8 clever L-shaped patio ideas designers say are guaranteed to transform your outdoor living space

A well-designed L-shaped patio can open up your backyard, creating a more practical and stylish area for entertaining or relaxing, while also giving key features room to breathe. Whether it hugs the corners of your house or is used to separate areas of your yard, you can get a lot more out of a L-shaped patio than you might initially expect.

Not only does a clever layout allow you to make the most of every inch of your outdoor space, it will also provide a strong element of garden design that will give your backyard a professional edge. Plus, L-shaped patio ideas are just as easy to work with as square or rectangular patios, so long as you steer clear of common patio mistakes.

Here, garden design experts share their favorite L-shaped patio ideas and reveal why going for this alternative shape could be the best decision you make for your backyard layout.

8 inspiring L-shaped patio ideas

Whether you only have space for a small patio and want to try something interesting with the shape, or you have a backyard covered patio you need help zoning, these L-shaped patio designs have plenty to offer.

1. Use an L shape to create different outdoor zones

This patio layout leads out and into the garden, where a relaxing outdoor seating area has been created next to a lawn, encompassed by beautiful planting. Designing the patio as an L-shape helps to zone this area, providing a distinct function for the seating area as a space for escapism, away from the house.

'I always like to use the shorter side for an event more intimate,' says Joshua Faas, landscape designer at Paperback Design Studio. 'Dining or an area used to lounge around on a sunny weekend afternoon can encompass the shorter side of the patio, while leaving the longer, more open space geared toward entertaining,' he explains.

'With lots of horizontal space the key is to break it up with vertical space,' adds garden designer Laura Janney. 'The easiest way to achieve this look is with tall potted plants like lantana trees, elephant ears or other palms,' she suggests.

When designing such as large outdoor space as this, it's also important to choose the correct patio material for the success of the design. An area with high traffic should have a hard-wearing surface. Natural stone, such as sandstone pavers similar to those in the image, can also add a rustic feel to your space.

Joshua Faas

Joshua is a landscape design expert at Paperback Design. He has over 20 years of hands-on experience in the nursery industry.

Laura Janney

Laura is the Founder and Owner of The Inspired Garden. A winner of the 2024 Houzz Design award, Laura has over 20 years of experience in gardening and working with clients designing beautiful gardens. With multiple courses under her belt, Laura would make a great resource on all things gardening.

2. Wrap the patio around a house

With a wraparound L-shaped patio, you should be aiming for a seamless transition between the interior of your home and the outdoor living room space.

In terms of materials and color, opting for patio flooring (like these patio wooden tiles from Walmart) that matches the color of your home and backyard walls can unify the space and even make a small garden look bigger.

When an L-shaped patio leads straight off the house like this, you have to be disciplined to prevent a sizeable chunk of it ending up full of clutter and backyard items. Make the most of backyard storage for small spaces to prevent this happening.

3. Surround a pool with an L-shaped patio

An L-shape is an obvious choice for a pool patio, allowing you to add a practical paved area to two sides of your pool. Not only does it give you easy access into the water, but it will provide you with the space you need for seating and lounging areas.

Avoid pool planning mistakes by making sure each side of the patio is wide enough to allow plenty of space for your chairs or loungers, while still leaving enough room for people to walk safely along the pool's edge without the risk of tripping over furniture. Plus, if the pool is likely to be used by busy children, you'll want to make sure you can move those loungers well away from the edge of the water.

Don't forget to add the best plants for around a pool, too, to add some greenery to your patio area.

4. Lead your L-shaped patio towards a pergola

An L-shaped patio can be both decorative and practical. For instance, it can provide a path towards an outstanding backyard feature, such as a pergola.

Pergolas are one of the most popular additions to a garden, with a multitude of uses including dining, entertaining or relaxing space. You can personalize your pergola by incorporating pergola roof ideas or some of the best plants to grow up a pergola.

The creative design pictured above shows how pairing a pergola with a L-shaped patio provides an extra entertaining space. It even has a creative addition of a garden path made from paving slabs leading over a water feature alongside the one side of the L-shaped patio.

'You could try laying stones in a curved or straight path and planting low-maintenance shrubs or flowers along the sides to soften the transition,' suggests Michael Clarke , landscape design expert. 'Position the pergola to create a focal point in the yard,' he adds.

Michael Clarke

Michael Clarke is the founder of Yardwork and Pulled, the online platforms for everything home and garden. He has a degree in landscape architecture and horticulture from the University of California Davis. He was previously the founder of a landscape development and maintenance company, where he provided complete landscape services to homeowners and commercial property owners.

5. Include a raised flower bed in your patio design

This simple small backyard layout idea incorporates raised garden beds for planting, even using a DIY raised bed to repurpose old pallet boxes.

The raised beds helps to bring the L-shaped patio scheme to life, and could be planted with low-maintenance seasonal color. 'Incorporating raised beds into a space can instantly create a warm environment that you just want to hang out in and walk around slowly' Joshua Faas says.

Whether your prefer wooden raised beds (from Amazon) or galvanised steel raised beds (from Amazon), positioning them along the edges of an L-shaped patio creates an encompassing feeling, offering screening and garden privacy.

You could easily incorporate a raised wildlife pond in the same way, which would be safe for children and pets and provide year-round interest.

6. Use your patio to edge two sides of a lawn

This is a common way to design an L-shaped patio, wrapping it around a lawn in order to provide full access to the grass. It's an ideal choice for families with young children and pets.

In the situation pictured here, there is hard landscaping for activities and storage and place to play and exercise too.

This is a garden edging idea that keeps your lawn neatly contained and creates a natural transition from the paved area to grass area, making it a suitable idea for a front yard patio, too.

7. Link different parts of your yard

Some of the most successful L-shaped patio ideas can be used to cleverly link different parts of your yard. This creates an easy flow and rhythm and allows every inch of the outdoor space to be put to use.

Depending on how you site your patio, it may be the case that it can lead slightly around a corner to a ‘hidden’ part of the garden. This is an ideal spot to place a garden building such as a shed office, where there is likely to be some privacy.

Don't forget to also introduce generous planting of patio plants either side of the building to help it sit naturally into the patio, rather than ‘floating’ above it and standing out.

8. Introduce an outdoor fire place to your patio

You can give your L-shaped patio some more purpose by putting in place fire pit design or an outdoor fireplace, like the one pictured above.

'Installing an outdoor fire pit or fireplace in the center or at the end of the patio, will create a focal point and additional gathering spot,' says Michael Clarke.

This is perfect for summer evenings when there's a slight chill in the air, but plenty of daylight to still enjoy your outdoor space. Incorporating outdoor fireplaces at the end of an L-shaped patio in particular brings an 'end point' to this unique patio layout.

The other bonus to this design choice is there are so many styles of fire pits and outdoor fire places available - like this wood burning fire pit from Walmart - so you can choose one that complements the rest of your patio styling.

FAQs

What's the biggest design challenge with an L-shaped patio?

One of the most challenging things about installing an L-shaped patio is getting the dimensions right. You need to ensure there is sufficient patio space to enjoy it, while also ensuring there is enough soft landscaping to maintain garden interest and color. To overcome this, the key is planning and drawing out how you want the patio to look, and considering the features which will soften the blocks of paving. A good tip is to incorporate curves and circles elsewhere, so think sweeping paths and gravelled areas, as well as circular flower beds.

In the excitement of planning your perfect L-shaped patio, don't forget to also take into consideration patio lighting. Due to the straight lines of this style of patio, avoid creating a 'runway effect' with lights lining the perimeter. Instead, try adding these spotlights from Amazon among the planting around your patio. It offers a subtle, but effective lighting.