Choosing your new patio is exciting times, but there are many things to consider. What sort of paving would suite the house, textured natural stone, the more contemporary look with porcelain, or even limestone, a smooth finish that has a natural look, paving colour, slab size and pattern. What many people get stuck on is the actual size of the patio they require. The patio area is your social space and focal point of your garden, so you’ll want to get its design just right before you spend your money! Before you start looking, here are a few tips we think you’ll find useful:

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1. Make sure the new patio is in proportion to your house

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​Garden designers always advise that your patio should be in proportion to your house. You don’t want it to dominate or over-power your garden. A good rule of thumb is to make sure the patio as wide as the house and as deep as the house's height. Remember! garden furniture, such as tables and chairs take up quite a bit of space, so try an accommodate this when deciding on how big to go. Another helpful way to get the size right, is to measure your living room and use similar dimensions for your patio. If you're limited by the available area, large format patio slabs will create a sense of more space, even in smaller gardens.

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2. Patio position

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How to position your patio is something to consider. Of course, the sun might decide that for you! Traditionally, garden patios are laid square and parallel to the house, but you could choose to lay your paving at a slight angle. This creates a contemporary look and is a clever way to emphasise width or depth of your patio.

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3. Mark out your new patio

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Try marking out the new patio area and add place your furniture within it. This way you see if the new patio is too large or too small.

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4. Pathways

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Finally paths to and from a patio should be about 1.5m wide at all points. Narrow garden paths look awkward and can be unsafe if you’ve got lots of people going to and fro. When ordering your patio paving, your contractor should make sure any paving required for paths is included - it’s important you get the same batch to ensure colour consistency.