A few weeks back when the weather in Ohio was starting to turn warm, I got the itch to work on the exterior of our house. Our back yard had a neglected back patio that either needed replaced or updated in a big way. Because we don’t live in a big home, I wanted to create an outdoor space to gather with big groups of friends and family during the summer that made it easy to entertain.
We talked about removing everything and starting fresh with large concrete pavers, but we would end up spending more than we wanted to invest back there. I went back to the drawing board and after looking through many inspiration pictures I came up with the idea of cleaning up the existing patio and adding a pea gravel section to expand it.
Pea gravel patios, sidewalks and driveways have this casual, laid back feel that I really love — especially when layered with lots of green plants and outdoor lounge furniture. They’re also surprisingly affordable to DIY if you’re willing to put in the sweat equity!
BEFORE
The existing paver patio at the back of our house is made up of old sidewalk and mismatched pavers that left barely enough room for our outdoor dining table. The patio itself wasn’t in the best shape, with plants growing through every joint and obviously in need of a good cleaning. I made a space plan for incorporating our outdoor dining set and lounge seating + fire pit, and planned to clean up the existing pavers. We also took down those unsightly satellite dishes that were from the previous owners — I was so happy to see those go!
We staked off where the new pea gravel patio would go and Tyler started digging out the top 3″ of soil to prep for stone installation. We recorded the step by step process of the planning, materials we used and installation on Instagram and is saved to a story highlight:
INSTALLATION
Professional Underlayment Landscape Fabric
6″ Fabric Pins
Steel Lawn Edging
Steel Lawn Edging Corner Stakes
Steel Lawn Edging Stakes
3/8″ Pea Gravel
(sourcing the gravel from our local quarry was the most cost effective)
Pea gravel can be difficult to walk in if it’s deeper than 3″ but can wear thin in spots if it’s to shallow. To calculate how much pea gravel to order, you will need to measure the length, width and depth (3″) of your patio and convert it to cubic yards. If you’re ordering your stone through a local quarry they will convert the cubic yard measurement to tons and give a price based on that. Our quarry quoted us $50/ton a plus delivery fee.
To give you an idea of pricing, the main part of the patio where the dining area would go is 12′ x 14′. We calculated that we would need 3 tons of stone altogether, so our quarry quoted us $150 + $34 for delivery.
After the topsoil was removed we rolled out the landscape fabric and secured it with pins down each seam and along the edges. Tyler installed the metal edging and secured it with the necessary stakes (*If you are using this metal edging, you will need a safe way to cut the edging to fit around corners and the length of your patio).
We also power washed the existing pavers to clean them up and get out all of the old sand and plants growing in between – which was a huge sandy, muddy mess, but so worth it (in hindsight, I would’ve done this step first before starting with installing the pea gravel). We then used Sakrete Polymeric Paver Set Sand to fill in the joins and the faux joints in the pavers. I was honestly shocked at the difference!
AFTER
When drawing out the patio layout, I also made a landscaping plan to create enclosures in certain areas to have a sense of privacy and separation from the rest of the yard. I layered terra cotta pots (see how to age them here) filled with lavender & herbs and lined the perimeter with sections of boxwoods and arborvitaes. Eventually a few privacy fence panels will go behind the dining area that match the fence on the opposite side of the yard. We are also still shopping for a tree to go on the corner by the garage door — I’m hoping to get a Dogwood!
The sectional I ended up going with is made of teak and I love the warmth it brings to the back of the house. It’s spacious, comfortable and so far has held up well to our kids. We did order a cover for it to protect it from rain and hopefully keep it from weathering too much. We’ve already sat back here many times while grilling dinner or watching the kids play in the back yard — we love it!
Years ago I found this wrought iron dining set + Sunbrella umbrella on Craigslist and its been one of the best purchases. I love the charm of wrought iron patio furniture and the slow aging process that gives it character. And when paired with pea gravel = love at first sight. I bought these replacement cushions from Target and I love the touch of white on each of the chairs.
Originally I had wanted to replace the garage door with a glass panel door so it felt less utilitarian but instead opted to give it a coat of black paint and I really love the contrast it adds. It also ties in well with the new exterior light — I love the modern shape against our historic, traditional home.
This swing set was left with the house when we moved in, but definitely needed a little love. When we found it it was brown with ripped green awnings, so we gave it a fresh coat of white paint, replaced the swings and I made these striped awnings out of outdoor fabric.
This project was never on our “official” to-do list, but I am so so glad that we decided to go for it. It makes me all the more excited for summer to arrive in Ohio! For product links you can shop the post below.
XO –
Lauren
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