9 Fresh Concrete Patio Ideas for Yards of All Styles
This versatile flooring material can enhance landscapes in unexpected ways
Easy to overlook, given that it’s so common, concrete may be one of the most versatile building materials out there. Stain it, score it or mix it with pebbles, durable concrete offers a blank slate for design ideas and has the advantage of complementing any landscape style.
If you’re looking to reimagine an existing concrete patio, or are thinking about pouring a new one, take a look at the following concrete patio ideas. Some are simple and some are a little more creative, but all can be used to enhance a range of garden styles, from modern to traditional.
If you’re looking to reimagine an existing concrete patio, or are thinking about pouring a new one, take a look at the following concrete patio ideas. Some are simple and some are a little more creative, but all can be used to enhance a range of garden styles, from modern to traditional.
2. Rustic-Style Courtyard
Concrete easily fits into a more rustic, country-style backyard, either installed as a simple, smooth patio or given additional treatments such as kerfs (cuts) or staining.
In Washington, the warm-hued concrete patio seen here sports long cuts that reference the architecture of the home, by Olson Kundig, aligning with the gaps between the exterior wood boards and windows. It’s a subtle but effective way to tie in the concrete patio to the overall design, while also helping with drainage.
Other ways to give concrete a more rustic, country look: soften edges with billowing plants like lavender or Latin American fleabane, or use concrete pavers as steppingstones down a pea gravel pathway.
Concrete easily fits into a more rustic, country-style backyard, either installed as a simple, smooth patio or given additional treatments such as kerfs (cuts) or staining.
In Washington, the warm-hued concrete patio seen here sports long cuts that reference the architecture of the home, by Olson Kundig, aligning with the gaps between the exterior wood boards and windows. It’s a subtle but effective way to tie in the concrete patio to the overall design, while also helping with drainage.
Other ways to give concrete a more rustic, country look: soften edges with billowing plants like lavender or Latin American fleabane, or use concrete pavers as steppingstones down a pea gravel pathway.
3. Contemporary Patio
A smooth concrete slab made with white Portland cement forms the floor of this modern patio, designed by WA Design Architects. The material allows for a small detail to shine. Do you notice the slim river of glass tile running through the finish? The architects cleverly arranged it to appear to flow down the slope of the property.
A smooth concrete slab made with white Portland cement forms the floor of this modern patio, designed by WA Design Architects. The material allows for a small detail to shine. Do you notice the slim river of glass tile running through the finish? The architects cleverly arranged it to appear to flow down the slope of the property.
On an upper terrace with an outdoor fireplace at the same home, custom-made concrete chairs sit on wheels for easy repositioning.
Shop for concrete furniture
Shop for concrete furniture
4. Multipurpose Backyard
A Japanese-inspired backyard in Portland, Oregon, is home to a cedar soaking tub, a fire pit, an outdoor dining area and a writer’s studio. Large concrete pavers proved to be a flooring material that could work for all areas.
Gaps left between the concrete pavers provide nooks for walkable ground cover plants, including Scotch moss (Sagina subulata ‘Aurea’) and Corsican mint (Mentha requienii). “In essence we paved the whole thing but softened it with these moss elements in between,” says architect Michael Howells of Howells Architecture + Design.
A Japanese-inspired backyard in Portland, Oregon, is home to a cedar soaking tub, a fire pit, an outdoor dining area and a writer’s studio. Large concrete pavers proved to be a flooring material that could work for all areas.
Gaps left between the concrete pavers provide nooks for walkable ground cover plants, including Scotch moss (Sagina subulata ‘Aurea’) and Corsican mint (Mentha requienii). “In essence we paved the whole thing but softened it with these moss elements in between,” says architect Michael Howells of Howells Architecture + Design.
A close-up of the seating area around the fire pit shows how well the concrete floor ties in with the board-formed concrete planters and fire pit. The Portland Japanese Garden, located just across the river from this home, was a source of inspiration for the paving.
See more of this backyard in the Pacific Northwest
See more of this backyard in the Pacific Northwest
5. Traditional With a Twist
Curves dominate this fire pit and seating area in a Dallas backyard, designed by AquaTerra Outdoors, giving a twist to a more traditional design. The designer divided the circular patio into quadrants and surrounded each with a border of crushed gravel, held in place with synthetic bender board along the turf and landscape edges.
