Patios and terraces are designed to provide you with a warm sheltered place to sit and enjoy the garden. Whilst they are traditionally sited next to the house with direct access via French windows, there are a number of other ideas as to where they can be positioned:

• Consider placing a patio at an angle of 45° to the house so that it can capture the sun for more of the day. This may mean that it wraps around the corner of the house.
• Think about when you will use the patio most, and where the sun will be at that time. This may mean building it away from the house.
• You may also need to take into account any fine views of the landscape beyond the house or of the garden itself, and position the patio or terrace to take advantage of them.
• You are not limited to building just one seating area; you may want one patio next to the house that receives the morning sun so that you have somewhere to sit and enjoy your breakfast, and another, further away from the house that takes in a fine view of the garden and captures the evening sun - somewhere to sit and relax when you come home from work. Alternatively, one may be positioned in an open, sunny spot, whilst another provides a shady retreat.

Positioning the patio or terrace in a warm, sheltered spot will mean that you will be able to sit out and enjoy it both earlier and later in the season than one that is exposed. If your garden is overlooked, you will also need to consider how your privacy will be affected. A trellis covered with climbing plants can supply an effective screen that can provide both shelter and seclusion, whilst a pergola will also provide you with shade from above.

Try to avoid placing the terrace close to any large trees; they will tend to cast too much shade and their roots may dislodge the surface. Deciduous trees will also be troublesome in autumn when they shed their leaves over the paving, making it slippery and untidy.

Take some time to think about how big you want the patio to be; a rough guide is to allow 3.3 sq m (4 sq yd) for each person that will use it. Thus, a patio of about 13 sq m (16 sq yd) would be suitable for a family of four. However, you should also take into account how it will look in proportion to the garden; too big and it will overshadow it; too small and it may look insignificant.