Creating an outdoor room is a great way to expand your outside living space and using the often-neglected square footage under an existing deck is an easy and attractive way to do it. Under the deck spaces are often either forgotten or used for storage but many times they become eyesores when in fact they could be turned into a covered oasis.
Using a little imagination along with native rock and flagstone we created a spacious and shady outdoor room that now offers a beautiful transition from front porch to back yard. The mortared flagstone patio blends beautifully with the native limestone of the surrounding area as well as the rough cedar of the deck making this addition seamless in appearance.
Starting off on this project there were some practical things that needed to be considered during the planning stages with elevation being the first one. We raised the grade of the area to eliminate the drainage issues that had previously been a problem under the deck by creating a mortared native rock retaining wall. We like to use native rock whenever possible because it’s not only cost effective but it adds another hill country touch to the landscape. Making sure the drainage is correct is the first thing to consider when creating any outdoor room or outdoor living space. In this instance by raising the grade of the patio we could then direct the natural drainage around the outside of the patio area.
The second thing to consider was how to address the location of the existing oak tree and plan for it’s optimum growth. To not cover the natural flare of the existing oak tree which would have caused the roots to suffocate and the tree to eventually die, we left the rustic bed around it intact. This bed then became a focal point of the whole patio space while giving the oak tree enough permeable space to be able to continue to thrive.
The overall look of this area became one of shady elegance that added needed outdoor living space while utilizing an easily accessible covered outdoor area.
