10 Ways to Bedeck Your Deck
Make the Most of Your Indoor-Outdoor Kick-Back Space
Whether you're planning to add a deck to your home or are just feeling like yours is a bit ho-hum, there are lots of moves that can help you make the most of this outdoor space. If you're starting from scratch, you'll want to complement your house, ease the transition from indoors to out, and make the most of your surroundings. If your home is already bedecked, you can transform these spaces to make sure you'll use them as often as possible. You can make small moves like adding flowers, to big moves like adding built-in furnishings. All right, I promise I won't say "bedecked" again for the rest of this ideabook.
First, take advantage of your surroundings. All right, few of us have the chance to enjoy a view quite this good from our decks, but I thought I'd kick off this ideabook with something spectacular.
This is the same deck you see in the previous picture. It's in Belize, and its perch is not all that different from a zip-line starting point: high in the trees with a long vista over the jungle.
A long viewing platform on this deck makes for a new and dramatic experience.
The design of this railing has a nautical feel and allows for a view through to the harbor and its boats.
Too often decks are haphazardly added to the back of a house without regard for the architecture. Not so with this deck and arbor painted to match the rest of the house.
Plan on getting comfortable. There are so many new options for
Plan for built-in furniture.Built-in deck furnishings can be as simple as a wooden wraparound bench.
These built-ins take it a step further and incorporate a wall and lighting.
Plan for plants. Other clever deck built-ins include planters. This is a great opportunity for adding a layer of privacy with taller plants, and creating a spot for an edible garden.
If you don't want to get so elaborate, something as simple as these galvanized bins can contain plants. Check the paint section of a big-box hardware store; these are very inexpensive.
A mix of terracotta pots is also a good move. When a deck is close to the ground level, be sure to leave room for planting around the edges.
Emphasize connectivity between indoors and out. This deck connects to a second one via this staircase. Everyone can enjoy the lily pond from different levels.
A deck is a transitional area between your indoor space and the rest of your yard. Make sure you have good visual and physical access from inside, and if possible, provide this same access from the deck to the rest of the yard.
This deck can be directly accessed from the house, and it is part of a greater circulation plan that includes these stepping stones.
Here the same decking material is used to connect the house to the hot tub area. The staggered platforms add a calm, Japanese-style sensibility.
This deck is nestled in the trees, and the detail over the planter brings the eye up to further emphasize the vertical.
Plan around trees. Literally. This doesn't always work out, but it's wonderful when you are able to save a tree by cutting the deck around it.
Give a roof new purpose.Part deck, part planted roof. this kind of design helps lessen the amount of rainwater runoff.
Program different areas for different activities. Design blogger Cococozy has maximized the potential of her deck, creating rooms for all different activities from napping to entertaining. All of the details are here.
The Hillside House utilizes outdoor space as much as indoor space. Covered and uncovered decks add several rooms to the house, and one even contains a bathtub.
This deck makes the most of the covered area, where there is an outdoor living room, while leaving a freer program around the uncovered parts.
The dining area is uncovered and overlooks the pool ...
... also, the wide stairs beyond the dining table provide a strong connection between the deck and the pool area.
Bonus shot. This is simply one of my favorite photographs on Houzz. The photographers did such a brilliant job with the composition: plants on two sides, the off-center circle from the table, the way the chairs are pulled out, and even that magazine open to what appears to be a Ruben Toledo illustration.
More:
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Ten Ways to Make Your Balcony More Inviting
More:
Deck Days
What Makes a Patio Modern?
Ten Ways to Make Your Balcony More Inviting