5 Deck Designs We Love
Your deck is the ideal space for you to relax after a long day at work. You don’t want to sit on a rickety old set of wooden planks with the paint peeling off. You want to enjoy a nice, cool drink while you lounge on a sun-kissed, colorfully painted deck with comfortable chairs.
Below, we’ve listed five deck designs for you to explore. We’ve outlined each design’s important elements and explained the ambiance each deck style creates.
1. Platform Deck
Do you want a deck, but you only have a one-story home? If so, platform decks are a great fit for your house. They generally feature a simple wood platform that extends from the backside of the house. A few steps lead you from the deck into the backyard. Typically, people choose between curved or sharply angled platform decks.
Because platform decks are low to the ground, use pressurized, moisture-resistant materials. These protect the deck from weather damage.
Bonus tip:Ā For some additional seating, install bench seats along the exterior of the platform. We recommend adding stylish railings that can double as back rests for your comfortable, new bench seats.
2. Partially Enclosed Outdoor Room
A partially enclosed deck can create an intimate ambiance, perfect for a daytime, outdoor office and a nighttime, gathering place. This deck style works best if it operates as an extension of your family room or kitchen. Design the deck so that the style of the closest interior room-living room, kitchen, dining room-matches the partially enclosed space you’ve created outside. Add comfortable indoor-outdoor furniture with removable cushions.
Bonus tips:Ā Retractable awnings provide great overhead protection. Roll up your awnings at night or during an overcast day when you want to maximize natural lighting. To further enclose your outdoor room, install lattice partitions around your seated area.
3. Staggered Front Yard Entrance
Not everyone has a sprawling backyard. But most homeowners have front yard. If this sounds like you, consider building a front yard deck with three levels.
The highest level, just outside your front door, can host a little breakfast nook with an outdoor bistro table and bar stools. On the second level, you can lounge on Adirondack chairs or an outdoor loveseat. You can decorate the bottom level, near the lawn, with outdoor lighting to illuminate the entrance to your home.
Bonus tip:Ā Vary the plant life on each level to give your deck a sense of variety and to make it look more expansive.
4. Raised, Multi-Level Deck
This might be the most popular deck style in America. Raised decks utilize posts to create a flat platform across what’s usually a sloping yard. Often people commission builders to create the first deck level as an extension off the kitchen or living room. Then, down the road, they ask builders to return and install additional levels as finances allow.
Bonus tip:Ā Cover the multi-story posts with stonework or masonry facades. These materials hide the aesthetic imperfections on structural wood beams.
5. Stand-Alone Deck
Big yard, small house. Many people, especially outdoor-lovers, prefer to buy properties that fit this description. If you have a big, beautiful backyard, a stand-alone deck becomes a place to admire the scenery and the landscaping. Be sure to use overhead protection and pressurized, waterproof materials because your house’s eaves don’t cover a stand-alone deck and protect it from the elements.
We hope this list of deck design ideas has inspired you to remodel or add a new deck to your home. For more information about deck designs, contact a local, St. Louis construction company that specializes in remodels.
