Hey all, I've read the site for some time, and finally decided to join. My wife and I are looking to do something to spruce up our patio and can't come up with anything. When we bought the house it had a screened in patio that was built on with the house. This is all well and good, except that it's a 12x12 space so it's just a little too small entertain and things like that. So we're looking to do something different with it. I have linked a picture of the patio area, and you can see another on my photobucket.(Sorry I'm not sure how to post pictures just yet)

The frame of the screen porch is aluminum. We have two lab puppies that pretty much have free roam of the yard, and have a penchant for tearing through the screens so we've decided to look into doing something different. I know my wife wants to essentially get rid of the screened area, and basically open it up so that we can use the whole patio area, and not just what is under the 12 x 12 space that has a roof. Can you guys help me out with some ideas, or where I should go for some? We're thinking some kind of aluminum rod iron between the sections of the existing porch frame, and then contiuing that out to the exposed slab area and using 4x4 posts. Would something like that look good?

Thanks in advance.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}