A Wood Deck and Stone Patio Combination: a Tasteful Juxtaposition
There is no rule that says you have to stick to one material throughout your outdoor living space. Many people use just one, but mixing materials can revitalize an ordinary design. Stone and wood are the oldest building materials. To say that they work together phenomenally well is an understatement! Stone and wood are perfectly paired in nature and they will also work just as well in a modern deck and patio. In this article, we’ll cover some great deck and patio combo ideas. It’s a look that’s both on-trend and timeless.
Successful outdoor living spaces are designed around activities. What do you love to do outside? Have breakfast in a quiet nook? Relax in the serenity of a sunny lounge area? Share some great conversations by the fire pit? Cook for your friends and family? Soak in a hot tub? Admire the view? Chill with a book in the shade?
While many patios try to accommodate all activities in one space, you might be surprised at how much better the design will flow when each activity has its own space of use. Even if your space is tiny!
Each space of use can have its own character yet work harmoniously with others. Let’s check out the six best ways to get creative with a wood deck and stone patio combination.
Image Source: Trex
Harmonize Elevation Changes
The topography of a landscape will influence how an outdoor living space is created. Leveling or shaping land to accommodate a patio can be an incredibly expensive undertaking and could take away from the character of the space. And covering a steep slope with a deck likewise takes away from the charm of the property even as it adds usable square footage. So work with what you have with a cost-effective, functional, and beautiful combination of masonry and wood.
The most common way to combine a deck and a stone patio is to have the deck coming off an upper story of the home and the patio on the ground level.
Image Source: Trex
We recommend starting at the patio level and working up. The ground surface — which is the immediate transition between the home and landscape — provides the foundation for the wood structure above, just like the earth provides a foundation for trees. You might end up with an attached deck that takes advantage of the view; or, you may find that a deck is the perfect surface for a hard-to-access spot in your backyard; even if that spot is lower than the patio.
Placement of lifestyle elements is typically focused on putting “heavier” elements on the patio level: an outdoor kitchen, fire pit, a pergola, and masonry plant boxes. On the deck level, you could feature “lighter” elements such as a lounge area.
Elevation changes can be fairly subtle, such as one or two steps; or they can take you to a completely different visual plane.
Tuck a patio into a hillside, with a retaining wall that incorporates a majestic outdoor fireplace. Then, step up or down onto a deck that either hugs the ground or soars above it to take in the views.
The transitional spaces — steps or stairs — could be either material but in general, keep your stone surfaces on the ground level and let the wood surfaces rise to the sky.
Tastefully Add On to Your Outdoor Living Space
You can usually tell when an outdoor living space has been added on to. When you make an expansion of either your patio or your deck, the newer addition looks newer and may even look out of place. If you have either a deck or a patio but not both, this could be an excellent opportunity to expand the space using a different material. In this way the addition looks deliberately different and it won’t matter if one surface is shiny and new and the other is weathered. It definitely won’t be a mismatched combination that looks like an afterthought.
Image Source: Trex
A change in materials could signal a change in mood. A sleek paver patio could transition to a more relaxed deck; or an elegant deck made using exotic hardwoods such as ipe (or a composite version) could transition to a more relaxed random flagstone fire pit space.
An addition could even be on the same plane. Transitioning from stone to wood simply signals moving from one activity zone to another.
Create Single-level Living with Flair
One successful technique for transitioning between a deck and a patio on the same level is to change up the orientation of the materials. Orienting the deck boards 45 degrees or 90 degrees against the pattern of your patio creates a more pleasing transition than aligning the two: if you are using modern plank-style pavers that transition to wide deck boards running in the same direction, you’d end up with a weird “why did they change materials” look. But taking a step across a threshold onto a space that looks different feels natural. It’s also a lot more bang for your buck in terms of visual interest.
Tie Elements Together to Create Transitions
Landscape designers may pepper elements of wood on a stone patio, or stone on a wood deck. One great idea is to add a hardwood bench to a stone patio: a sumptuous curve that encircles a fire pit. Or, add a rustic stone water feature to the corner of a wooden deck. You could even include a wooden beam of the same color as your deck within a stone retaining wall. By tying these elements together, you’ll tie these spaces together. They’ll have their own vibe, but the whole space will feel cohesive.
Get Creative with Inlays and Other Accents
There are many ways in which you can add stone materials to a wooden patio. These creative accents include inlays. For example, a diagonal line of river stones laid in cement that bisects the center of your garden-level wraparound deck is a striking accent. Likewise, a teak “path” set into a stone patio can lead the eye to a focal point.
A stone fire pit area could be integrated into a ground-level deck with striking effect. Pavers, bricks or even randomly shaped flagstones could be laid in a generous circle around a fire pit, large enough to accommodate some Adirondack chairs and protecting the deck surface from errant sparks and embers.
Combining wood and stone is as natural as, well, going outside. Mixed-material outdoor living spaces are becoming the norm, even in small backyards where every square inch is valuable real estate. These ideas are a great start for making the most of your backyard!