25 Cool Floating Deck Ideas and Designs

Decks are one of the most desirable home features, giving homeowners a place to rest, entertain, dine, and more. While many decks attach to a nearby structure, a floating deck lets you create your ideal outdoor space in a freestanding design. Plus, many don’t require steps or rails, making it possible to have a completely open deck.

Floating decks come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and designs. If you want to find the perfect option for your home, here are 25 cool floating deck ideas to check out.

25 Cool Floating Deck Ideas and Designs

1. Floating Deck with Tree Cutout

Putting in a free-standing deck doesn’t mean you have to remove trees. This design features a small cutout that goes around the existing tree, allowing the tree to remain in place since it’s already well-established.

Otherwise, this floating deck features an incredibly simple design that would fit in just as well in a modern or minimalist yard as it would next to a traditional or rustic home. Since it’s a basic rectangle with tight-fighting boards, it also creates a highly usable surface.

2. Dark-Stained Floating Deck with Fire Pit

This floating deck has a contemporary, minimalist feel. Along one side is a horizontal-slatted privacy fence with a small bar, giving the homeowners a usable surface. The bulk of the deck features a deep, rich-toned wood, which contrasts well with the gray pea gravel.

In the center of the deck area is a cutout with more gravel and concrete benches, adding more seating area. Within that gravel section is a simple firepit, making it an excellent spot for relaxing. There’s also enough room for a dining table, which adds more outdoor living capabilities.

3. Mid-Toned Gray Freestanding Deck with Bench

With this freestanding deck, you get a classic design in a neutral color, a mid-toned gray. The coloring helps it blend a bit with the stone below while also making the white privacy fence and the surrounding greenery pop.

Another nice feature of this freestanding deck is the lighting. There are small lights around the edge of the deck, illuminating the step up and along the base of the bench. Adding a nice artistic touch makes the space easier and safer to use at night.

4. Oval Floating Deck with Pond

This floating deck design feels incredibly organic due to its oval shape and position over the pond. It’s Balinese-inspired, allowing the landscaping to stand out while the deck blends into the yard. Along one side of the deck are built-in benches, further enhancing usability.

Accessing the deck involves crossing several platforms, which are designed like mini-decks. Essentially, those mini-decks serve as stepping stones, creating a clear and welcoming path to the primary deck.

5. Poolside Freestanding Deck

Infinity pools tend to have a contemporary feel, and the added freestanding deck only enhances that vibe. The deck sits between a hot tub and a tanning ledge, with the area that connects to the pool having a step for easy entry.

The deck is minimalist, featuring classic mind-toned wood boards with coloring similar to the pool edges and nearby stone patios. There’s enough space for several lounging chairs, giving the homeowners plenty of room for relaxing and enjoying the sun.

6. Floating Deck for Hot Tub

This floating deck design surrounds the hot tub, giving people enough space to enter and exit without stepping directly onto the grass. Along one side is an Asian-inspired privacy screen with a faux pergola with an attached changing space.

While the deck isn’t overly large, it has enough room for a freestanding umbrella, offering shade to the hot tub. A few chairs or small tables could likely fit around the outside of the hot tub, too, adding some potential for versatility.

7. Modern Floating Deck with Fountain

With this floating deck, you get an outdoor oasis. The deck is large, offering enough room for chairs and small tables. Plus, there are two built-in benches for additional seating, making the space usable even if other furnishings aren’t brought over.

However, what stands out about this deck is the fountain along the side. The design is a bit industrial, featuring three spigots and a finish similar to concrete. There’s also a firepit centered on the fountain and near the benches, adding extra warmth for cooler nights.

8. Matching Contemporary Freestanding Decks

This modern home doesn’t just have one freestanding deck; it features a pair. The decks have matching materials, ensuring the look is cohesive. The main one serves as extra living space, while the second is the ideal spot for a barbecue grill.

Overall, the design of this deck is simple but refined. Horizontal deck boards sit within a wood frame, giving it a slight touch of sophistication without being overly complex.

9. Small Floating Deck

For those looking for a low-budget floating deck design, this option works well. The deck is relatively petite but still provides enough room for a pair of oversized chairs and a small table. As a result, it works well for lounging but doesn’t overtake the yard.

Another interesting feature of this deck is its coloring. The reddish hue adds a lot of warmth and stands out well against the green grass and white cinderblock wall.