Curves dominate this fire pit and seating area in a Dallas backyard, designed by AquaTerra Outdoors, giving a twist to a more traditional design. The designer divided the circular patio into quadrants and surrounded each with a border of crushed gravel, held in place with synthetic bender board along the turf and landscape edges.
6. Modernist-Inspired Sunken Fire Pit
The team at Shed Architecture & Design used concrete as the predominant material for the new courtyard and fire pit lounge seen here, part of a landscape update for a Seattle home designed by iconic modernist architect Paul Thiry.
The concrete gives the renovation a distinctly contemporary feel, but the simple shapes used for the walls, seating blocks, wood storage and sunken fire pit pull from modernist vernacular.
The team at Shed Architecture & Design used concrete as the predominant material for the new courtyard and fire pit lounge seen here, part of a landscape update for a Seattle home designed by iconic modernist architect Paul Thiry.
The concrete gives the renovation a distinctly contemporary feel, but the simple shapes used for the walls, seating blocks, wood storage and sunken fire pit pull from modernist vernacular.
The patio’s smooth concrete finish was achieved through a process called acid etching, in which the top surface of the concrete is treated with acid, creating a more uniform but still nonslip surface. The contractor used muriatic acid for this project.
10 Times to Hire a Landscape Architect
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7. Japanese-Inspired Path
Exposed aggregate (a concrete base with pebbles showing) may get a bad rap for looking dated, given its popularity in the 1960s through ’80s, but don’t rule it out if you’re looking to add texture to a design. It can look particularly well-placed in Asian-inspired gardens.
In this Japanese garden, for example, an exposed-aggregate pathway visually reads as half gravel bed and half stylized stream bed, thanks to the texture of the aggregate and portions of irregular flagstone.
Learn more about getting a Japanese-inspired garden
Exposed aggregate (a concrete base with pebbles showing) may get a bad rap for looking dated, given its popularity in the 1960s through ’80s, but don’t rule it out if you’re looking to add texture to a design. It can look particularly well-placed in Asian-inspired gardens.
In this Japanese garden, for example, an exposed-aggregate pathway visually reads as half gravel bed and half stylized stream bed, thanks to the texture of the aggregate and portions of irregular flagstone.
Learn more about getting a Japanese-inspired garden
8. Cubist Courtyard
For this courtyard in Kirkland, Washington, concrete pavers, river stones, water elements and planted squares come together to make an eye-catching floor. The architects chose concrete as a unifying material in the design, using it for the pavers, custom-made fountains and seats.
For this courtyard in Kirkland, Washington, concrete pavers, river stones, water elements and planted squares come together to make an eye-catching floor. The architects chose concrete as a unifying material in the design, using it for the pavers, custom-made fountains and seats.
9. Angular and Architectural
Playing with concrete color is another way to give a concrete patio a unique flair. For this home in Madison, Wisconsin, the team at Bruns Architecture used an integral charcoal tint (pigment mixed in with the concrete, rather than applied as a topcoat) to set the center strip of concrete apart from the larger concrete patio and emphasize the vertical fire feature. The dark charcoal color complements the tones of the fire feature, window trim and outdoor table.
Playing with concrete color is another way to give a concrete patio a unique flair. For this home in Madison, Wisconsin, the team at Bruns Architecture used an integral charcoal tint (pigment mixed in with the concrete, rather than applied as a topcoat) to set the center strip of concrete apart from the larger concrete patio and emphasize the vertical fire feature. The dark charcoal color complements the tones of the fire feature, window trim and outdoor table.
Tell us: Do you have a concrete patio or use the material elsewhere in your yard? Post a photo and tell us about it in the Comments below.
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Concrete pavers surrounded by rounded river stones create a geometric floor for this outdoor space by JMJ Studios. The designer used a stain for the concrete walls, picking up the light charcoal color of the river stones and fire pit, and left the concrete pavers a lighter hue for contrast.
Concrete can play well in contemporary designs, with its precise edges and utilitarian aesthetic. To play down the coolness of the material, pair a concrete patio with warm wooden accents, as was done here, and soften hard lines with plants.
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