Building patios in your backyard for entertainment reasons should be well thought out and designed for usefulness. Space planning according the size of the average group of people you would be entertaining. How you will be entertaining ie, barbecues, pool parties, dinner outside. Planning for things like seating and tables for eating are all important issues when planning for your patio. Type of guests you will be entertaining, children, family, or business. Entertaining business guests you may want something that reflects a classy and modern look, something to wow them and leave an impression. Entertaining children and families maybe something with a small play area and patio for eating including tables and chairs, area for barbecue away from play areas but close to dining area. Seat walls are the perfect solution for smaller patios because they add seating room for children and extra visitors or when you just have too many people. Here are some examples and how they change the feel of the ordinary patio to an outdoor living space and the only difference is usefulness.
Patio inside patio to separate barbecue area from play area using seat walls, also adding extra seating, barbecue close to house so they can still barbecue in the winter. The play area is in the grassed section and table and chairs can be situated in the larger patio area, this was a well thought out plan and they receive the optimum use from their backyard living space.
Built in Richmond hill circular stairs add to the value because you can enter from any angle and beautiful fit for some designs. Seat walls again add to the entertainment value because you have lots of extra seating. they also installed a hot tub, again they were thinking of what they wanted from their backyard, lots of room for a table and chairs and barbecue close to the stairs yet away from seating and tables.

Author's Bio: 

I am a Certified Landscape Technician and a designer for residential properties. I welcome all questions on landscaping hardscapes or design ideas. You can check out my gallery for some ideas www.paradiseviewslandscaping.com