The perfect patio is designed to fit both your yard and lifestyle – Grand Island Independent

Esther and Don Amick have a patio on the east side of their Grand Island home, which means that even on the longest summer day they have shade by 5 p.m.

We just enjoy life and living, and our sunroom, patio and garden allow us to feel like we are on vacation all the time, Esther said in an email. The sunroom is what started it all. It was the impetus for the garden and the fact that we enjoy the garden so much was the impetus for the patio.

The Amicks dont have a California kitchen or anything like that, she said. I got Don a Traeger grill for Fathers Day last year and he loves that.

Their patio was in the planning stage for about a year, and it was built in the summer of 2016. We celebrated our 50th anniversary that summer and had a backyard party to celebrate, she said.

The Amicks patio is concrete and stamped concrete, and they enjoy the design with the stamped concrete being in a different color from the poured concrete.

We have solar lights and patio string lights, Esther said, adding that we love the ambience of the patio string lights.

They do not have an outdoor sound system, but have speakers that they use outside, and the patio is large enough that they have had bands play for their backyard parties.

Their patio furnishings include a round patio table that sits on the large, round, stamped concrete area, a glass-top fire pit, a high-top table and a patio heater for chilly evenings.

The patio is flanked to the north by a 24x20 sunroom, which includes a hot tub. The manicured garden area, east of the patio and sunroom, features numerous perennial flowers and hanging baskets.

The colorful garden vista can be enjoyed from the patio or sunroom, and many of the Amicks days start and end in one of those spaces.

If their patio area was not shaded by their house, they might have chosen a pergola such as those sold by Fireplace Stone and Patio in Grand Island.

Travis Meier, assistant manager of the store, shared some details about the StruXure Outdoor products they offer.

The extruded aluminum and stainless-steel structures are custom-built and offer a louvered roof that can be set at angle to provide shade or can close completely for protection from rain. Large installations can even include a roof that slides open.

The pergolas are customizable and can include lights and ceiling fans. Sensors can be installed to detect wind, rain, snow or ice and adjust the louvers to cope with the changing conditions. In normal use, the louvers are push-button or remote-controlled. Rain gutters are built in to drain the structure when closed.

The pergolas are built to Florida hurricane standards, which could be a plus with Nebraskas sometimes raging winds. Meier said the structures can be attached to a roof line or installed as a standalone structure. Pricing is based on the specific job with a base of $100 per square foot.

The company can install screens on the pergolas or on existing patios or other structures. The sun-blocking screens reduce heat and UV rays and can be operated with a remote control.

Meiers firm also sells many patio accessories, including a large range of smokers and barbecue grills. A patio foodie can even find a wood-burning pizza oven for outdoor use.

Fireplace Stone & Patio works with landscape companies to integrate their products into outdoor living spaces, including a kitchen, built-in seating and numerous other amenities.

Jeremy Vlcek of Vlcek Gardens in Chapman is one of those landscapers.

The size based on your yard is always a big part. Ive never installed a patio and had someone say they wish it was a little bit smaller. Usually its like maybe we could have made that a little bit bigger. We always make sure we know how many people theyre going to be entertaining, and what theyre going to be using it for, so we can size it correctly.

Youre always looking for a timeless paver that will just never have to be updated. Then you can make an outdoor kitchen, just like your kitchen inside. You can have a grilling island with a state-of-the-art grill and refrigerator. You can put fire in there TVs. You can have an outdoor fireplace or fire pits. Then, you can throw in water to get that ambience as well.

A pergola, Vlcek said, can make you feel like youre sitting under a tree or make the space feel like its an actual room.

You can add plants, too, to make a patio not just look like this gigantic hardscape feature. Plants soften some of those spaces. You have the water, you have fire, you have stuff to eat, you have stuff to drink. You have patio furniture in there, he said.

You can even throw music in there. We do outdoor speaker systems and that really enhances the moment. At nighttime, you can really make it usable by adding light, Vlcek said. Youre not looking for a light to just brighten up the whole spot. Youre just lighting up architectural features. You can have color changing LED lights to enhance the views if you wanted Valentines Day, you can have them all Valentines Day red, or when the Chiefs won the Super Bowl, you could change it to the Chiefs colors.

