10 Ways to Liven Up Your Deck Decor

With the holiday season approaching and the influx of house guests who have reserved a date on your calendar rising sky high, it may be time to reconsider your deck design. It’s easy to throw together furniture because, let’s be honest here, when you’re remodeling a house, the deck is often done last or even forgotten in some cases.
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Want to get your deck VIP ready in time for guests during the holiday season? BigDecks.com has got you covered. In this article, we’ve covered the top 10 ways to liven up your deck décor!
1. Deck Furniture
The number one way to liven up your deck décor is the furniture. Flipping outdoor furniture is one of the easiest ways to remodel a deck. This is because homeowners often make the grave mistake of not matching their outdoor furniture’s aesthetic, color, or style to their house or other pre-existing furniture, often resulting in a chaotic Frankenstein set.
There are several types of patio furniture, so it’s essential to pick ones that suit the maintenance level you are comfortable working with and match your house. A lot of common pieces you can find in stores are chairs (stand-alone or sofas, sometimes even loveseats), umbrellas, tables (long or coffee), and fireplaces/fire pits. The most popular materials for those pieces are metal or wood. Still, other good options if those don’t match what you want are wicker or vinyl furniture, which often last longer than metal or wood and are often waterproof (and, therefore, snow-resistant). Another option is fabric furniture (stuffed furniture pieces that are mostly fabric and stuffing), which can often provide a wide range of colors that can’t be found in other materials. Of course, as far as maintenance goes, the easiest to care for are wicker and vinyl, followed by metal, wood, and then fabric furniture.
2. Lighting
The second way to liven up deck décor is lighting. Lighting is often underestimated when building or remodeling a deck. In some cases, no lighting is installed, leaving your deck unfinished.
There are several types of lighting that you can buy based on what you already have. There may be better ideas if you have a fireplace than getting more lights. Instead, opt for lamps or lanterns that will allow dim lighting. Candles are also a good option, especially if you want to create a cozy or romantic atmosphere.
If you’re looking to light up the area, string lights, deck lights, railing lights, and solar garden lights are all excellent options. String lights are best for large decks that need a lot of space covered and come in several styles that can be mixed and matched according to preference. The types include Edison-style bulbs, globe-style bulbs, fairy lights, and even LEDs. String lights are the easiest to install because they often don’t need to be wired to your house’s electricity – plug it in, and you’re good to go. Solar garden lights are also easy to install, with many having a design allowing you to stick them into any soil or rock. Deck lights and railing lights, however, are significantly harder, as you need to plan to install those when first building the deck or the railing around it.
3. Accents
The third way to liven up the deck décor is with accents, such as pillows or rugs. People often underestimate the simplicity and elegance of accent pieces. They will put them inside their homes but not in outdoor spaces, robbing their decks and patios of a comfortable atmosphere. Pillows are the most versatile of the accents, with shades in every rainbow hue and materials in almost every fabric known to man. If you can think of it, you can probably find it in a store, making it one of the easiest ways to spruce up your deck. Rugs are also good accent pieces but can be harder to track down because you have to measure your deck to make sure it’s the right size for the vision you have in mind. However, if you plan to spend a lot of time on your deck for entertaining, investing in a rug might be a good idea to help pull your outdoor space together.
4. Accent Pieces
The fourth way to spruce up your deck décor is related to accent pieces, which are statues. A well-placed statue on a deck (either on the floor or on a tabletop) can pull the whole image together, rather than distracting as a collection of mismatched pieces will do.
5. Water Features
The fifth way is more difficult but very rewarding: installing fountains. These can be tabletop, built into or installed on a wall, or on the ground. The soft burbling of water is extremely calming, especially if you’re going for a deck to revitalize. Many fountains come in all sorts of materials, making it extremely easy to match the aesthetic of your house while adding value to your deck. Fountains come in metal and stone, and some even come with wooden attachments like bamboo spouts that allow you to place them almost anywhere on your deck to blend in and help pull your space together. And the versatility and range in size make them a go-to favorite for remodeling decks.
6. Plants
Adding plants is the sixth method on the list to liven up your deck décor. It has two major benefits. 1) Having plants has been known to increase mental health and mood, and 2) they’re beautiful to look at. Like fountains and statues, plants can blend flawlessly into the background to tie your deck together or stand alone as the centerpiece. Several popular types of plants include Caladium, Begonias, Lavender, Crotons, Ornamental grasses, Hydrangeas, and Coleuses. And those are just the top seven on the list of the most popular patio list – the list goes into the hundreds, offering you every sort of color and variety that you can dream of. Even if you have a black thumb, these plants are easy to take care of and can often withstand many of the common elements we experience without much damage.
7. Wind Chimes
The seventh method is wind chimes. Adding wind chimes can help add whimsy to your deck, or can help block out the sound of roads. There are many types and many pitches, making it relatively easy to find pieces that fit your needs.
8. Planters
The eighth method is planters. Many assume plants have to be potted to be on decks, which is not the case. Planters offer an elegant and stately option to the traditional pots that are often found, with types now being produced that can even be vertical along a wall to leave floor space for furniture. This makes planters one of the most ideal deck pieces.
9. Decorative Pots
The ninth object is related to the eighth, and that’s plant pots! You don’t have to stick with simple terracotta for your deck. There are all sorts of pots for sale, and many are colorful and sturdy, allowing for a smart pop of color without disturbing the style. Glazed or unglazed, wooden or ceramic, metal or vinyl – there are so many options that the limits are endless!
10. Deck Restoration
The tenth and final way to liven up your deck décor is arguably the hardest out of all these we have mentioned here, and this is replacing or repainting the flooring. Wood flooring, and even vinyl flooring, wear out over time from stress, heat, and rain damage. Damaged flooring is dangerous as well as unsightly, as it can splinter or shatter from the tension being placed upon it as the damage worsens. Sometimes, it’s nice to repaint the decking you already have, but sometimes it’s necessary to rip out the old boards so you can have safe new flooring for your guests. Deck restoration may just be the answer for you.
However, BigDecks.com makes it easy! Just give the phone number on our website a call. BigDecks.com can help you design the deck of your dreams. Why wait until the in-laws come? Get a head start and get to enjoy your brand-new deck at the same time. Have questions? Contact us!