The Great Outdoors

As outdoor entertaining on a small scale becomes safer than its indoor counterpart, it’s useful to invest time in creating as hospitable a patio as possible.

Whether it’s including an outdoor kitchen or furniture that can weather South Florida’s climes, your patio space can be a unique and useful part of your home. We spoke to Sybil Maxson, interior designer at Boca Raton’s Interiors by Brown, for top tips in designing a patio space for outdoor entertaining.

The Thought Counts

Before you start looking at furniture, it’s important to consider your space and what you need or want from it. “When designing your patio, some of the important facets to keep in mind are your lifestyle, how you entertain and personal use. The size of your area to be used, location around your home or pool and the weather are your starting points,” Maxson says. “These placements should be determined first in the layout — the proximity of the pool area to the patio area and how many seating or dining areas do you need, as well as the type of bar set up. Another factor is the electronics that are needed, electrical and lighting needs, as well as fans and television viewing.”

Shelter From The Sun

Another critical item to consider when creating a patio is sun protection. This could come in the form of a pergola or an overhead canopy. “People choose this idea for the design and for the charm of this look. This is popular in many areas of the country and is used in Florida away from the covered patios. The most common patio areas also have some sort of motorized screen enclosure or bug screening that is operational,” Maxson says. A pergola can also be a site of an outdoor kitchen. 

Code First, Details Second

“Getting started, the items to consider are first getting permits and following the building codes for your home, such as distance for the grill and heat removal,” Maxson says. You’ll also need to consider the placement of your pool if you have one, or where you’d like to put one if you’ll be adding it. Then, you’ll plan the layout, make flooring selections, choose wall accents and details. Furniture comes last. Just as it does indoors, Maxson says, adding your own details “gives your personalized taste a place to shine.”