HOME & GARDEN — Installing or updating a deck can transform your outdoor living area. If you’re planning a deck build or renovation in 2022, consider incorporating one or more of these design trends.
Image by ljlabarthe.
1. Creativity in Design
While decking design features used to be reserved for luxury upgrades, creative flair is increasingly mainstream. Some options for incorporating greater depth and style into your deck design include mixing and matching boards to create patterns, inlays and focal points or utilizing two-tone designs for more visually interesting aesthetics.
2. On-Trend Colors
Classic lumber-toned decks never go out of style, but adding some flair with an eye-catching color is a subtle way to elevate your deck’s aesthetic appeal. Some designs incorporate color throughout while another way to bring color to your deck is through distinctive inlay design or other design features.
Image by cadop.
3. Multi-Seasonal Spaces
Once you create an incredible outdoor space, you’ll likely want to use it as often as possible. That’s why many homeowners are designing decks with multiple seasons in mind. Features like retractable walls can help you block cool breezes and trap the warmth of space heaters or a fireplace while roofs provide shade and fans help circulate the breeze during warmer months. Decks built with clean, simple lines can offer a connection to nature as well as convenience for homeowners transitioning from indoor to outdoor spaces.
4. Popularity of Composite Decking
Weather patterns can cause substantial damage to a home’s exterior materials, including a deck where natural wood is prone to drying out. This creates an upkeep cycle that requires ongoing investments of time and money. Alternative to natural wood combine the low-maintenance, high-durability properties of composite decking with the exterior environment-defining presence of exotic wood. The result is an authentic look with zero-maintenance upkeep.
Image by Katja Senekovic.
5. Bringing the Inside Out
A deck’s design elements were once limited to predictable furnishings like a picnic table and grill, but those days are gone. Homeowners seeking to create an outdoor oasis are bringing amenities of the indoors outside. You’ll find outdoor kitchens and weather-proof TVs, rugs and furniture, allowing homeowners to incorporate the convenience and comfort of indoor living rooms and kitchens into their outdoor spaces despite elements like snow, wind and rain.
6. Masonry as an Accessory
If you love the look of masonry but have your heart set on a deck, you can take the path of many homeowners and incorporate masonry as an accessory or design element. Mixing building mediums provides texture, which creates an immersive tactile experience through sight and touch. Options like a fireplace or firepit, pillars, skirting, bench seats, planters, water features, kitchen or bar space and walkways can all complement and enhance the decking so you get to enjoy the best of both worlds.
7. Clean Sightlines
A deck is an ideal vantage point when you have a beautiful view to enjoy and using the right materials can enhance that experience. Creating a clean, sophisticated and unobstructed view is easy when you outfit your deck with the right lighting and use cable or glass railings, which provide safety along with clear views of the landscape beyond.
“You can spend your whole life traveling around the world searching for the Garden of Eden, or you can create it in your backyard.” — Khang Kijarro Nguyen
