15 Covered Deck Design Ideas

As an extension of your home, your deck is more than just a platform outside your door. With a roof, of sorts, over your head, you can lounge comfortably in the summer heat. Based on your needs, that "roof" can be an extension of your home's roofline or merely an adjustable umbrella to provide a needed spot of shade.

This backyard deck is shaded with a vine-wrapped pergola that is adorned with string lights. Red metal sconces along the privacy wall also help to illuminate the deck.

The pergola includes decorative shade panels with a modern design that sculpts and shapes the light beneath the structure. This creates a stunning pattern that adds a wonderful touch of contemporary style to this Southern Florida deck.

Made with sailcloth and PVC pipe, this retractable canopy allows you to admit sun when you want it, or provide shade when you need it.

A shade sail can make a sunny deck more comfortable, and sails come in a range of sizes, colors and price tags. The benefit of a sail cloth is you can take it down in the colder months when you want a little more sun on your deck.

Two shade areas on this deck are twice as nice. A table with an umbrella shields diners from the sun, but it's the gazebo that makes this deck a backyard destination on its own as a prime gathering spot or a private retreat.

For true relaxation, add a swing — or in this case, a swing bed — beneath a pergola. Climb in for an afternoon nap, or just sit and enjoy the view. Also consider a classic porch swing, chair swing or hammock suspended from sturdy crossbeams or posts.

If your small deck is a little too close to the neighbors, solve the privacy problem by hanging curtains to create a temporary wall. Light-filtering outdoor curtains can provide a sense of privacy without filtering out too much natural light.

Top a narrow upstairs deck with a high ceiling — as designer Bryan Patrick Flynn did in the design of Vermont home — to enjoy a space for quiet seclusion outdoors with unobstructed views that are also sheltered from harsh sun or gentle rain. The built-in lighting along the glass railing adds a warm glow as the sun sets.

A covered cedar deck designed as part of an outbuilding — in this case, a poolhouse — provides an outdoor room for relaxing and entertaining away from the main house.

Add a ceiling fan on your covered deck or porch to stay comfortably cool outdoors on a hot day. A breeze from an outdoor fan can also keep mosquitos away. Owners of this deck, which extends from the home's sunroom, can enjoy the breeze in a pair of comfortable brown wicker chairs.

If all you need is a spot of shade for comfortable outdoor dining, an adjustable umbrella is an easy — and more portable — tried-and-true option. If your table doesn’t have a built-in spot for an umbrella or if you need to cover a seating area without a table, check out the many cantilevered, adjustable canopy versions available. They usually cost a bit more than a table umbrella, but making your outdoor dining space more comfortable could be well worth the investment.

An awning is an old idea that never goes out of style, and the range of colors and configurations allows for choices to fit any home. In addition to providing cover, this colorful awning complements the upholstery and the tableware in this cheery outdoor dining space.

Grommets and rope are used to attach sailcloths to this handsome pergola. String lights crisscross overhead to illuminate the gathering spot. To help secure the pergola in the deck, the posts were encased in sheet metal planters filled with river rock.

A retractable awning provides shade when you need it and moves out of the way when you don't. This courtyard awning covers the dining spot in an outdoor kitchen just outside the home's back entrance.