It took me a second to figure out which type of decking material would go best with cedar shake siding because the coloring of the exterior would change so much as it aged. Just because one type of flooring or deck railing ideas coordinated well now, does not mean that it would in a few months or few years when the siding achieved that lovely grey aged Bettina that shake siding is known for. After talking with a few contractors and neighbors with similar architecture, they all suggested using a natural wood that would age to a similar finish as my siding. That way the color palette would always be as similar as it could possibly be. With that advice, I set out to find pictures of decks that embodied that very concept that they suggested. I have to say that I am pleased with the look (if it looks anything like this house here).
If you ask me, composite decking material is far superior to just about anything else that is on the market for outdoor building today. When it comes to durability, ease of maintain, style, and even cost over time, it is definitely the best material to bring any type of deck ideas you can imagine come to life. One of the trends that I have been seeing a lot of this past season is using unconventional colors to make your deck stand out. I have been impressed with how the higher end decking suppliers like Trex and TruOrganics have risen to the occasion and started expanding their shade options. This dusty aqua blue hue is one of my favorite new trex decking colors and one that I have had a ton of homeowners select lately.
Who knew that picking out decking material could be such an in depth process -- between treat, composite and natural products my head is just swimming with all of the options that I am going to have to pick between. Most of the sales associates at the vendors I have visited say that the best decking material is composite because of its durability and ease to maintain. Somehow I am not surprised since it is also by far one of the most expensive decking material out there haha. The deck in these photos is the one that I am basically trying to replicate at our house, so I am wondering if a composite deck would work well for this particular design. Any building or decking experts out there that would like to weigh in?
I tell you what -- I had no idea how many different decking material types there are until I actually had to make a decision for our house. Good news is that I can now call myself an expert in everything from the type of material to choose to the best composite decking colors to coordinate with your existing siding. The process of choosing these items is certainly not without challenges, but it can actually be really fun if you do your research and have a vision of what you want to achieve. When we were redoing our front porch deck, I knew that I wanted it to be extremely durable and also incorporate some of the brighter colors that I have been seeing a lot of in the popular deck ideas 2022. This warm brown tone seemed to coordinate well with the buttery yellow color that we painted most of our exterior areas.
Could I get your feedback on what type of decking material the house in these photos uses? I have a feeling that it is some sort of composite material but, to be honest, I really have no clue since I am so far from a DIY expert. All of my neighbors have replaced their old wood deck designs with a composite material and I am thinking that I want to jump on the bandwagon. They said that it is so much more durable and easy to maintain that it seems well worth the cost. I'm just wondering if you can achieve the high end look like the house in these photos has with composite. Even the best composite decking isn't all that expensive so I am just wondering if it would be considered high end enough for a home like ours.
There are so many decking material options to choose from right now, that narrowing down our choices has been completely stressful if I am being honest. We are building a rooftop deck on top of our townhouse so, not only are we trying to figure out our favorite deck design ideas to style the space, but we need to choose the material that we will bring these ideas to life with. I want something very trendy and modern, but with organic touches from wood, stone, cement, brick etc. These photos are actually very in line with what I was thinking, but they used a lot of wood which worries me slightly. Many people have discouraged me from using true wood in favor of some type of composite material. If we use real wood, does anybody have opinions on the best wood for decks that would hold up to the amount of sunshine that is sure to be present on a daily basis on the roof of a building?
