Craftsman Style Deck Including Tips on Design.

A positive improvement to your Craftsman style home is a deck; it is a feature that can contribute nicely to your home. Eavesdropping and watching a game of squirrel tag in the treetops from your new deck are daily delights for your rustic Craftsman Style House. A deck provides extra spots for nature lovers to gaze into the woods or for guests to congregate. As a spacious outdoor area and pleasing proportions, trademarks of Craftsman design, lend down-to-earth practicality here.

Deck and Porch Design Strategies:

• To give your deck a Craftsman like flavor and help it blend in, pick a design detail or motif from your house and repeat it as shapes in the deck platform or the railing design.
• Plan ahead on lighting; find ways to integrate it into the railing and the house exterior.
• Choose materials and finishes that blend with the natural setting. If your house is painted, finish part of the deck to match (such as the spindles or posts in the railing), then leave the rest natural.
• Avoid fussy, delicate detailing; simple, sturdy elements look more at home in the great outdoors and require less maintenance.
• Give your deck a settled-in look by preserving nearby trees and shrubs (keep in mind that their root areas are roughly the same diameter as the foliage). Use root-friendly options for framing, footings, finishes, decking, and mulches.
• Add natural transitions between deck and landscape: rock gardens, terracing, broad steps. For particularly sharp drop-offs, consider a multilevel deck design that stair steps down to grade.
• For easy maintenance and natural-grain finishes, use transparent or solid stains rather than paint. (Stains are now available in a wide range of colors, including whites, creams, and light grays.)