simply collect old slabs, break them up and lay them when you have enough to pave your space. Instead of slabs, how about creating a patio from old bricks? Again, browse your local community groups and collect local bricks, then lay your patio when you have enough to fill the space. Gravel can be a cheaper, greener alternative to hard landscaping, however this may not be practical beneath patio furniture or other areas like barbecues. Therefore a mix of slabs and gravel can be cost effective, more eco-friendly and look good, too.

If your budget is really tight, ask yourself if you actually need a new patio. You give your existing patio a new look by revamping it with a good jet wash or patio paint, a selection of container displays and some choice patio furniture. Again, browse your local Freecycle and Facebook Marketplace groups to source pots, furniture and even soil and plants. You may be able to rig up a cheap trellis to grow climbing plants to cover an unsightly wall and make the patio feel more homely.

• Buy patio rugs from Dunelm, Amazon, B&Q

Eco-friendly patios

Patio slabs traditionally come with a hefty environmental impact as they require a lot of fuels to transport around the world, and are made using cement, which has a high carbon footprint. According to the Royal Horticultural Society, cement contributes almost 1kg of carbon dioxide for every 1kg produced, while every square metre of stone patio adds around 47.5kg of CO2 to the atmosphere, depending on the stone. What's more, a lot of the natural and Indian sandstone used in the UK is made using child labour.

For the most eco-friendly and ethical options, consider reclaimed or secondhand paving slabs or bricks. If you want to buy new, some companies are now offering new 'stone-effect' patio slabs made using cement with a reduced carbon footprint. Others promise their sandstone has not been made using child labour. Buying eco-certified and ethical slabs shows manufacturers that there is a market for these products, which will push the industry into making further improvements.

• Buy eco paving from Simply Paving, Bradstone
• Buy ethically sourced Indian sandstone from London Stone, Bradstone, Marshalls

Bear in mind, also, that patios are traditionally not permeable, so generate 'run-off' when it rains. With increasing amounts of rainfall due to climate change, hard surfaces such as patios can contribute to localised flooding, when there is simply not enough ground to absorb the water and it collects on the surface and pools downhill. If your patio is immediately outside your back door, consider adding a 'soakaway' or land drain, with drainpipes that run from your house roof and beneath your patio, to a hidden area under your lawn. This will reduce the amount of surface run-off from your garden and keep more water in the soil for longer, so it needs watering less in dry weather. A soakaway or land drain will also help to reduce the likelihood of localised flooding during heavy bouts of rain. If you use a lot of water in the garden, consider taking the opportunity to install an underground water storage tank, again draining from the roof of your house and running under you patio, from which you can pump stored rainwater to hydrate your garden. Alternatively, consider turning your garden into a 'rain garden' which will hold on to water after it rains and allow it to gently seep into the ground.

• Buy permeable paving from Marshalls, Interpave, Bradstone

Other eco-friendly patio options including using permeable materials instead of paving, such as decking and gravel, and using low-growing plants instead of grout between the patio slabs, which will trap water as it lands and enable it to slowly drain into the ground below. Adding planting pockets not only looks good but further enhances the permeability of your patio, providing green islands in the concrete that absorb water, cool the air and provide food for pollinators. They can also dramatically enhance the look of the patio, bringing it in line with the look and feel of the garden.

• Buy decking from Travis Perkins, Wickes, B&Q

Patio ideas for small gardens

In a small garden, less is more. Use light stone to reflect light and smaller furniture that doesn't take up the whole patio – both of these design tricks will give the illusion of a bigger space. Be clever with planting, utilising wall space to grow climbers – you can even create a feature wall to draw the eye to the boundary, making the space feel bigger.

If you want to use the space to cook and eat food, consider using small, fold-away furniture that doesn't clog the space up when you're not using it. Likewise, a portable barbecue you can store in the shed might be a better option than a built-in one that takes up valuable space when you're not using it.

To create an intimate look, consider using outdoor rugs, soft lighting and climbing plants. Combined, these will make the space feel more homely, like a 'snug' you can retreat to to read a book in the soft light at the end of the day. Avoid using 'white' light as this is disruptive to insects and nocturnal mammals.

• Buy climbing plants from Crocus, Sarah Raven, Suttons
• Buy climber wall support from Crocus

Modern patio ideas

For a stylish, modern look, use contemporary paving slabs with a nice finish, such as porcelain tiles or a mix of finishes so you can create separate 'zones' within your patio. To modernise an existing patio, use outdoor rugs and modern furniture such as sofas, hammocks, soft lighting and a funky table and chair set. You could also paint your wall or fence, add trellis to grow climbing plants or create a 'living wall' using pots or planting pockets fixed to the wall to green up the area. Why not dig out the grouting between the slabs, fill the gaps with a sandy soil mix and add seeds of low-growing thyme, Corsican mint, mind-you-own-business or chamomile 'Treneague' for a modern but lush look? Keep the patio well watered until the seeds germinate and then water in dry weather only.

• Buy contemporary paving from Paving Direct, Marshalls

English cottage garden patio ideas

Cottage gardens are relaxed and unstructured, with a mix of different plants in a range of colours, shapes and sizes. A cottage garden patio, therefore, would have a similar rustic look, with perhaps crazy paving or a mix of different pavers, perhaps with plants growing in the cracks between them, along with potted plants, climbers and gravel areas, where seeds of flowers such as oxeye daisy can be broadcast-sown to germinate and grow freely.

In a large space, opt for old stone or stone-effect patio slabs, with planting beds around the edge to create a soft environment that helps the patio blend in with the rest of the garden. Reclaimed stone or brick can work well here, and both have a much lower environmental impact than buying new. To dress the patio, repurpose and recycle old materials such as old tin baths, wooden barrels and stoneware to create a unique, rustic display. Upcycling old pallets or troughs to make seating areas can offer a relaxed look, while balso eing friendly to the environment and your budget.

• Buy stone effect paving from Paving Direct
• Buy tin baths from Crocus
• Buy wooden barrels from Crocus
• Buy vintage stoneware from English Salvage

Garden patio lighting ideas

Patio lighting can give your space a cosy feel while providing light to help you make the most of the space as after the sun has set. Choose from a festoon of lights you can drape along walls, trellis and pergolas, freestanding lights you can make a feature of, strip lighting you can stick on to furniture for a modern look, or outdoor wall lights to give the patio a feel of an outdoor room. Whatever you choose, always opt for soft, warm light over bright white light as this is less harmful and disruptive to wildlife, particularly insects, and always turn the lights off when you're not using them.

• Buy climbing plants from Crocus, Habitat, B&Q

Garden patio steps ideas

Many patios have steps leaving to or away from them, and this should be considered carefully as part of your overall design. By using patio slabs to make your steps, you will create a uniform look that will help to link the patio to the garden. Alternatively, you could use different slabs to make a feature of the steps, or something else entirely, such as bricks or railway sleepers.

If making a retaining wall, consider incorporating seating, which will give you another option for seating while also saving space. Gabions filled with stones, bricks, logs or other materials can offer a rustic feel while also providing nooks and crannies for wildlife to shelter in. Railway sleepers offer a modern look for a retaining wall, or simply use more patio slabs.

• Buy railway sleepers from Wickes
• Buy gabions from Wickes