Rethinking Your Patio Placement: A Guide to Thoughtful Garden Design
Updated: Aug 15
Design Thinking - Part 5
I will let you into something I say to almost every client who comes to me with a brief: the patio doesn't have to go outside the back door.
I know. It seems obvious, doesn't it? You step out, you sit down, you've got your cup of tea and the morning paper. Job done. But in all my years designing gardens across the UK, that instinctive choice—the path of least resistance—is often the single thing that holds a garden back from being truly wonderful.
So let's have an honest conversation about patio placement. Because getting it right changes everything.
How Do You Want to Feel in Your Garden?
When I design a garden, I start by asking not, "Where should the patio go?" but "How do you want to feel when you step outside?"
Do you want to feel relaxed? Inspired? Connected to nature? Entertained and sociable? The answer to that question drives every decision, including where the patio lands.
Putting a patio right outside the back door is easy. But easy rarely makes a garden extraordinary. Below are examples of considerations when choosing the location of a patio.
1. The Light Might Be Completely Wrong
Light is everything in a garden. Most back doors open onto the shadiest part of the plot. If you're north-facing, you'll be sitting in flat, grey light for most of the day. East-facing? Beautiful for an early morning coffee, but cool and shadowy well before lunch. West-facing? Stunning late afternoons, but often blazing hot, sending you indoors rather than enjoying it.
Here's the thing I always ask my clients first: when do you actually want to use your garden? Morning coffee, afternoon reading, evening entertaining? The answer tells me exactly where the patio should go, and it's rarely right next to the door.
A patio should sit where the sun is, not where the architect put a door.
2. You Lose the Most Magical Design Opportunity: The Journey
This is the one that surprises people most. A patio pressed up against the house turns your garden into a corridor. House → patio → lawn → fence. It works. It functions. But it isn't very inspiring. It doesn't draw you out to enjoy.
When we move the seating area even just 3 to 5 metres further into the garden, something remarkable happens. Suddenly there's a journey. A reason to walk through the space. A moment of arrival when you reach the seating area, like you've gone somewhere rather than just stepped out.
In garden design, that sense of arrival and discovery is priceless. And it's completely free—you just have to be willing to move the patio.
What You Gain
A sense of arrival and discovery
A more immersive feeling within the garden
Natural reasons to explore the space
The illusion of more space, even in compact gardens
3. You End Up Looking At the House, Not the Garden
Sit outside your back door and have a look around. What can you see? The kitchen window you just came from? The guttering? Maybe the wheelie bins around the corner? The side return? The back of the extension?
Now imagine sitting in the middle of your garden, surrounded by planting on three sides, with open sky above you and birdsong rather than kitchen noise. That's where you want to be. That's where I'd design your patio.
Perspective is everything. When you're positioned further into the garden, you're looking at the garden, not the house you were trying to escape.
4. Back Doors Are Busy. Your Seating Area Shouldn't Be.
The back door is the busiest spot in most family gardens. Dogs, children, muddy boots, laundry, bin bags, deliveries. It's a throughway, not a sanctuary.
If your relaxation zone is also your household's main thoroughfare, it will never fully feel like a retreat. No matter how beautiful your furniture or planting, it won't provide the peace you seek.
A small shift away from the house gives you:
Privacy from the house's activity
Peace from foot traffic and noise
A genuine sense of retreat and escape
Better separation between 'doing' and 'being'
5. Microclimates Make or Break Comfort
As a garden designer, one of the first things I assess on every site visit is microclimate. The area immediately outside the back of a house is often one of the trickiest spots. It can be a wind tunnel between buildings, damp and cold in certain seasons, too hot due to reflected heat from masonry, or uncomfortably dry.
The best spot for your patio—the natural sun trap, the sheltered nook, the spot that feels warm five minutes longer each evening—is often not obvious until you've spent time in the garden across different times of day and seasons. That's one of the most valuable things a garden designer brings: knowing how to read a space before a single slab is laid.
6. Planting Opportunities Are Lost When the Patio Hugs the Wall
I love designing patio spaces that feel truly embedded in the garden. You want to be wrapped in planting rather than perched on an island of paving. When a patio sits away from the house, you can surround it with:
Ornamental grasses that catch the breeze and add movement
Scented shrubs like roses, lavender, or sweet box
Pollinator-friendly perennials for colour and wildlife
Small trees or large shrubs for dappled shade and privacy
The result is a seating area that feels like a destination—a room in its own right rather than an extension of the kitchen floor.
7. You Don't Have to Choose One or the Other
I always reassure my clients of this: you can have both.
A small, simple paved area right outside the back door is enormously practical. It's somewhere to leave boots, sit with a morning coffee before the rest of the household is awake, put a pot of herbs, or set down shopping bags.
But that's very different from your main patio—the proper outdoor living space where you eat, entertain, and unwind. That space deserves to be positioned thoughtfully, not defaulted to the nearest available patch of ground.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should a patio always be attached to the house?
Not at all. In fact, I'd encourage you to challenge that assumption. A patio connected to
the house is convenient, but it often misses the best light, views, and atmosphere your
garden has to offer. Many of my most successful designs feature the main seating area
positioned away from the house, with a simple step-out space by the back door for everyday
practicality.
How do I know where the best position for my patio is?
Spend time in your garden at different times of day across different seasons. Notice different times of day across different seasons. Notice where the sun falls, where it's sheltered, where you naturally gravitate to sit. A garden designer can assess this professionally, including reading microclimates, sight lines, and how different positions relate to the rest of the garden.
Is it expensive to move the patio away from the back door?
Not necessarily. Moving a patio further into the garden is a design decision more than a
cost decision. You'll need materials and groundwork wherever the patio goes, and
sometimes a more central position is simpler to drain and prepare. A bespoke garden design consultation helps you make these choices wisely before any contractor quotes.
What if my garden is small, does placement still matter?
Especially in a small garden. Placement and proportion are everything in compact
spaces. A well-positioned patio in a small garden can make it feel twice the size; a poorly
positioned one can make it feel like a car park with pots. In small gardens, getting the
position right is arguably more important than the materials you choose.
Can I have two patio areas?
Absolutely, and I often recommend it. A small utility area by the back door for boots, pots,
and everyday access, and a separate, more considered seating area further into the garden for relaxing and entertaining. This approach gives you the best of both practicality and pleasure.
What is a microclimate and why does it matter for patio design?
A microclimate is a small, localised climate condition within your garden. It can be a sheltered sun
trap, a wind-funnel spot, or a consistently damp corner. These can differ significantly even
within a small garden. Understanding your garden's microclimates helps ensure your patio is placed somewhere genuinely comfortable across different seasons and times of day.
How do I find a garden designer near me in the UK?
Look for a designer who offers a proper design consultation rather than just a 'quote for
landscaping.' A good garden designer will visit your space, listen to how you want to use it,
and develop a design brief before any plans are drawn. Ian Green Garden Design offers
bespoke garden design consultations. Visit [iangreengardendesign.co.uk](http://iangreengardendesign.co.uk) to find out more.
If you'd like to explore what's possible in your garden, I'd love to talk. Get in touch at iangreengardendesign.co.uk.
Ian Green is a pre-registered member of the Society of Garden & Landscape Designers, offering ecological and contemporary garden design services.
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