Three stunning covered deck ideas to extend your outdoor living space

Our cover image was inspired by a heritage church. This suburban Christchurch home uses its sinuous form for both impact and functionality. Concrete Copper was a finalist in the 2021 Home of the Year Awards.

Rogan Nash unveils a Western Springs project stitched together by a swimming pool, a pergola, references to Palm Springs, and morse code detailing that reads ‘secret garden’.

Utilising the existing design language of a mid-century modern home in Remuera, Johnston Architects and Bespoke Interior Design set about redesigning a pool house and creating an outdoor room, resulting in a trio of interconnected areas spanning indoors and out.

Fixed covers fall into three categories: patio covers, pergolas and awnings.

Typically, patio covers are attached to the house and have some form of solid roofing, making them an ideal solution to year-round outdoor living, as they provide sun and rain protection. Patio covers come in a variety of materials and designs to suit all types of climatic conditions, especially our tough marine environment.

A combination of aluminium framing and polycarbonate panels creates a sleek, contemporary look with the framing able to be colour-matched to your existing joinery. As an additional bonus, aluminium frames provide added durability and won’t rot or warp over time. Similarly, polycarbonate panels offer excellent thermal insulation and UV resistance, ensuring your deck remains comfortable and highly usable throughout the year.

As pictured at 20 Evans Court, Pukekohe, Franklin, Auckland

Unlike patio covers, pergolas tend to be free-standing structures — although that is not a hard and fast rule — with an open framework of rafters. Traditionally, pergolas are made from timber and generally include some variety of deciduous climbing plant that provides shade in summer and sunlight during the winter.

A more recent adaptation is the louvred pergola. Sporting an adjustable louvred roof, which can be either manually or automatically controlled, these options allow you to control the amount of sunlight at any given time. Likewise, they can be fully closed when it is either raining or snowing. Many automated options also have sensors that will automatically adjust the louvres as the sun tracks across the sky or will close the louvres in bad weather.

As pictured at 78C Ballarat Street, Ellerslie, Auckland City, Auckland

Awnings are one of the oldest forms of additional covering with examples dating back to ancient Rome and even earlier. Modern-day examples include shade sails — which are generally attached to the home on one side with post attachments on the opposite side or sides — fix awnings above windows to provide shade from the sun, and larger, retractable awnings used to shade deck areas.

An advantage of retractable awnings is that, as they are attached to a wall, there is no need for additional support posts, which means your deck space remains free of any potential obstacles. Retractable awnings can be controlled via a manual crank or fully automated with sensors that retract the awning in during high winds.

Another option, free-standing, retractable awnings, are popular for covering larger deck areas as they consist of a stabilised, central framework with dual awnings opening from either side.

As pictured at 5 Hillside Lane, Tairua, Thames-Coromandel, Waikato

Constructed from powder-coated aluminium, as well as water- and UV-resistant acrylic fabric, retractable awnings can enhance your deck space by providing cover as and when needed.

There you have it, three options for creating the perfect covered deck — all available in a range of sizes and price points that allow you to extend your outdoor living space and keep on entertaining outside well past the summer months.