Patio Cover Designs

I think that the most important thing to do when planning out your patio cover designs is to actually consider all of the other furniture and decorative accents that are going to go into the space.  Sure the actual covered patio ideas are important I suppose, but what you put underneath them is really the thing the makes your outdoor entertaining spaces memorable.  In this house, for example, the simple stucco enclosure is certainly an elegant addition to the exterior of their home, but it is the curtains, elegant chandler, and high end furniture that really makes the space special. Of course you could easily translate these patio designs into any type of structure you want, whether is is a full fabric enclosure or even a pergola. 

I was super inspired by these patio cover designs because they are definitely some of the more unique ones that I have seen on here.  Stucco seems to be a pretty popular way to build out covered patios and pool houses because it has a very outdoorsy and almost tropical vibe.  I have seen so many beautiful patios done in stucco on here but never with exposed wood beams running through the length of them.  I really like the effect that it brings because it makes it feel more rustic and kind of like an Italian estate.  We are getting rid of our old and dingy fabric patio covers this spring and finally going to build a more permanent structure.

With summer fast approaching, I figured that it is time for me to finally commit to new patio cover designs for our pool side cabana.  I am not sure if you can really tell from these photos (let me know if you want me to post better ones), but our current covered patio designs are really based around this tiki style look that the previous owner created.  The actual roof structure is made up of loose sticks that are secured with a couple of nails.  As I am sure you can imagine, these get damaged very easily whenever there are storms or a super windy season.  I would like to replace these with more secure and permanent patio cover ideas, whether that is an actual shingled roof or even some sort of retractible fabric cover.

This is definitely one of the more unique patio cover designs that I have seen because it incorporates two beautiful materials that really go a long ways to creating a beautiful architectural foundation to the space.  We are pretty much over the patio shade ideas that we have been trying to make work for the past couple of years.  I am ready to build a more permanent structure now that we know that our family will really use the space.  Plus, beyond the gorgeous architecture that this family used, I love how they incorporated swinging couches! That is definitely going to make an appearance in our future design no matter what! I can't wait to get rid of our old outdoor patio covers and post photos of our new permanent backyard entertaining area.

The first warm day that we have each year I always start looking at patio cover designs to plan for whatever renovations we want to do this year.  A few years ago we built a very similar pergola-style diy patio cover much like the wood one in this picture.  It was the best time and money we ever spend because we spend so much time in that little outdoor "room."  This year, I am thinking that I want to build a more involved chefs kitchen underneath the patio like you see here.  I love how it is essentially a full on kitchen complete with sink, dishwasher, island, and pizza oven.  Obviously I am well aware that the patio design ideas in this photo would cost an arm and a leg if I replicated them exactly, but I am pretty sure that I can come up with budget alternatives for a lot of this. 

After researching quite a few patio cover designs on here from full porches like this one to tent-style enclosures by a pool, I have finally pinpointed the design I want to do in our backyard.  We have had wood patio covers in previous homes and really enjoyed how they created a complete outdoor room (as opposed to a flimsy fabric awning), so now I want to create a more complete and dedicated structure for outdoor living.  Building a patio cover (well covered porch really) is not going to be easy or cheap, but I know that our family will use it a ton so I am willing to spend that money.