Just as a garden can be split into different "rooms" using hedges, fences and other visual dividers, cedar decking can be divided into smaller, cozier spaces. If you're adding a deck to your home, set aside time to daydream about the different ways you anticipate using your decking materials. Will your cedar decking serve as a dining room, kitchen and party space? If so, think about how you can create different "deck rooms" for each activity using these techniques:
1. Add trellis "walls." Trellises can act as walls for the different rooms on your cedar decking. In the summer, when flowers and vegetables climb each trellis, the different sections of your decking materials will feel particularly private and secluded. During the darker times of the year, you can create visually pleasing trellis dividers by adding string lights.
2. Use planters as visual dividers. A row of large decorative planters can also serve as a room divider on your decking materials. To complement and divide your decking materials, fill each planter with "thrillers" (tall, showy plants to add vertical division), "fillers" (plants to fill the middle section of each planter) and "spillers" (species that will naturally grow down over planter edges).
3. Hang drapes. Envision linens swaying in the summer breeze, hanging from your pergola or patio cover. Installing drapes is an elegant method of creating additional rooms on your cedar decking. Just be sure your drapes have tiebacks so your outdoor refuge can be easily transformed into a social hotspot.
4. Add elevation changes. Changes in elevation automatically create the impression of different rooms; you can take advantage of this fact by installing multi-level decking materials. Deck builders can wrap decks around outdoor staircases, for instance. Another option is to construct a double-decker structure, with one level of decking on the second story and a ground floor deck with built-in protection against the elements.
5. Follow your home's footprint. Wrap-around decking naturally creates different rooms. Even if your home is a perfect square, wrapping cedar decking adds visual intrigue by creating four different exterior rooms, one on each side of the home. Similarly, emulating your home's footprint in your decking design will automatically create different outdoor rooms. If you select this technique, be sure to consider where you can add entrances to best access the different "rooms" of your cedar decking.
6. Add privacy screens. Privacy screens can also act as outdoor walls. Screens are available for both year-round outdoor applications and seasonal decorations that can be moved indoors when the weather turns. You should be able to match the rest of your home's decor, since privacy screens are available in countless styles. If you're the quirky DIY type, you can even construct hinged room dividers out of old fencing materials. Fencing companies may be willing to sell you old fencing samples that would match your home's fencing scheme.
7. Build a patio cover. Interior designers appreciate that a change in ceiling height creates the illusion of being in a separate space. For instance, a canopy can create a completely private room within a bedroom. Likewise, patio covers and pergolas naturally create separate outdoor rooms. Adding a solid patio cover over cedar decking will automatically define new outdoor space.
These methods can split even the largest deck into small, cozy rooms.
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