Patios

Get ready, patio season is upon us

I had the privilege and pleasure to spend time on several excellent patios this past weekend and it really got me feeling good. Patios are incredible spaces for a diverse range of activities, but many involve gathering, community, food, sharing, and bringing often indoor affairs outside. This connection, the liminal space between indoors and outdoors, makes things possible that seemed all but impossible otherwise. You’re wanting to gather for a meal around the dinner table, but it’s an absolutely lovely late spring evening? The default is the dining room table, but under a patio, your outdoor dinner dreams can come true. It has many of the amenities of the often adjacent kitchen, but with all the advantages of spending a day getting back to our natural roots.

Knights Paving & Landscaping, a landscape company that specializes in patios and driveways in the UK, (specifically in Norwich and Norfolk, where I happen to have spent some lovely evenings on patios) has their own blog in which they have a post about the history of the patio. Unsurprisingly, ‘patio’ was originally a Spanish word, and was used to describe typical interior courtyards common in the architecture of Spain. They then connect the ancient practice of terracing farmland to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and probably my favorite. This incredible place was an example in architecture going forward and was a template for bringing the natural world to the urban experience, and connecting humans with nature. What a cool landscaping company to have their own blog!

Photo: Dogs know the benefits of patios perhaps better than I could ever try to explain.

I am blessed to have celebrated my wedding to my beautiful wife on three distinct occasions, and I am stoked that one of those was entirely under or adjacent to a top tier patio space, my parent’s backyard. Patio spaces let you do some of the best activities in an outdoor space that really adds so much value to the day. Just this past weekend I went to two great breweries and was able to get draft beer in proper glassware and sit outdoors with new and old friends. This is one of my absolute favorite things to do on any occasion, but it was so enhanced by the dog-friendly patio with a very light breeze and a speckling of sun coming in. Plus, it was my first real patio session of the year because the weather has not been conducive to patio time. Now I also love the rainy weather we’ve been having in Southern California, but this taste of spring and what the summer will bring is very exciting. 

I also got to use the charcoal grill on my patio at home, and there’s not quite as peak of an experience as grilling meats and hosting a bbq. Some steak, burgers, or chicken thighs are hard to mess up, but if your wife marinated the meat wonderfully, you’re praised for your skills and effort as a chef. 

Photo: My current (uncovered but still lovely) patio space and the grill and just a bit of each member of my little family.

Now, I think it is important to note that some patios have covers and others do not. I am probably partial to the patio cover being an option. I am someone who appreciates options. Usually if the sun is too hot, the patio cover offers much needed shade for temperature regulation and skin protection, which are both becoming bigger issues later in life. And most of the time, if the patio cover is an option, there’s still a sunny patch of grass or sand nearby if you want to dive into the nearby full sun experience, even if just for a bit. 

Patios are a gathering space, and I think that is what is most important about them to me. The structure and space facilitates gathering and spending time with those around you. Even during Covid quarantines, if we ever were able to gather, it was in the safety of distance and outdoors that the patio provided. It feels safe, comfortable, and inviting, and can make the simple act of sitting together feel like an entire activity. No need to plan or play or watch, although all options(Rummikub at a brewery patio is a stellar option), but just to be with people. Of course you don’t need a patio to spend time with those you love, but it is certainly an excellent place to do so.

As the weather warms up and the sun stays with us longer, be sure to seek out local patios for premium life experiences.

Photo: Me in Cartagena, Colombia. This rooftop patio was great, and there was an interior courtyard with a jacuzzi that was also incredible.