A whole-home exterior makeover in Elmore, Vermont, called for more than cosmetic changes. The second floor of this hillside residence had no outdoor entertaining space at all, and the homeowner wanted a solution that would open the home up to the surrounding landscape without sacrificing the wooded views that made the property worth building on. Decks By Kiefer designed a sweeping two-level Ipe deck that wrapped around the rear of the home, giving both floors direct access to the outdoors.
The most demanding challenge on this project was preserving the sightlines. A traditional wood or cable-and-post railing system would have broken up the views and worked against the home’s open, modern character. Feeney cable rail gave the deck the unobstructed sight lines the homeowner needed, running clean horizontal lines that disappear against the treeline. The Ipe decking brings warmth and depth to both levels, with a natural richness that composite materials cannot replicate and a durability record that makes it the right choice for a Vermont climate.
The finished outdoor entertaining space turned a home with no usable exterior square footage on the upper level into a property that functions beautifully from the outside in. Photographed at dusk, the completed project shows just how dramatically the right deck design can change a home, with warm light spilling across the Ipe boards and the cable rail framing an entirely uninterrupted view. A project at this level of investment and craftsmanship is what Decks By Kiefer was built to deliver.