Design ideas to spruce up your outdoor summer setting

Turning your backyard into an outdoor living oasis can be a tough project to start. Between product choices and design ideas, planning your ideal outdoor space can mean a lot of research and time at the local home improvement store.

To simplify your project, many companies are integrating its outdoor living products, creating collections that specifically are designed to work together. Here are a few ways you can take advantage of these bundled systems and create a beautiful and inviting space in your own backyard.

• Choose attractive, durable decking.

One of the fastest growing outdoor products is composite decking, which features boards made of recycled plastics and wood fibers. Such boards are eco-friendly and offer long-term durability.

Although composite decking may cost more than wood decking upfront, many homeowners value the higher performance and decreased maintenance requirements of composites, which will save you time and money over the lifetime of your deck. Unlike wood, composites do not need annual painting or staining, and maintain a great appearance with a basic soap and water cleaning.

Some boards even are specially designed to mimic the look of high-end hardwoods, offering the luxurious finishes of these exotic wood species without the upkeep.

• Create an unblemished deck surface.

Sometimes the most beautiful part of a deck is what you don’t see. To help blend interior and exterior spaces, using hidden fasteners can create an unblemished deck surface similar to wood flooring. Hidden fasteners fit into grooves on the sides of the deck boards, which keep nails and screws out of sight. This innovative option eliminates unsightly screw heads, not only creating a more beautiful deck but also a safer one.

• Set the mood with deck lighting.

Lighting is one of the top two outdoor design elements that landscape architects say is popular this year, according to the American Society of Landscape Architects. Decking manufacturers have responded to this trend by expanding its decking collections to include lighting lines optimized for easy installation with its board and railing options.

The new variety of lighting options, including recessed bullet lights, under-rail strip lights, stair lights and post lights can seem overwhelming and difficult to install. With the emergence of energy-efficient LEDs, installation of these lights has become easier, and performance has improved, making design possibilities limitless. Some systems even are sold as plug-and-play to help eliminate the need for an electrician, which allows do-it-yourselfers and deck builders to more easily install the lights on their own. These lights not only look great, they also help streamline the product selection and installation process by ensuring lights that perform well with the manufacturer’s decking and railing.

• Accent with specialty railing.

One of the quickest ways to enhance your outdoor living design is by adding a contemporary deck railing. To accomplish this, many decks are being built with mixed medium railings, such as cable infills or tempered glass panels. As these railing selections become more specialized, it’s important to educate yourself about product warranties and installation recommendations to be sure you get the right product for your needs.

Among the many choices, aluminum railing systems can provide a modern look at a more affordable price and are available in many color options. These systems also may be available in easy-to-install kits and typically are designed to adapt to the mixed medium infills. They provide a wide range of sophisticated styles to complement the sleek, modern designs of composite decking and are available with longer warranties than other options like vinyl railing.

This article is courtesy of Brandpoint.