You've scrimped and saved, cut costs and corners, hammered and screwed, sanded, finished, and re-finished. You've been through bundles of lumber, mountains of power tools, and torn up half the yard digging supports. Now, finally, you have a brand-new fully completed deck to enjoy. Except you don't, do you? Like a lawyer at the trial of the century, you jump up shouting "I object!" What do you object to, if everything's finished, you ask? Well how about the complete lack of decoration? Right now all you have is a series of planks nailed together. It takes a decorator's touch to make it a REAL deck.

People decorate their decks for a variety of reasons. The simplest is that a plain old bunch of boards is boring to look at. You didn't go through all the trouble of buying real estate with a big enough yard for a deck, reading a dozen deck books and magazines, planning every last detail, and knocking it all together just to sit on bare boards and look at the back of your rear neighbor's house. You want pizzazz. You want to enjoy your time on the deck instead of just inhabiting it.

Your deck needs character. Department stores are full of statuettes, screens, furniture, storage units, toys, potters, and other items specifically designed to be used on decks. We'll help you figure out what you want to use your deck for, work or leisure? What sort of decorations or live plants you'll want to buy in order to make it look just right. We'll also deal with positioning and cost.

Deck decoration isn't just for aesthetic value, either. There are many other practical considerations you can satisfy with a few well-placed accoutrements. Privacy, for instance, is another major reason for decorating your deck. some King West condos have tinted windows to keep nosy neighbours from peeping on you in your condo, but what's keeping John and Mary Gossip from next door from watching every move you make on your deck? Nothing. But a few strategically positioned deck decorations, and neighborhood gossip is cut off at the knees.

Another reason people like to decorate their decks is so that they'll fit in with some sort of theme that they've got going, either in the yard or the rest of the house. Someone who owns a car dealer supply store might have a NASCAR theme in mind. If your house is a ranch style, perhaps you want to go with a Spanish-inspired theme. The possibilities are endless. Even some decorative items that you normally wouldn't think to put outside, such as fabrics or paper, can be adapted to suit your needs with the help of our deck decorating tips.