Light it up. Backlighting your deck's stair risers is an unusual way to put exterior safety lighting where it's needed. Simple cutouts in the risers in any pattern that suits you can yield a delightful decorative element while keeping you out of the dark.Don't make lighting the deck an afterthought. Effective lighting will increase the enjoyment you'll get from the deck. And lighting your deck will keep the view to the yard all the more enjoyable by eliminating the "black mirror" effect on windows when it's dark outside and all lit up inside. When thinking about lighting your deck, the book suggests considering:ambient light created by the bounce of light off exterior walls and surfacesshadowing to highlight interesting shapes, by shining the light on the object so its shadow is cast on a nearby surfacesilhouetting an object by placing light behind itmoonlighting by casting light down from a high spot in a treevignetting by using several lights to illuminate a spot or objecttask lighting with focused lights on a particular area, like an outdoor kitchensafety lighting, such as light on the stairs from deck to lawn