Designing & Decorating A Patio Today
By Dakota Caudilla, Fri Dec 9th

When it comes to decorating a patio, old rules no longer apply.Patios used to be just a place where you place a couple ofchairs, a table, a table lamp and some potted plants. But timeshave changed and so have the rules on patio living today. Today,the patio can be transformed into just about anything…includinga family room, a star-gazing section for families or couples, areading place, a garden, a green house…anything you want!

With the growing interest in developing and designing patiosinto more than what they used to be, the variety of furniturefor patios have also evolved and grown into a whole industry byitself. The growth of the patio furniture industry is furtherencouraged by the fact that many more Americans spend timelazing around on their specifically designed patios. In fact,some people consider their patios their secret sanctuary. LindaGravel says that she designed her patio to be almost completelysoundproof and with little windows opening out so that the airfrom outside can seep in. Gravel uses her patio for Yoga andTai-Chi practices. In the meantime, Geoffrey Alberton designedhis patio to accommodate his love for the outdoors andtraveling. “This is where I place all the plants in the house,pictures of my traveling expeditions. In fact, I place ornamentsand special souvenir items from all around the world in myspecial patio”, he says with a sheepish smile.

For people like Alberton and Gravel, the patio of the home hasbeen turned into their own private sanctuary where they canrelax and be themselves.

In fact, it makes perfect sense to make full use of the backyardfor things that we enjoy and love doing. Some people turn theirpatios into swimming pools or gyms. Stargazers can also turntheir patios into a place where they can lounge around withtheir eyes glued to the telescope. The trend of having personalpatios is a direct result of deepening interests in cocooning.Cocooning is a trend that affects most Americans today and it isstarting to spread too, to other parts of the world. This isphenomenon where people are starting to create their ownpersonal patio space for themselves and prefer to lead a morecasual lifestyle. Young adults prefer to stay home on theirprivate little patios doing something they love and the agingpopulation is starting to create and design patios to suit theirrestful lifestyles.

Health conscious individuals either turn their patios into minigyms or health spas. For example, you can design and decorateyour patio in such a way that it inspires deep meditation or aplace

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for dance. Garden-lovers can turn their patios into afield of greens. It’s all about what you like as an individual.For those with families, they can use the patio as a family areawhere board games are played or a place where all the familymembers get together to listen to some peaceful music or simplylaze around.

In fact, with a little bit of focus and imagination, you canliterally turn your patio into ANYTHING you want!

About the author:Dakota Caudilla, journalist, and website builder Dakota Caudillalives in Texas. He is the owner and co-editor ofhttp://www.stylish-flooring.com on which you will find a longer,more detailed version of this article.