Decorate the Deck

It's easy to create the allusion of an outside room with small changes that are not expensive.

Start with an all season table and four chairs. Place them on top of a weather resistent rug. You can find one at Bed Bath and Beyond. If the deck is low and has no side railings, put four large pots of flowers on the four corners of the deck as long as you don't obstruct passage ways. With railings, get window boxes that hang on the railings. You can get them at Gardener Supply. Over plant the flower boxes and pots so they are colorful immediately. If your deck is large, just keep adding pots of plants, grouping them together.

On an adjacent wall, place an arrangement of weatherproof art such as wrought iron or resin designs that look like wrough iron. Try Home Goods.

If you want lights on the deck, try inexpensive solar lights that normally stick in the ground. Instead, fill children's pails with sand and put the lights in the sand. You can put them anywhere around the deck to create lit activity areas. They cost about $2 each and you can get them at Home Depot and Lowe's.

This idea is especially good when you have a small condo and need to give buyers the feeling of having more space.