A good way to cut down on large swaths of grass is to create a new outdoor room. It might be hot now, but in Austin we enjoy fairly mild weather for fall through spring giving us plenty of time to spend outside. A patio is a great way to create space to enjoy your backyard.

A patio will provide space to set up tables for entertaining, a bench and chairs, or even a hammock on a metal frame for relaxation. My personal favorite use for a patio is sipping coffee and reading a good book.

In this patio, which we recently installed, a naturalistic layout complements the use of grass as joints between the flagstone rather than mortar. Using grass ups the maintenance slightly but it also helps intergrate the patio into the lawn. Rather than creating a "hardscape" versus a "soft scape" the two are blurred.