Blog

Transform Your Deck into an Outdoor Living Area

Written by Adam Coholan, an active blogger out of New York who writes about remodeling and exterior design based on his experience working with Fire Island rental properties for Elliman Real Estate. You can follow him on Twitter @Coho22.

Low Voltage Deck lighting
Low Voltage Deck lighting

Most homeowners wish for more space in their home, but often the solution is right outside. Transforming your deck into an outdoor living area not only allows for more space, but brings you closer to nature and all the activities that outdoor life offers. Here are three tips to get your outdoor living experience started.

1. Light Up the Night

Low Voltage Deck lighting
Low Voltage Deck lighting

Darkness needn’t send the family indoors, not when there are so many options for deck lighting. Adding spot lights, wall lighting, and post lights can illuminate your deck and provide added security, too. Lighting options also include solar-powered LED models than can easily be attached to posts or walls. Adding some simple lighting is one of the easiest and cost efficient ways to dramatically increase the amount of time spent on your deck enjoying the fresh air.

2. Shelter and Shade
Sometimes a bright sun or a stiff breeze is the only thing keeping homeowners from expanding their living space onto the outdoor deck. Adding awning or a pergola can provide an attractive and affordable defense against hot summer sun. Awnings can reduce the outdoor temperature by as much as 20 percent, and pergolas offer another shade solution when covered with fast-growing vines or linens.

A lattice covered with climbing plants makes an attractive windbreak. Plants like cypress, boxwood, privet or hemlock that can be pruned into hedges for another green windbreak solution. A more solid alternative is adding a wall constructed from wood or masonry. This will not only offer wind protection, but can create wall space for amenities like an outdoor grill or a dry bar for entertaining.

3. From a Deck to a Room
Once a deck is lit and covered, the possibilities are endless. When fitted with cabinets, shelving and counters, a deck can become the perfect place to indulge in a favorite interest or hobby, and allow opportunities for features like outdoor kitchens, fireplaces and entertainment centers that can include flat-screen TVs and surround sound systems. Gardeners will enjoy a deck with a sheltered spot for nurturing delicate plants. Add counters for a wet bar and an under-cabinet refrigerator or wine cooler, include a few pieces of comfortable indoor/outdoor furniture, and your deck may soon become the favorite spot in your home!

Fence Post Lighting in Overland Park, KS

Fence Post Lighting

Copper Vein Lighted Post Caps / Deck Lights
Copper Vein Lighted Post Caps / Deck Lights

Fence Post Lighting in Overland Park, KS

The fence lighting around this patio and privacy fence feature the copper vein color post caps from Moonlight Decks.  The deck lights around the patio have double the glass to allow more light out.
This project started out as a small landscape lighting job in Overland Park, KS.  But when the customer saw what she could do with the lighting effects for her backyard with our post caps and deck lights, she loved the idea.

Copper Vein Lighted Post Caps / Deck Lights
Copper Vein Lighted Post Caps / Deck Lights

The deck lights on the fence really add a nice ambiance to the sitting area and give a sense of security for the back yard at night.

Copper Vein Lighted Post Caps / Deck Lights
Copper Vein Lighted Post Caps / Deck Lights

Here are a few day shots followed by some decent night shots too.

If you would like your back yard to become a nice summer evening retreat, visit www.MoonlightDecks.com to see the many different styles of lights we have for your deck.

Copper Vein Lighted Post Caps / Deck Lights
Copper Vein Lighted Post Caps / Deck Lights

Scroll down to see the lights as night falls.

Copper Vein Lighted Post Caps / Deck Lights
Copper Vein Lighted Post Caps / Deck Lights
Copper Vein Lighted Post Caps / Deck Lights
Copper Vein Lighted Post Caps / Deck Lights
Copper Vein Lighted Post Caps / Deck Lights
Copper Vein Lighted Post Caps / Deck Lights

Many of these lights can also be seen on our Custom deck lights page.

Thanks for visiting!

Our lights are made in America!

Keep it Local!

Deck Lights are great in the Snow Too!

Hey!  Deck Lights are great in the snow too!

Check out these cool pics.

Deck Lights in the Snow!
Deck Lights in the Snow!

I’ve had these lights on my deck since 2004 now.  They’ve been through all kinds of Kansas weather.  And they are still going strong.

That’s because they are hand crafted and Made in America!

Deck Lights in the Snow!
Deck Lights in the Snow!

If you want some really cool deck lights for your deck, head over to www.MoonlightDecks.com and get in touch with Steve Hodes Jr.  You will not regret it.

Custom Deck Lighting

Custom Deck lighting by Moonlight Decks.

Custom Deck Lighting
Custom Deck Lighting

Custom Deck lighting by Moonlight Decks.

This deck in Overland Park, Kansas had the cheap caps from a big box store before we got to the scene.  The customer wanted something very similar because they were able to paint the wood base of the old caps and really liked the copper look.  Once I showed them that I could combine our Sunburst color post cap with a white base AND have it light up at night, they were ecstatic.

Even on this post next to the house, we had the cap chopped to fit so that all of their posts would be covered and protected from the weather.

Custom Deck Lights
Custom Deck Lights

Our lighted post caps are also made from sand cast aluminum too.  They won’t weather like the old wood bases that were rotting and cracking there before.

If you want to illuminate your deck, give us a call or visit our website.  www.MoonlightDecks.com

Custom Deck Lighting
Custom Deck Lighting

Click on any of these images to see our custom deck lights page.

 

Custom Deck Lights / Lighted Post Caps
Custom Deck Lights / Lighted Post Caps

 

 

A Cold Day for Deck Lighting in Overland Park

Deck Lighting in Overland Park Ks
Deck Lighting in Overland Park Ks

It was a cold day for deck lighting in Overland Park, Kansas.  But it was a good day to put the finishing touches on this newly finished deck.

We used our Smooth Roman Bronze low voltage lighted post caps with triple glass on this job.

The extra glass allows more light to come out, which helps to provide that extra light when they are entertaining on the deck at night.

Deck Lighting in Overland Park Ks
Deck Lighting in Overland Park Ks

The roman bronze color is kind of a chocolatey brown color that was matched from the darkest part of our hammered cast bronze lighted post caps.  It’s a very nice contrasting color against the white railing.

Deck Lighting in Overland Park Ks
Deck Lighting in Overland Park Ks

Deck Lighting in Kansas City

Are you sitting in the dark on your deck?  Do you end up using the flood lights on the house to see your friends?  Well, let there be light!  Deck lighting that is.  Moonlight decks used our low voltage lighted post caps to illuminate this deck in Blue Springs.  Our lights don’t attract a lot of bugs to annoy you.  They give off the perfect amount of ambiant light so that you can enjoy the night and good times with your family and friends.

Come find out more about our deck lights at www.MoonlightDecks.com!

Deck Lighting in Kansas City
Deck Lighting in Kansas City
Deck Lighting in Kansas City
Deck Lighting in Kansas City
Deck Lighting in Kansas City
Deck Lighting in Kansas City