Decks offer versatile options when it comes to special features. From including an outdoor kitchen to adding bench seating, get the elements you crave to satisfy your desires. Before building your new deck, take time to explore the possibilities and then prioritize your favorite elements to get the most enjoyment out of your investment.
Let’s dive in to discover the options to consider so you can choose the best amenities for your new deck.
Customize Your Deck for Greater Enjoyment with the Perfect Amenities
1. Built-in Benches
Built-in seating is an awesome space-saver you can add to your deck. Benches can be installed around the perimeter or on just a portion of it. Add a few colorful outdoor pillows and create an inviting oasis where you can gain some solitude with your favorite book or invite friends to hang out for the afternoon.
2. Outdoor Kitchen or Cooking Area
Enjoying time with family and friends eating meals outdoors together is one thing, but cooking outside while you entertain brings your gathering to a whole new level. After all, prepping and grilling or smoking the food is half the fun! The aroma adds to the ambiance, and with an outdoor kitchen, you won’t miss out on time with your guests just because you’re the chef.
What should an outdoor kitchen include? For starters, consider adding a built-in grille, cabinetry for storing necessities, countertop space for food prep, and refrigeration to simplify things. Add a dining area and bar seating for meals and games, and a patio heater to extend your outdoor season. For extra fun, add a pizza oven or smoker that will delight you and your taste buds while enticing your family and friends to come back.
3. Fire Pit
Sunken seating around a fire pit delivers an impressive focal point and inviting place to relax in the evening with family and friends.
4. TV or Entertainment Area
It’s quite refreshing to enjoy watching your favorite teams play on your outdoor deck rather than being cooped up in the house. Simply invest in equipment designed for the outdoors, and enjoy. Obviously, you’ll need to use wisdom and get outdoor-rated cables and mountings.
5. Multi-Level Decking
When you want to define areas of your decking for different purposes, a multi-level deck is a great concept to consider. Use one level for comfortable seating and a fire pit, and another area for your outdoor kitchen. Level changes can make a deck feel bigger because they provide different destination options to choose from. It’s a practical way to deal with a natural slope in your backyard.
While a set of standard steps along your home will get you easy access to your upper deck, you can play with how to get to the lower one. When choosing multi-level decking, get creative with the steps from one level to the next by making them wide enough to double as extra seating. How’s that for a practical solution for all those friends you want to invite over?
6. Hot Tub
A hot tub is a delightful luxury that can be enjoyed year-round. Hot tubs are best built on concrete slabs because they are so heavy. So if you want your deck to be adjacent to it, build your deck around your hot tub with materials that can withstand the water and chemicals they will come in contact with. Have a couple of steps built in for easy access to your hot tub, and enjoy!
7. Planting Pockets
Do you have limited yard space for growing flowers, veggies, and shrubs? In urban areas, decking may be your home’s only outdoor space, and with a little ingenuity, it can double as a garden. Enter the planting pocket in your new deck. This cutout gives you space to plant anything from gorgeous ornamental grass to colorful flowering perennials and attractive evergreens. The addition of plants on your deck space transforms its look and doubles its function.
8. Gazebo, Pergola, or Pavilion
Create a refreshing shaded area that adds visual interest by including a gazebo, pergola, or pavilion on your new decking. These structures can be weighty, so they may need to be anchored directly rather than on top of a deck.
9. Vertical Garden
Gain gorgeous visual interest and a fun way to grow your favorite flowers and veggies with a vertical garden installed in your deck. Use planter boxes, and add a variety of color with plants of all shapes and sizes.
10. Sand Box
Who doesn’t love building castles in the sand? Add a sand box to your deck, and it’s likely that not a single child will visit your backyard without spending some time playing in it.
11. Speakers
Water-resistant outdoor speakers can connect with your indoor ones to bring your favorite music to your outdoor entertaining space. Your tunes will sound much better playing through speakers than they will through a phone, so go for it!
12. Lighting
Transform the look of your deck into a gorgeous, inviting space at night with deck lighting. Make sure there are lights along your stairs to prevent accidents. Include mood lighting to encourage guests to linger after dark. Small lights on rails, steps, and walls enhance the atmosphere, while a floodlight will deter intruders after dark.
Get the Gorgeous Deck of Your Dreams Installed by Our Experienced Team
The outdoors are meant to be enjoyed, so don’t miss out on the fresh air and sunshine you can relax in while entertaining on your new deck. At Craftsman Exteriors, we design and install attractive, sturdy decks that bring hours of enjoyment.
Our durable Trex® Composite Decking delivers enduring beauty and function. Its eco-friendly deck boards mimic traditional wood, yet offer super low maintenance. We also install timeless traditional wood decking for a warm look and feel that’s tough to replicate with other materials. Learn more about how our deck services can turn your dreams into reality so you can enjoy life even more! Contact us today for a free assessment.
