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eldemila

What To Do With This Deck? PICTURES!

eldemila
14 years ago

We are purchasing this home with this decking. The owners painted the deck a yellow darker than the siding on the home. I can't quite put my finger on what to do with it, other than possibly paint it white? I don't want to spend too much money on the deck when there's more important things to do after closing (one which is LANDSCAPING!)

My other question, other than lattice, can anyone suggestion what I could put to cover up the opening under the deck? I've thought about hedges, but want to know what others may be able to suggest. I read about some deck skirting - does anyone have this, or does it look cheap and tacky?

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Thanks for any input/suggestions!

Comments (9)

  • john_hyatt
    14 years ago

    Dont want to spend money...cover up the drain with dirt..leave the thing alone. JonMon

  • eldemila
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Will definitely spend some money on this part, but don't want to sink a ton in to it, other more important things to do inside, but just trying to find a way to make the front look better.

    Painting the deck white and planting - just thought someone else would have some ideas I may not have coming to mind at this time.
    Covering the tube up with dirt really wasn't one I'd had thought of doing, but thanks.

  • kiddo_1
    14 years ago

    Just my 2 cents. I like the darker yellow color against the house. I would think white might look a tad garish. The darker color keeps it from taking over the eye. As for underneath one could envision a wealth of shade loving plants, short one near the top (like hostas, ferns, etc.) and taller ones with blooms (like astilbe, bleeding heart, dwarf everblooming hydrageas, toward the bottom). I think your deck is attractive and your chance to shade garden would be fun.
    Kris

  • weedyacres
    14 years ago

    I think painting it white and putting in plants would be the best choice. The trim on the house is white, so I don't think it would stand out. I'd also bury the drain pipe.

    I don't think your "below the deck" area is that ugly. Mine is because you can see the bare PT posts and hardware, which are truly garish next to the dark stained garapa. In your case you've just got painted posts, with a brick wall behind, which doesn't offend my eye at all. I'd probably put pea gravel underneath the deck part, as it would look a bit better than dirt and the occasional shade-loving weed, and plants on the outside in the sun.

  • john_hyatt
    14 years ago

    Hey weed folks, hope your project is serving you well.
    JonMon

  • tracydr
    14 years ago

    I would keep it darker, maybe a darker yellow or darker contrast color like dark green? Is there anything on the house that would lead you to a darker color? Maybe you could tie in a color from the landscape?
    Then lots of pots, plants and niceties.
    Very nice deck by the way.

  • aidan_m
    14 years ago

    To make a dramatic impact:

    Get some climbing vines growing on that carport thingy.

    Replace the wood picket railing with something more contemporary like glass panels, horizontal cables, or Craftsman-style wooden lattice. I think the lines of the house siding clash with the vertical pickets.

    Paint the deck an earthy color to blend in with the landscape and set it apart from the house. I really can't get into the yellow house color or the other color yellow on the deck.

  • eldemila
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thanks for the replies, I appreciate all the input.

    Kiddo, thanks for the ideas for what plants may look good. Not sure what will grow there, seems to be clay soil. My friend actually thought the deck wasn't painted and thought, from the pictures, it was natural in color.

    Weedy, I may agree about the white trim and white deck. I'm going to try to see if I can find a paint program that I can upload my photo and paint different colors and see what it may look like being white. Wish I didn't care so much about the underneath, sure would be cheaper to turn a blind eye, but it bothers me. I'll pass on the shade loving weeds!!!

    Tracy, as mentioned before, will try to find a program to upload pic and paint deck - not sure about green though, would def have to see that combo, I'd think it would be way too much of a contrast. Not sure if I've ever seen a green deck? Not sure about tying in landscape since there is none at this time, so hard for me to think or visualize what would go together well.

    Aidan, just posted in the garage forum about what to do with the carport - didn't think about vines, like the idea as long as I can keep it under control. Thanks! I'm not crazy about a yellow house either, but the siding is fairly new and I don't want to invest money in an area I can live with when it's needed elsewhere, so will have to live with the yellow on the house.

    Thanks again for all your ideas, much appreciated!

  • rejoys2
    14 years ago

    We recently painted my mother-in-law's deck grey and it now has a natural weathered look. I didn't know it would turn out like that. I was just trying to match the grey with black shutters. We bought the paint at Wal-Mart, but I don't remember the paint name or brand. I think the best blend will be about two shades darker than your roof. It will be a good contrast with the yellow siding and white trim and will tie the roof in with the rest of the house.

    Since you can see a little of your brick chimney above the roofline, I think a brick wall, constructed with the slope of the yard, would be an excellent choice for closing the space under the deck and would add a lot of curb appeal to the house. But of course a brick wall is more expensive than lattice. We put lattice under my mother-in-law's deck and it greatly improved the overall look, not to mention how many leaves it kept from blowing under the deck this fall! If you should decide to go with lattice, the same grey color as the deck would look nice.(We left ours unpainted and it looks fine that way on the back of the house.)

    I've probably already gone over my 2 cent quota, but I'm on a roll, so I'm going to be bold enough to throw in another suggestion that sometime in the future you might consider putting raised panel shutters on the windows and paint them to match the deck. The plastic ones they have now look like real wood when painted, and aren't nearly as expensive.

    Best of luck with all your house endeavors!