The best wooden deck is one you don’t notice: It creates outdoor living space without distracting you from the outdoors.
Here are 15 of our favorite wood decks—built of cedar, redwood, or tropical hardwoods such as ipe—that disappear, quietly receding into their surroundings to showcase the natural landscape:
Featured photograph by Joe Fletcher courtesy of Sagan Piechota Architecture, from The California Life, Outdoor Living Room Included.
Los Angeles, California
![terremoto los angeles backyard deck patio dining table]()
Above: Landscape architect David Godshall of
Terremoto designed a dining platform constructed with redwood decking that steps down to meet a concrete pad that was already there pre-backyard makeover. Photograph courtesy of
Terremoto, from
Before & After: From Desert to Redwood Forest, the Essence of California in One LA Garden.
Cape Cod, Massachusetts
![cape cod coastal garden truro chairs]()
Above: Architect and landscape designer
Paul Krueger utilizes a minimalist to connect two structures in Cape Cod. Photograph by Justine Hand, from
Tales from Truro: An Untamed Landscape Channels Thoreau’s Cape Cod.
London, England
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Above: An outbuilding gets its own outdoor dining space in this small backyard. Photograph courtesy of
Light Locations, from
Outbuilding of the Week: A Tiny Summerhouse in South London.
Carmel Valley, California
![Photograph by Joe Fletcher courtesy of Sagan Piechota Architecture]()
Above: In Carmel Valley, California architects Sagan Piechota, and contractors Stocker Allaire designed an outdoor living room with plaster walls and a batu wood deck, jutting off the main, indoor living room. Photograph by Joe Fletcher courtesy of Sagan Piechota Architecture, from
The California Life, Outdoor Living Room Included.
Wellfleet, Massachusetts
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Above: The Wellfleet home of Boston-based architects
Rodolfo Machado and Jorge Silvetti features a tree-covered promontory surrounded by salt grass and slow tides. Photograph by Matthew Williams for
Gardenista: The Definitive Guide to Stylish Outdoor Spaces.
Groningen, Netherlands
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Above: Instead of competing with the landscape, a wood deck is subsumed by it, abutting an irrigation ditch, shaded by an apple tree, a conifer, and rhododendron bushes. Photograph courtesy of
Onix, from
Modern Family: A Tiny Getaway in the Netherlands.
Shelter Island, New York
![Photograph by Matthew Williams]()
Above: Photograph by Matthew Williams for Gardenista.
Puget Sound, Washington
![Photograph by Jeremy Bittermann.]()
Above: An ipe deck connects outdoors to in, leading to the kitchen of a cabin Seattle architects MW|Works built on the southern end of Puget Sound. Photograph by
Jeremy Bittermann, from
Architect Visit: A Puget Sound Cabin That Rests Lightly on the Land.
Menorca, Spain
![Menorca vacation compound Quintana Partners]()
Above: Textures abound in this outdoor living area by Quintana Partners; a wood deck steps up to a stone border that meets a concrete patio (back). Photograph courtesy of Quintana Partners, from
Garden Muse: A Remodeled Retreat Stays True to Its Roots on Menorca.
Honfleur, France
![Lode Architecture Normandy house wooden deck meadow]()
Above: A simple wooden deck floats in a meadow. For more of this project, see
Architect Visit: Lode Architecture in Normandy.
Prague, Czech Republic
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Above: Prague-based Studio Pha designed two barn-like structures for a family compound, connected by grade-level decking. Photograph by
Filip Slapal, from
Architect Visit: Barn-Like Living, Only Better.
Hooe, England
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Above: From the inside looking out, a wraparound wooden desk seems to melt into a surrounding meadow. Photograph by
French & Tye courtesy of
The Modern House, from
A Marriage of Past and Present: A Modern English Cottage, from Another Century.
Hudson Valley, New York
![Photograph by Reto Guntli courtesy of BarlisWedlick Architect.s]()
Above: A minimalist wooden deck frames, a natural swimming pool filtered entirely by plants and organic systems on a 75-acre property in the Hudson Vally. Photograph by Reto Guntli courtesy of
BarlisWedlick Architects, from.
Architect Visit: A Natural Pool and Passive House in Upstate New York.
Paia, Maui
![Photograph by Kate Holstein.]()
Above: A low wooden deck wraps around a beach cottage to connect it to the surrounding landscape. Photograph by
Kate Holstein, from
Vacation Rental: Maui Beach Cottage with a Tropical Garden.
West Dorset, England
![gravel garden wooden deck euphorbia on the southern coast of england designed by alice meacham]()
Above: A midcentury house in England gets a California vibe thanks to a gravel garden and large minimalist deck. Photograph by Jethro Marshall, from
Before & After: An Airy Gravel Garden for a Midcentury British House in West Dorset.
For more ideas about designing and building decks, see:
Finally, learn how to successfully design a deck for any landscape or exterior home project with our Hardscaping 101: Decks & Patios guide.