AN EMBELLISHED DECK

If, owing to its location, size, or height, a new deck can’t be made to disappear, consider going in the opposite direction. Details may be borrowed from porches of the period or from garden structures: the arbors, pergolas, and treillage that have been popular for 150 years. A pergola turns the raw, flat space of a contemporary deck into an extension of the old house. Its roof rafters provide some shade, especially covered with summer vines. If you use any composite materials, be sure to design with them in a way that looks authentic.

LEFT A new deck morphed into an octagonal roofed pavilion, making it more usable and integrating it into the Colonial Revival house. BELOW An Arts & Crafts pergola integrates this cement deck or raised patio with the bungalow-era house in California. BOTTOM Composite decking from AZEK was specified for this curved deck near the Atlantic Ocean.