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btw, whose brick patio w/the picnic table is that, in one of the photos?
That's the old tenants. The bricks are still there, but all crooked, not leveled, etc... We will need to work on the landscape. The table was pretty old and worn, and she took it.
We decided to have the patio as a way to bring more light into the room, and keep the french doors. I think it will add value to the room.
Pocket door doesn't have to be flimsy. Depends on what type of door you use, what kind of wood. I think it's a good idea. For formal dining, it would allow you to close off the kitchen.
OP, I loved the corner bench-w/table unit for the nook. It seems a little more compact than a round table w/chairs.
As long as the patio area already has been graded for a patio, it seems like a no-brainer to put in quality brickwork, or whatever. (It sounded in the beginning like you'd be digging out from scratch.) It's just a matter of planting so as to screen the back of it. (Aside from improving the leveling.) You may want to widen it a little, to make room for planting and disguising the jump in garden level.
Good luck, OP! Don't forget to invite us to the housewarming!
As long as the patio area already has been graded for a patio, it seems like a no-brainer to put in quality brickwork, or whatever. (It sounded in the beginning like you'd be digging out from scratch.) It's just a matter of planting so as to screen the back of it. (Aside from improving the leveling.) You may want to widen it a little, to make room for planting and disguising the jump in garden level.
It's not exactly a patio now. It's a backyard. We will have to dig the patio which will be leveled with the room, which will also have to be lowered a bit. Room will open to a patio, and stairs will take to backyard. Does it make sense now?
What do you mean by widen it a little? Widen what exactly? I don't think there is any way to disguise the jump in garden level, it will be a 30 inches difference, the maximum without forcing us to have a big railing by code.
Oh, so the brick "patio" in the photo is at garden level, it's not at the lower level where you'd need it to be. I get ya. So you're going to take a portion of that, and lower it. It doesn't leave you with much backyard after you do that. It's a small yard. I'd be tempted to maximize the patio with a small raised part in back for planting. That would mean the kids would use the patio as their play area. There's really not much room to play there, as it is. I think you should focus on the proposed patio/garden area for your own pleasure, half patio, half garden. Unless there's more to the backyard than I can see, I'm not seeing much room for kids at all.
Are you on a busy street? Is there a park nearby for the kids to play in? Is the area safe for kids playing outside?
Last edited by Ruth4Truth; 03-14-2013 at 12:32 PM..
Patio is only going to be 3ft long. The rest will be backyard. Some pics of current backyard. The plan shows better the space, I attached a few posts back.
At the end of backyard it's a neighbors house, which unfortunately has some windows towards my yard. In one of the pictures I took it right from neighbors wall, the other from my wall.
What do you think? It's a good idea to have the patio with french doors?
Yes, the French doors will give you light. For privacy, you can hang a couple of Japanese rice-paper shades on them that will let the light in, but give you privacy. When you want to enjoy the view to the garden, just raise the shades. They'll give you a good way to air out that bedroom area, too. You're squeezed in pretty close to the neighbor, but there's good natural screening there, which you can increase, by growing the shrubs, or putting in taller ones.
This assumes you'll actually use the patio, have a little table out there for breakfast or lunch. I'm not sure all this would be worth it, if you don't plan to use the patio.
I had a basement room in one house that was below ground level, like yours. There was a patio right out the window, and garden beyond. I used that room as a rental. Everyone loved it, no one minded that it was below ground-level. I painted it in cheerful colors--yellow and white, and people loved it. So did I. I don't think you need to dig out a patio just to counter some imagined psychological downside to having a below-level room, if that's why you're doing it. On the other hand, doors and a small patio would be nice.
Be careful about security in back. Do your neighbors have bars on the windows? Doesn't look like it. Might be worth considering, especially if there might be kids at some point kicking a ball around, near windows. Maybe the neighbors are so close, there's no worry about security. It's easy enough for people to watch each other's backyards.
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