“Life is a balancing act,” Dawn said. “Right now, our family is doing everything we can to keep safe. At the same time, there are really important relationships we need to be able to maintain. Our kids need their friends, and frankly, so do we. So outdoor entertaining makes sense now. Maintaining social distancing and sanity are possible when you have a great deck.”
Wilmington Deck Design
While the typical American deck comes in at just around 400 sq. ft., here in the Wilmington area, decks tend to be slightly larger and feature upscale features.
“For us, the real game changer was the decision to have a screen porch built on one end of the deck,” Dawn explained. “There are times when having shade and privacy make sense. And on those days when I’m working from home – which is every day at the moment – the screen porch is ideal because I can see my screen and if it gets windy, I don’t have to worry about papers blowing all over the place.”
Other deck features that are extremely popular for decks designed for outdoor entertaining include the outdoor kitchen and the fire feature. “The nice thing about the outdoor kitchen our Wilmington deck company built I’ve found is that it means I don’t have to run in and out of the house while we have guests. And that’s good, because it’s still a little awkward with the whole social distancing thing to be in the house while they’re outside. Now I just make sure the outside fridge is stocked with drinks before friends arrive.”
“Having a fire feature on the deck is something I was really torn about, to be honest,” Dawn said. “I didn’t see us using it. But then the kids have really been into it in a way I didn’t expect. They call it “Camp Out” when we have a fire and they drag their sleeping bags out there. I’ll tell you what – anything that gets three kids settled down voluntarily at bedtime is a fantastic deck feature!”