5 Ways to Personalize Your Deck for a Custom Look

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Summer is right around the corner, which means it’s time to start thinking about opening up our homes for those long, warm days and relaxed evenings outdoors. A well-designed deck creates a second living or dining area you’ll love spending time in with friends and family, plus it’s a great way to enhance the overall look of your yard.

Advances in decking design mean there are more options than ever in terms of board color, width and timber grain, which makes it easy to create a show-stopping outdoor area that suits your home and personal style. There’s plenty of room for creativity, and we spoke with decking expert Jessica Hagen of Cincinnati-based All Decked Out 513 to discover five ways you can customize your deck for a stunning, one-of-a-kind look.

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Deck design by Simcoe Decks

1. Mix Wood Tones

Think standard brown and gray are your only options? Think again. Today’s composite decking comes in a huge array of colors and tones, including pale wood, soft grays, rich browns, dramatic slate and boards that have the look of exotic hardwoods. You’ll also find styles with a prominent wood grain effect, as well as those with minimal grain effect for a sleeker appearance.

One of the easiest and most effective ways to add impact to your deck is to vary the wood colors, an idea fast gaining traction among homeowners. “Growing numbers of our clients are mixing colors together — before it was two colors, but now it’s as many as three or four,” Hagen says. “Overall, the palettes are warm and earthy. The colors in the Deckorators Voyage line can be mixed together for endless different looks to make your deck unique and ensure that it stands apart from your neighbors’.”

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Deck design by Simcoe Decks

For a vast choice of colors and grains, consider mineral-based composite decking. “It mimics the look of real wood to allow for natural-looking decking in a material that will last 50-plus years,” Hagen says. Unlike wood, it’s zero-maintenance and won’t absorb moisture, swell or contract, giving you a great-looking deck without the headaches.

When choosing decking colors, consider the tones and finishes in the adjoining living areas to create a sense of cohesion between indoors and out. You should also factor in the colors of your home’s facade, your outdoor furniture and landscaping. Just like indoor colors, you’ll find that outdoor decking falls into warm and cool tones. Warm tones such as rich brown have a cozy, classic feel, while cool tones such as pale gray create a more casual, contemporary vibe. When you’re combining different decking colors, it’s common to choose boards of the same tone.

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Deck design by Precision Construction

2. Vary Your Plank Widths

For a subtle sense of interest, select decking in a single color and mix up the plank sizes. It’s a stylish and versatile look that works equally well on compact and spacious decks. “New 4-inch boards are more readily available now, which has opened up the design possibilities,” Hagen says. “A few of our recent projects have featured an 8-inch outside border with a 4-inch inside border and standard 6-inch decking in the main field. Another popular look for 2021 is using the same color in the main field but alternating two 6-inch boards and one 4-inch board.”

With a look such as this that places the attention underfoot, it’s a good idea to specify hidden fasteners. “This creates a really clean, uniform look to your deck,” Hagen says. It’s also wise to select mineral-based composite decking, which won’t expand or contract like other types of boards, so your mixed-width decking maintains its appearance whatever the weather throws at it.

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Deck design by All Decked Out 513

3. Create an Eye-Catching Border

Make a statement by adding perimeter detailing to your deck. Use a single or double border to frame the entire deck, create eye-catching stair accents or define a favorite feature, such as a hot tub. The latest trends favor dark borders, which elegantly delineate deck edges and features. On this entry landing by All Decked Out 513, a crisp dark border frames the gray decking and elegantly ties in with the window and door trims used for the home, creating a cohesive look.

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Deck design by Premier Outdoor Living

Installation tip: If you’re installing a deck border in an area where you plan to have a railing, specify wider board widths, such as 7¼ and 9¼ inches, to accommodate the railing installation.

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Deck design by All Decked Out 513

4. Add a Unique Inlay

Looking to add decorative flair to your alfresco area or highlight a specific space? A deck inlay is a clever way to go about it. Crafted from a small section of boards in a color or pattern different than the main decking, an inlay creates the appearance of an outdoor rug, but since it’s built into your deck, there’s no chance of it slipping or being damaged by the weather.

You can use an inlay to visually break up a large deck or to carve out separate zones — one for dining and barbecuing, for example, another for relaxation, with a pair of comfortable sofas and a coffee table.

And feel free to think beyond decking. A feature inlay also allows you to get creative with other products, such as tiles, for a standout look, Hagen says. “We like to mix different materials, such as decking and stone, to create a simple yet unique design,” she says. In the deck inlay seen here, Hagen and her team used Deckorators Picture Frame Deck Board in Dark Slate for the main deck border and the dark inlay border, combined with Deckorators Voyage in Sierra and Tundra around a travertine feature tile.

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Deck design by Renew It Decks

5. Have Fun With Layouts

Try something new with patterned decking. Chevron and herringbone decking layouts are some of the most popular styles with both designers and homeowners at the moment. “It’s a fun, modern alternative to diagonal and horizontal decking and adds a real textural element to your outdoor area,” Hagen says.

Running the boards diagonally, rather than in the traditional horizontal layout, not only strengthens your deck but creates a more refined appearance. It’s also a good solution for smaller decks because it enhances the sense of space.

More: See the latest trends and shop decking products in a variety of colors and styles on the Deckorators website.

This story was written by the Houzz Sponsored Content team.