Old brick has a warmth that new paving takes decades to earn. The soft reds, the worn corners, the moss in the joints: a small patio built from it already feels like part of the garden.

In a tight space, though, charm isn’t enough. A brick corner only works if a chair can sit level on it and the back door still opens.

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12 surface ideas with real character

All of these looks fit a patio of roughly 60 to 150 square feet. Pick the one that suits the brick you have and the way you sit outside, not the one with the busiest pattern.

1. Broad pavers for a calmer floor

Lay large pavers, 16 to 24 inches square, across the seating area and keep a band of the old brick, two or three rows wide, around the outside. The big slabs give chair legs a flat, quiet floor, and the brick edge keeps the warmth.

It works best when the kept brick clearly frames something. A random leftover strip by the fence just looks unfinished.

2. Mixed sizes in a whisper-soft palette

A patio pieced together from several brick sizes still looks restful when the colors stay close: soft red, rose, tan and buff. Pick one of those tones for your cushions or pots and let the brick carry all the variety.

The catch comes later. Odd sizes and weathered faces are hard to match, so set aside 10 to 20 spare bricks now if you ever lift a section.

3. Green joints where feet never land

Let low plants fill the joints along the garden side, where nobody walks or pulls out a chair. Creeping thyme suits a strip with 6 or more hours of sun, while Irish moss or mazus handle part shade, and both stay under 2 inches tall.

Keep plants out of the main walking line and the door landing. Even tough groundcovers thin out where they’re stepped on every day.

4. A stepping-stone trail to the chair

Run a short line of stepping stones, each about 18 to 24 inches across and spaced about 24 inches center to center for an easy stride, through planting to a small brick pad with one chair on it. Suddenly that odd patch of brick is somewhere you actually go.

Give that pad at least 4 by 4 feet so all four chair legs sit on brick, not on the soft edge.

5. A threshold stripe that says welcome

A single row of darker brick, set across the patio about 3 feet out from the door, marks the step from house to garden like a doormat that never blows away. Choose a tone already in the house brick or the mortar so it looks like it was always there.

6. A gentle curve beside the greenery

If one edge of the brick already bends toward a bed, let it, and plant one generous sweep of a single plant along it: catmint, lady’s mantle or a low grass, set about 12 to 18 inches apart. Keep the house side and the seating area straight so only the garden edge relaxes.

7. One reclaimed detail with a past

Save the most characterful reclaimed bricks, the ones with stamped names, scorch marks or chipped corners, for a small panel by a bench or planter. People notice them there, close to eye level when seated, instead of walking over them.

Salvaged brick usually runs about $0.50 to $1.50 a brick, and you need about 4.5 standard bricks per square foot. Old soft brick can flake in hard frosts, so this is a good place to use pieces you love but aren’t sure about underfoot.

8. A pale grid with graphic lines

Buff or faded cream brick laid in a straight stack bond, joints lined up both ways, makes a shady courtyard feel brighter and crisper. Dark green leaves and one terracotta pot are all the decoration it needs.

Pale brick shows everything: a darker replacement, a wobbly joint, a leaf stain. Accept some honest color variation instead of chasing a uniform finish.

9. Pavers that point toward the view

Rows of brick running away from the door pull the eye down the yard and make a short patio read longer. Line them up with the best thing you can see, a tree or a bed in bloom, then turn the chair to face the same way.

10. Herringbone saved for one special zone

Treat a herringbone panel like an outdoor rug: about 5 by 7 feet under a small table, with plain running bond around it. The angled zigzag gets noticed because nothing else competes with it.

Herringbone takes the most cut bricks at the edges and is the hardest pattern to patch neatly, so keep it to a stable spot.

11. A brick border around quiet paving

Frame a plain center of concrete pavers or gravel with a border of the original brick, one or two rows wide. It’s a smart way to keep old brick when there isn’t enough for the whole floor, and it pairs well with a small paver patio layout if you’re starting part of the surface fresh.

12. Brick patio, up close

Get down to brick level and look at the faces, corners and joint lines. Pick out one detail you love, maybe a rusty orange or a soft lichen gray, and repeat it in a pot glaze or a cushion. Two or three echoes are enough.

Read the existing brick before you choose a look

Spend 15 minutes on the patio after a good rain, with your phone for photos. Faded color and worn corners are character. Bricks that move or puddles that won’t leave are a different conversation.

Where to look	What it tells you
Underfoot	Rock your weight on each area. A brick that tips, or a lip of more than about 1/4 inch between neighbors, will catch toes and chair legs.
After rain	Small puddles that are gone within a few hours are normal on old brick. Water that sits for a day, or runs toward the door or house wall, needs a closer look.
At the edges	Check whether the outer rows are tight or spreading into the lawn or bed. A loose edge lets the whole field creep over time.
Around it	Note tree roots within about 10 feet, hours of sun, and where you’d pull a chair back.
Age and history	Very old or unusual brick, or a patio tied into an old house wall, is worth photographing and keeping as intact as you can.

Then mark the trouble spots with chalk. Plan furniture on the solid ground, not over the dip that happens to look nice in photos.

Make the patio serve one everyday use

Pick the thing you’ll actually do most: morning coffee, an easy dinner, or simply stepping out into the garden. A small backyard brick patio feels generous when it does one of these well, and cramped when it tries to do all three.

