Deck Decorating Ideas to Create Outdoor Rooms

If you’re looking for deck decorating ideas, you know that your outdoor living space has the potential to be a top destination for family and friends. It just takes a little planning and inspiration to transform your deck into an attractive, inviting space.

How you think about deck decorating ideas is actually quite similar to how you think through decorating indoor rooms: You’ll need to decide how you want the space to look, feel, and function. Then, you can build out your color scheme, design, furniture, and décor choices from there.

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How to Think Through Deck Room Ideas

Deck decorating ideas range from full-scale overhauls of your deck design to simple furniture and décor additions, but they all center around creating specific “rooms” on your deck. Depending on the size of your outdoor living space, you may be able to incorporate more than one room into your design for optimal functionality.

Before you dive into deck room ideas, you’ll need to first think through the following factors so you can start forming a plan for your deck design:

Project Budget & Scope

Are you looking for finishing touches for your deck design, such as furniture and décor ideas, or a full-scale structural addition, such as a pergola or deck extension?

Deck Function

How do you plan to use your deck? Are you hoping to have close friends over for late-night drinks? Large family dinner parties? Or maybe you’re looking for something multi-functional?

Look & Feel

Think about how you want your space to look and feel. Are you going for an irresistible cozy retreat, an inviting entertainment venue for family and friends, or something in between?

With these factors in mind for your project, you’re ready to explore deck decorating ideas and choose the best ones that suit your needs and unique style.

Outdoor Living Room Ideas

Deck decorating ideas for an outdoor living room

Recreate the familiar coziness of your living room with deck room ideas that center around bringing interior comforts outdoors. As you consider these deck decorating ideas, remember to always choose outdoor-rated furniture and décor to ensure your pieces can withstand the elements.

Establish a Color Scheme

Think about the rooms in your home — they all likely have a specific color scheme that supports the look and feel you’re going for. While you may not necessarily have walls to paint on your deck, these deck room ideas allow you to develop a color scheme with your deck board, railing, furniture, and décor colors.

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WARM NEUTRAL COLOR SCHEME

Opt for an inviting Scandinavian color scheme by making warm neutrals the primary color for your design. Choose warm tan decking like Weathered Teak^® and incorporate more wood tones and natural textiles into your design for a cozy, inviting look. For contrast that doesn’t feel too harsh, opt for off-white furniture and a sleek black composite railing like Contemporary Top Rail to finish your space.

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COOL COASTAL COLOR SCHEME

Want to evoke the cool, breezy feel of the coast? Embrace a color scheme that champions blues, whites, and grays. Choose gray composite decking like Coastline^® for your foundation and build out your color scheme with gray wicker furniture featuring deep blue cushions and white and light blue throw pillows. For your railing, opt for a crisp white composite railing with stainless steel cable infill for clear sightlines to your backyard views.

Deck decorating ideas for a living room with a high-contrast colors scheme

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HIGH-CONTRAST MODERN COLOR SCHEME

Modernize your outdoor living space with a high-contrast color scheme. Choose richly hued decking like Mahogany for a primary color of deep brown. Pair it with other dark elements like a black railing and black-framed furniture for a sleek modern look. Then, add high-contrast elements like bright white cushions and throw pillows to lighten the scene.

START YOUR COLOR JOURNEY
Explore your deck color options and order free samples of decking and railing to see how they suit your space. FIND YOUR COLOR

Consider Privacy Ideas

Ensure your outdoor living room is just as private and secluded as your interior living room with deck decorating ideas that increase your space’s privacy.

Lush Greenery

For a softer, natural feel, use edging plants like hedges for deck skirting that blends in If your deck is low to the ground, plant thick, full greenery around the perimeter to create an attractive and natural privacy screen. For higher decks, place tall, lush potted plants around your perimeter for the same effect.

EXPLORE Privacy Ideas

Privacy Screen

For permanent privacy, build a privacy screen around a section of your deck. Your screen can be as simple as a slatted panel or more decorative like a trellis or uniquely designed panels.

EXPLORE Privacy Ideas

Cultivate a Cozy Atmosphere

Increase your outdoor living room’s cozy appeal with these deck room ideas that focus on bringing comforting details of interior design to the outdoors.

Deck decorating ideas include indoor-inspired furniture and decor

INDOOR-INSPIRED FURNITURE & TEXTILES

For an irresistibly cozy space, choose indoor-inspired furniture such as wicker chairs that feature curved armrests and cushioned seats. Then, layer on the textiles such as patterned throw pillows and throw blankets to encourage guests to settle in — and stay — outside.

MORE DÉCOR IDEAS

Deck decorating ideas include ambient lighting like lanterns

CREATE AMBIANCE WITH LIGHTING

Add a touch of romance to your space with outdoor lighting such as string lights, lanterns, or even built-in lighting in your deck or railing. The soft glow of your chosen lighting not only increases the cozy atmosphere of your space but provides visibility for safety after sunset.

