Entrance Patio

I recently finished my final outside project on my summer to-do list and I'm so excited to share it with you today.

Since having a pretty front porch doesn't seem possible in our current home I've dreamed of creating a small sitting area near the front door instead.  I've been thinking about it for years and finally decided this was the year to get it done.

The perfect solution seemed to be a small brick patio tucked in between the sidewalk and the garage wall.

The space is only slightly less than three feet wide but it's perfect for a small table and a pair of chairs.

It turned out being such a quick and easy project I'm kicking myself for not doing it sooner.  It took me no more than two hours and that included a 45 minute trip to the store for more bricks!

I laid the bricks in a simple pattern that eliminated the need to cut any of bricks to make them fit.

After the patio was laid, I place a small bistro set from Walmart on it.  Placed some pretty plants and now we have a cozy spot to sit and chat.

I sometimes sit out here in the morning while I watch my kids at the bus stop or I have found it's a great place to have silly talks with my girls.

In case your curious about how to lay a brick patio of your own here's a quick tutorial for you.

Supplies:

pea gravel 

(or class 5 crushed stone - anything to give the area good drainage)

sand 

(I reused sand from our unused sandbox)

bricks

rubber mallet

kneeling pad 

(to save your knees some hurt)

The steps are very simple.  

First clear the area that you want to add bricks to and level it as much as you can.

Next add a two inch layer of gravel - see #1 below

On top of the gravel, add a two inch layer of sand - see #2 below

And finally add the bricks, using the rubber mallet to hammer the bricks into the sand- see #3 below

When your ready to lay the bricks a kneeling pad and a rubber mallet are very helpful.

Simply hammer the bricks into the sand to make them level and line up with the bricks on either side.  Now you can get all fancy and use a level to make sure everything keeps on the up and up.  I didn't bother with that step, instead I just eyeballed everything and it turned out just fine.

When you have all the bricks placed and looking oh so fine, use any left over sand and sweep it into the cracks between the bricks.  I found a small handled brush with short bristles worked best to work the sand into the cracks. 

And then your done!  

Super simple and it looks amazing!

Have a great day,

Robin

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