For coffee, two chairs and a 24-inch bistro table fit in about 6 by 6 feet. For dinner, a 36 to 42-inch round table with four chairs needs about 10 by 10 feet, because every chair needs 24 to 36 inches behind the table edge to pull out and stand up.

Test it before you buy. Set out kitchen chairs, sit down, push back, then open the back door and walk through. Keep about 36 inches clear for the way from the door to the yard. If the door hits a chair, go down to one seat or move the set. If you’re still deciding on brick at all, choose a small patio surface around the space and upkeep you want first.

Three small brick patio concepts

Once you know which brick is sound and what the space is for, the choice gets much easier. Each of these puts the brick to work in a different spot.

1. A quiet running-bond coffee patio

Running bond, rows offset by half a brick like a wall laid flat, is the calmest pattern there is. Put two chairs and a small table on it, add one outdoor rug about 4 by 6 feet or a pair of low pots, and let the weathered color do the rest.

It needs a firm, fairly level patch of about 36 square feet. If a pulled-back chair blocks the way through, make it a one-chair spot rather than forcing a pair.

2. A framed dining corner

Outline a simple brick field with one border row, a soldier course of bricks set end to end, and the dining area suddenly looks planned. Size the frame to the table with chairs pulled out, not tucked in, so no chair leg ends up half on the border.

Keep the border close in color. A high-contrast ring around a small table makes the middle look smaller, and a border wider than one brick borrows room from dinner.

3. A reclaimed-brick garden threshold

Use brick to mark the change from path to planting: a landing about 4 by 5 feet with one low planter and room to pause. Mixed aged tones are decoration enough, so the plants stay the focus.

The catch here is the brick itself. Reclaimed brick varies a lot: hard, dense paving brick lasts for decades, while soft old common brick can flake within a few winters in freeze-thaw climates. Ask the seller what the bricks were used for, and favor ones rated for paving or severe weathering if your winters freeze.

Let pattern and border support the space

Judge the pattern from the back door, because on a small patio you see the whole floor at once. Running bond flows quietly in one direction, basketweave reads as a gentle checkerboard, and herringbone is the liveliest of the three.

If the brick already has several tones, keep new accents close to them. Lay a few sample bricks or pots beside the old ones and look at them at the time of day you use the patio, since brick reads warmer in evening light than at noon.

For cleaning, a stiff nylon brush, water and a mild patio cleaner handle most moss and grime. Go easy with a pressure washer on old brick: a narrow, high-pressure tip can scour the face and blast out joint sand in seconds.

A decorative border and a solid outer edge are not the same thing. A pretty soldier row that sits loose in the lawn will drift, so if the sides are spreading, add small patio edging that actually holds the brick in place.

Know when repair needs professional input

Cosmetic choices are yours to make. Call a local hardscape or masonry contractor when you see bricks sinking in a patch, water that sits for a day or flows toward the house, edges that keep spreading, a cracked or tilted door step, roots lifting the surface, or brick that’s tied into a house or garden wall.

Those signs usually point to the base underneath, and lifting a few bricks rarely fixes the cause. Bring your photos after rain and a sketch of the door and chairs. For a sense of scale, a new professionally laid brick patio usually runs about $15 to $30 per square foot, so get two or three quotes and ask how much of the old brick they can reuse.

If you want background before that conversation, read This Old House’s brick-patio overview. It shows how much of a brick patio’s life depends on what’s under the surface, the drainage and the edges. That’s the part you can’t judge from the top, so it’s worth paying someone to look.

FAQ

What pattern is best for a small brick patio?

Running bond is the best all-round pattern for a small brick patio. It’s calm, easy to patch and makes a 6 by 8-foot space feel orderly rather than busy. Save herringbone for one rug-sized panel if you want more pattern.

Can I use reclaimed brick for a patio?

Yes, as long as it’s hard enough to be walked on through your winters. Dense paving brick and hard-fired clay brick hold up well, while soft common brick can flake after a few freeze-thaw cycles. Buy 10 to 15 percent extra to allow for broken or unusable pieces.

How do I make a small brick patio feel less busy?

Give it one job, one pattern and one accent. Keep the main field in running bond, use either a slim border or 2 or 3 low pots, and leave the 36-inch walkway empty. Furniture in a single color helps too.

What should I check before repairing a brick patio?

Check for bricks that rock, lips over about 1/4 inch, puddles that last a day, spreading edges, nearby tree roots and anything wrong at the door or a wall. Photograph it all after rain. That record shows you, or a contractor, if the trouble is a few loose bricks or the base underneath.

Does a brick patio need professional help?

Not for layout, furniture, cleaning or planting the joints. You do want a pro for sinking areas, water running toward the house, unstable edges, a damaged door step or work against a wall, since those usually involve the base underneath.

Final thoughts

Old brick is meant to be sat on and walked across every day. Pick one job for it, keep the pattern simple, and let the worn color do the decorating.

After the next rain, walk the patio with a piece of chalk, circle anything that rocks or holds water, then set two kitchen chairs on the soundest 6 by 6-foot patch and open the back door. If both chairs sit level and the door swings free, you’ve found your spot.

Last update on 2026-10-02 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API