EXPLORE OUTDOOR LIGHTING

Deck decorating ideas include an attractive focal point such as a coffee table

ADD AN ATTRACTIVE FOCAL POINT

Just like your interior, your outdoor living room should have an eye-catching focal point. Choose a conversation-starter such as an intricately designed coffee table to create an interesting visual anchor for your design.

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Outdoor Dining Room Ideas

Love to dine alfresco? Get deck room ideas for creating a comfortable, functional, and inviting outdoor dining room you can enjoy with family and friends.

Create a Covered Space

Enjoy your dinner outdoors with some protection from the elements with covered deck features. These covered features not only give you varying levels of overhead protection, but also help to visually demarcate a section of your deck specifically for dining.

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PERGOLA

A pergola is an elegant structure that gives your deck a striking architectural feature while also providing light sun protection with its slatted roof. For greater overhead protection, consider adding a shade canopy — which will also provide your space with additional color and texture.

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ROOF EXTENSION

For complete overhead protection to enjoy outdoor eats come rain or shine, place your dining set under a roof extension. A roof extension blends in with the rest of your home exterior for a cohesive aesthetic.

Create an Inviting Tablescape

Nothing invites family and friends to share a meal quite as much as a beautiful tablescape. A tablescape refers to an intentionally arranged tabletop that evokes a specific theme, aesthetic, or feeling. Explore these deck decorating ideas that feature gorgeously designed dinner tables.

Deck room ideas for a dining room include a seasonal tablescape

Photo courtesy of Yardzen

CHOOSE A SEASONAL THEME

Decorate your outdoor table just as you would an indoor table and stick to a seasonal theme. Choose décor pieces that reflect the current season such as a leafy garland and a bowl of oranges for summer.

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Deck room ideas for a dining room include a minimalist tablescape

KEEP IT SIMPLE

Prefer a more minimalist approach? For just a touch of texture, choose a simple table runner and keep things equally simple with your centerpiece. A wicker basket filled with mismatched candles does double duty as an eye-catching focal point and as a source of light after sunset.

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Optimize for Seating With Built-In Benches

Planning on hosting larger family dinners, BBQs or other get-togethers? Make sure all your guests have a place to sit with built-in deck benches. Built-in seating brings additional functionality to your space while also giving you an interesting design element. Be sure to place seating at the perimeter of your deck to optimize your available space.

Keep in mind, built-in benches are more structural deck decorating ideas, and you’ll need to have a solid plan to implement them into your deck design. Be sure to speak to a contractor if you’re not keen on adding built-in seating yourself.

Outdoor Kitchen & Bar Ideas

Take meal prep and after dinner drinks outdoors with these deck room ideas that focus on creating separate kitchen and bar areas. Keep in mind that these deck decorating ideas are more in depth and may require the help of contractor.

Integrate a Kitchen Into Your Deck Design

Outdoor kitchens can be as simple or elaborate as you want — but keep in mind the larger and more complex your kitchen design, the higher the project costs. Plus, depending on the size and weight of your kitchen features, you may need to make changes to your deck substructure in order for it to support the new weight of the kitchen.

To optimize your space, build your outdoor kitchen on the edge or in a corner of your deck. But be sure to check with local building codes to ensure your kitchen structure can be built near the edge. Keep in mind that decks that are higher than 30” off the ground typically require a railing, so your kitchen structure will need to be an acceptable substitute for a railing or be built in front of a railing.

Add a Bar for Informal Gathering

Nothing is quite as satisfying as sipping an ice-cold drink on a warm summer’s day. Encourage regular, informal gathering outdoors with deck room ideas that feature a built-in bar on your deck. Similar to outdoor kitchen ideas, outdoor bars can be as simple or complex as you like, from a bar cart to a built-in bar top and storage space complete with refrigeration. And be sure to work with a contractor to ensure your deck substructure can support the new addition.

Create a Functional & Stylish Perimeter

Embrace more functional deck decorating ideas with an attractive and functional Drink Rail or Contemporary Top Rail. Both these railing designs feature a flat board top rail, giving you the ideal spot to set down your drink or plate while also providing a sleek, streamlined aesthetic. Discover two TimberTech railing designs that feature a flat board top rail for a functional, stylish perimeter.

Drink Rail

TimberTech deck board top rail you can choose from one of our collections featuring square-shoulder, full-profile boards.
Deck board can be installed in between posts or in an over-the-post application.
Featured in our Classic Composite Series and Impression Rail Express aluminum railing series.

EXPLORE

Contemporary Top Rail

Curved-edge board top rail that comes in Classic Black or Traditional Walnut
Installed in a continuous line in an over-the-post application for a sleek look
Featured in the Classic Composite Series.