Its just amazing what you can do outdoors, and make it into your own personal resort outdoors.

Vlceks company, in business for 12 years, offers a planning questionnaire on its website, vlcekgardens.com, that lets a person select various patio features according to their budget without a face-to-face meeting.

When we meet with people, we cant do our job effectively unless we know what they want to spend, he said. I can make a drawing up of a Maserati, and maybe you want a really nice Mustang.

Blaine Budke, owner of Hot Tub Brokers in Grand Island and McCook, has a covered patio at his home.

It makes it nice cause youve got your ceiling fan; you can have a TV outside. You have the Magnolia lights it just makes for a really nice environment, Budke said. We have a gas-powered fire pit that we sell, and you can set six to eight people around that fire pit. It just brings the whole family together and makes for a nice spring and summer and even fall environment in your backyard.

For those not familiar with the term, Magnolia lights are a chain of lights, often LEDs, which use less energy, can provide color and dont attract as many insects as some other light sources.

Budke says hot tub sizes range from a two- to three-person size that can be enclosed up to an 8-foot square model that seats seven to eight people.

Hot tub features can include an ozonator to help keep the tub clear and control bacteria, stereos with Bluetooth, and LED lights to set a mood with various colors.

You can put four adults in a 7-foot hot tub, and theyre very comfortable without playing footsie or touching each other, Budke said.

Hot Tub Brokers also sells above-ground pools.

We install those as a complete package. You put them up one time and you never take them down, he said. You just let them freeze up over the winter, and then in the spring, you clean the water, hook her all back up and away you go again.

For Grand Island High School fans, Budkes company even sells palm trees to mount on a patio or alongside a hot tub or swimming pool.

Vlcek Gardens, based in Chapman, offers a variety of custom patios featuring custom stonework, kitchens, fireplaces, fire pits, water features, landscaping, sound and lighting options.

Vlcek Gardens, based in Chapman, offers a variety of custom patios featuring custom stonework, kitchens, fireplaces, fire pits, water features, landscaping, sound and lighting options.

Vlcek Gardens, based in Chapman, offers a variety of custom patios featuring custom stonework, kitchens, fireplaces, fire pits, water features, landscaping, sound and lighting options.

Vlcek Gardens, based in Chapman, offers a variety of custom patios featuring custom stonework, kitchens, fireplaces, fire pits, water features, landscaping, sound and lighting options.

Vlcek Gardens, based in Chapman, offers a variety of custom patios featuring custom stonework, kitchens, fireplaces, fire pits, water features, landscaping, sound and lighting options.

Vlcek Gardens, based in Chapman, offers a variety of custom patios featuring custom stonework, kitchens, fireplaces, fire pits, water features, landscaping, sound and lighting options.

Vlcek Gardens, based in Chapman, offers a variety of custom patios featuring custom stonework, kitchens, fireplaces, fire pits, water features, landscaping, sound and lighting options.

Vlcek Gardens, based in Chapman, offers a variety of custom patios featuring custom stonework, kitchens, fireplaces, fire pits, water features, landscaping, sound and lighting options.

Vlcek Gardens, based in Chapman, offers a variety of custom patios featuring custom stonework, kitchens, fireplaces, fire pits, water features, landscaping, sound and lighting options.

Vlcek Gardens, based in Chapman, offers a variety of custom patios featuring custom stonework, kitchens, fireplaces, fire pits, water features, landscaping, sound and lighting options.

Vlcek Gardens, based in Chapman, offers a variety of custom patios featuring custom stonework, kitchens, fireplaces, fire pits, water features, landscaping, sound and lighting options.

Vlcek Gardens, based in Chapman, offers a variety of custom patios featuring custom stonework, kitchens, fireplaces, fire pits, water features, landscaping, sound and lighting options.

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The perfect patio is designed to fit both your yard and lifestyle - Grand Island Independent