If your deck spent the winter with all the "pretty" packed away, now is the time to start decorating your deck and planning for time outside with family and friends.
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to spend a lot of money to transform your deck for warm weather use. Adding a few useful items is enough to make it ready for relaxing, dining alfresco or celebrating life’s events with friends and family!
Here are six tips to spruce up your deck.
1. Create a Nice Seating Area.
- Encourage gatherings with seating that invites conversation and relaxation.
- Arrange your seating area depending on the number of people who use your deck regularly.
- The outdoor furniture you have may need a wipe down first.
- Spruce up your seating with pillows or new cushions if needed.
- For time with family, friends or neighbors, add chairs to make sure everyone has a comfortable place to sit.
- For large get-togethers, folding chairs, sport chairs, stools or large benches can accompany a party crowd.
- To provide comfort and convenience to your guests, add a table and side tables as well. Outdoor tables enable you and your guests to dine outdoors as well as a place for snacks and drinks.
2. Add New Textures and Colors.
- Decorate your outdoor oasis with colors and textures to make a happy space you love. Creating an inviting, colorful space to enjoy being outside, grilling, eating or simply relaxing.
- Add textures and colors you love with outdoor rugs, no-fade chair cushions, throw pillows, an umbrella or an overhead shade.
- For cool evenings, add some chunky knit throw blankets to make your deck super cozy!
3. Use Potted Plants for Pops of Colors.
- One way to add pops of colors to your deck is to decorate with potted plants.
- Add seasonal plants in colorful planters to add beauty, life and color, making your deck even more inviting.
4. Bedazzle Your Deck with Lighting.
- Aside from illuminating space, lights create ambiance and sets the mood. As warmer evenings grow longer into the night, lights provide more time to be outside. Outdoor lighting comes in many varieties and styles. Whether or not you turn your deck into a venue for social gatherings and parties or just for your own enjoyment, consider these ideas:
- Hang string lights above your deck if you have ways to connect them overhead.
- Decorate your railing with string lights for an instant party vibe.
- Use decorative lanterns on tabletops or on the deck to bring light to specific areas of your deck. Use battery operated candles for safety!
- Grill lights that hang on your grill lid are wonderful to make sure you grill to perfection.
- Deck lighting to illuminate stairs for safety-- some building codes require this.
- Landscape lighting around your deck to illuminate plantings and flowers, adding to the ambiance of your backyard paradise.
5. Warm Up Your Deck.
- To make your outdoor space comfortable in colder temperatures, add a source of heat. Depending on your budget, consider adding a chiminea, gas fire pit, an outdoor gas heater, or tabletop heater to enjoy the evenings longer.
6. Add Deck Boxes for Storage.
- For rainy or windy days, deck boxes make for great storage to protect your chair cushions, pillows, blankets, lanterns and anything you want to keep out of the wind and rain.
- Or if you have furniture coverings, deck boxes are the most convenient place to store them for quick retrieval.
Regardless of how you’ll use your deck, there are plenty of ideas to make your deck the inviting place to be.
This article is co-authored by Holly Shaw and Edie Kello. Holly Shaw is a freelance business writer and can be reached at hollyshaw524.contently.com. Edie Kello is Director of Marketing at Viance. For more informaton contact her at ekello@viance.net.
For additional tips, check out Porch.com's article, Tips for renewing, readapting and rebuilding your home by the Experts.
