Photo by Creative Environments

Ceiling to Floor

Don’t be afraid to raise the roof, or extend it, rather. Adding patio covering creates the illusion of interior space and an opportunity for murals, vaults or beams.

Also, freestanding arbors, gazebos and ramadas make distinct architectural statements, independent from the house, and still provide a shaded area to escape the scorching summer heat. With the addition of misters, Waters says these structures can be up to 20 degrees cooler than the temperature in the sun.

For a cheaper shade solution on an existing patio, Wagner suggests using sailcloth, which will mount to the side of the house and cover a small seating area. Sailcloth is weather-resistant fabric that can be reconfigured to shade the patio as the angle of the sun changes each season.

For patio flooring, stone is hip. Once used exclusively for interiors, elegant travertine and cantera stone flooring is moving outdoors.

“Those stones create a richer, classier look, but are also durable and cooler because they’re more porous,” Waters says.

Cantera stone flooring introduces more architectural and decorative possibilities because the material can be incorporated into columns, countertops and water features.

Using this versatile flooring inside and out also creates continuity between the spaces. Wagner suggests mounting windows or doors lower to create the illusion that there is no break between indoors and out. These tricks “fool the eye to make it look like the interior space is bigger,” Wagner says.

For homes with an existing concrete patio, Waters suggests tinting the concrete with an acid wash, which will give it a fresh look for less.

Go Big at Home

It’s the great outdoors, so super-size that sofa. Wagner recommends decorating patios with bigger pieces that are more appropriate to the scale of your outdoor space.

Outdoor furnishings aren’t just limited to white-strapped plastic lounge chairs anymore. Much of today’s patio furniture, from dining sets to couches and canopy beds, is stylish enough to go indoors. The fabrics are softer and come in a variety of colors and textures. But they can, and should, still be washed down with your garden hose.

Kerri Foreman, director of design for Est Est Inc., says keeping Arizona’s weather in mind is important when choosing outdoor adornments. Fabrics are rated according to the hours they can spend in the sun. Unless the patio is in full shade, Foreman suggests choosing fabrics that can handle sunlight most if not all day without fading. Wooden furnishings can be outdoors, but they’ll need oiling more often in Arizona’s dry climate to maintain their looks.

Drapes can bring the inside out too, Foreman says. They help to create a secluded feeling and soften the stucco look of many Valley homes.

To alter a patio’s feel on a smaller budget, try incorporating a rug, throw pillows, accessories and pots. Foreman recommends using a patterned area rug to ground the space and make it feel softer. Colorful throw pillows, which you can mix up with the season, will make the space comfortable and bright.

To create continuity with the home’s interior and give your patio personality, bring some indoor accessories outside during nice weather.

Incorporating large, colorful ceramic pots can give a patio a warmer feel. “Stone patios can tend to be a little cold looking,” Waters says.

Try unusual colors, materials or textures for a unique look. When choosing plants for these pots, remember to select ones that can handle more heat because they’ll receive reflective heat from walls and flooring. Luckily for Arizonans, most cactuses will do well in these planters.

With so many possible uses for patios, Waters jokes that the last exterior design frontier might be outdoor offices. With this beautiful spring weather, that’s a patio design we could all get behind.