Has your garden decking started to look a little drab but you’re not too sure how to refresh it? Then take a look at our top 10 ways to update your decking and help give it a new lease of life!
Spring is the best time to get some of these updates completed so you can enjoy your decking come those warm summer months.
1) Install a pergola
Pergolas have been becoming more and more popular over the last few years and with great reason too. Pergolas offer options of shade, partition, an interesting structural look to your garden and a place for vines to grow.
One of the more common way people use pergolas is to have removable fabrics to create shade. This extends the amount of time that can be spent outside as you don’t need to worry about the sun beating down on you.
Another beautiful way in which you could incorporate a pergola is by using it as a partition in your garden to help with privacy or to help divide the garden space up.
2) Use outdoor rugs
Another very common thing we have been seeing the past few years is the use of outdoor rugs. Rugs can be used to turn your deck into an outdoor room! Some reasons why you might want to use a rug are:
- To help divide up areas of a large deck such as a dining area and a lounge area
- Stop dirt and debris from being tracked inside the house
- Help tie in colour or themes
- Stop bare feet from getting too hot on composite wood
- Create a cosy feeling in the evenings once the temperature drops off
3) Use glass panels for balustrades
Balustrades can be very enclosing and depending on their positioning and height, can even block out a lot of sunlight. A lot of people are now instead of removing the wooden spindles within their balustrades are now replacing them with glass panels.
The use of glass will instantly create a more modern and contemporary feel to your garden space and really help to open up the decking area. This will allow the deck to tie into the garden space a lot more naturally.
Whilst glass panels are not the cheapest way to update your decking, it is certainly a great option if you have the cash flow for it.
4) Re-stain/re-paint your deck
Images by R&A Pressure Washing Ltd.
One of the best ways to update your decking is to give it a makeover. Faded colour or peeling and flaking of paint can instantly make your decking look old and weathered.
If you like the look of natural wood, we recommend using a product such as Textrol saturating wood oil or Aquadecks water-based wood finish. Both of these products are easy to apply and as they are saturating products, they do not create a film and instead protect the wood from within. This means there is no coating left on top of the wood and as such, it cannot peel or flake.
If an opaque coloured finish is more your thing, we recommend using a product such as Owatrol Decking Paint. Our Decking Paint is a premium matt finish that is fortified with Emulsa-Bond which helps it to provide unsurpassed adhesion, whereas competitors would require extensive preparation and priming.
The Decking Paint range is available in 35 beautiful colours and is very easy to use with just 2 coats needed in most cases. It provides long-lasting performance, even in high traffic areas and when applied correctly to bare wood, it’s guaranteed against peeling or flaking for 5 years on horizontal surfaces such as decking and 15 years on vertical cladding and sidings.
5) Outdoor lighting
The use of outdoor lighting on our around your decking can be a cheap and effective way to update your decking space by helping create a wonderful ambience come the evening.
There are a wide variety of options available, from sunken lights installed directly into your deck, to solar powered stakes you can pop into the ground. If you prefer your lighting to be a little higher up, you could opt instead to use up/downlights installed on the wall of the house or even just hang fairy lights.
6) Install a garden bar
Another common sight in gardens the last few years has been the installation of an outdoor bar. Given what has been happening over the last few years, a garden bar is a brilliant way of being able to socialise whilst also making the most of the great British Summer!
Garden bars can be as big or as small as you like, made of a variety of materials and don’t have to cost the Earth – especially if you plan to build it yourself.
7) Add a pop of colour
Whilst it is more common these days for garden decks to be very simplistic and neutral, why not instead add a pop of colour? This can be in the form of something seasonal like flowers, or something a little more permanent like throws, pillows and rugs or just go all out and buy some brightly coloured furniture!
The possibilities are endless and you can add as much or as little colour as you like.
8) Offer shade for hot days
Whilst we don’t see too many very hot days in the UK, having somewhere to get out of the midday sun is always handy. Using parasols or awnings is still very commonplace, but why not mix it up a little?
If you already have a pergola installed in your garden, you could install retractable fabrics on top. Or, if you are looking for a more cost effective measure, you could always drape fabrics over the top.
If you want something a little more minimalistic looking, you could opt for the use of a sunshade sail.
9) Add plants on and around the deck
Bringing in plants onto or around your decking area will help tie the two spaces of your garden together. No matter what size or shape your decking is, there is always a way to help incorporate some more greenery.
Whether that’s in the form of hanging plants from a pergola, having plants in pots directly on the deck or having raised beds surrounding the deck, the possibilities are endless.
This will help your decking become more of an ‘outdoor room’ rather than a room that is simply outdoors.
10) Screening for more privacy and added design
Image by Karl Harrison Landscapes
Adding screening can be a very effective way to not only create a more aesthetic design, but also offer a little bit of privacy. These can be in the form of permanent structures or removable ones that you can use as and when you like!
You can also have vining plants such as clematis grow on any permanent structure to not only help tie it into the garden but also offer big beautiful flowers some the spring and summer.
So there you have it, our top 10 ways to update your decking!
If you have any other advice or top tips, please feel free to leave them in the comments below. We love hearing from you!
You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest at @OwatrolUK or find us under the hashtag #OwatrolUK
About Owatrol Team
Our team are ready and willing to support you with your requirements whether it is protecting your newly laid deck or renovating a luxury yacht, whatever the application Owatrol has the solution you are looking for.