10. Modern Floating Deck with Pergola

The floating deck has distinctly modern styling, featuring clean lines and a minimalist feel. The natural wood tones contrast well with the black walls, planter boxes, and pergola, but they’re also cohesive, thanks to the greenery.

This freestanding deck design also takes advantage of its overall neutral coloring, allowing the turquoise chairs to pop. This deck has plenty of space for lounging or entertaining, making it as usable as it is striking.

11. Intricate Freestanding Deck

With this freestanding deck, you see a striking design created by positioning the boards in different directions. While the design isn’t technically complex, the look feels quite intricate, making it a visually interesting surface.

The selected wood tone also ensures the deck feels like part of nature, allowing it to be right at home among the trees and other landscaping. The size is also a bit generous, allowing it to serve as a place to entertain, dine, or nearly anything else.

12. Floating Deck for a Sloped Yard

When a yard has a bit of a slope, that doesn’t mean it’s not a good spot for a freestanding deck. With the addition of a step on the side where the yard is lower, the deck remains safe and accessible. However, it’s close enough to the ground at all points to make railings unnecessary, maintaining the open feel.

This is a relatively sizeable floating deck, as it offers enough room for relaxing in a comfy seat and dining, all without feeling cramped. Plus, there’s enough room on the landing that leads into the house for a barbecue grill.

13. Floating Deck Fitted to a Tree

Overall, this floating deck is relatively simple, featuring classic wood tones and a straightforward layout for the deck boards. The coloring also coordinates with the privacy fence that surrounds the yard, which makes the look cohesive.

While many deck designs accommodate trees, this one doesn’t just have a whole. Instead, the deck boards are fitted close to the trunk, making the look cleaner and ensuring there isn’t enough room for objects to fall into the hole.

14. Small Curved Freestanding Deck

While this freestanding deck is smaller, it still offers enough room for a six-person dining table. The curved end is a nice touch, elevating the look without being overly intricate. The color also contrasts well with the black fencing.

Additionally, since the deck boards are a light honey color, it prevents the space from feeling overly dark. The nearby brick adds warmth, making a relatively minimalist yard seem cozy and inviting.

15. Lower-Level Floating Deck

This expansive outdoor living area features multiple levels. The upper portion is a paver patio design, which works well as a surrounding for the infinity pool. The lower section is a classic floating deck featuring a gray wash that leaves the grain visible, blends well with the stone pool surround, and contrasts nicely with the greenery.

With this deck, there are also cutouts to ensure two trees could remain in place. That helps this modern design feel a bit more organic.

16. Asian-Inspired Floating Deck with Pergola

With this design, you find an Asian-inspired floating deck with a pergola, providing the small space with some opportunities for shade. In many ways, the end result isn’t wholly unlike a gazebo due to the railings next to the openings.

Along with the deck is a floating deck-style walkway, effectively guiding the homeowners onto the deck. The space could work well for a small dining table or seating area or could even become a spot for a hot tub.

17. Multi-Level Contemporary Floating Deck

This home is nestled near the bottom of a slope, so it needed a deck design that worked with the angle of the yard. Ultimately, this multi-level contemporary floating deck feels like an ideal choice. It creates opportunities for more seating areas and stands out well against the grass and other landscaping.

The somewhat asymmetrical design also gives this deck a nice edge. Plus, there’s lighting along the steps to illuminate the area and make walking up the steps safer at night, which is a nice touch.

18. Traditional Freestanding Deck

With this freestanding deck, the design is a bit more traditional or transitional, featuring basic railings around the edges and helping it feel cohesive with the landing next to the back door. The coloring is also close to the hue of the nearby privacy fence, which ensures the two features work well together.

This deck is a bit more modest in size, but it’s still a usable space. It could easily hold a barbecue grill, a couple of chairs, or a bistro set for outdoor dining.

19. Long Floating Deck

This long floating deck offers up plenty of room for outdoor living. Since it technically has two levels, one level could serve as a seating area while the other is reserved for dining, all without making the deck feel cramped.

The overall look is also very clean thanks to the simple railings with glass panels, and the black rails match the black doors. The wood color works well with the brick home and feels natural against the grass.

20. Full-Yard Floating Deck

This home had a small back lawn, but the space was transformed with the addition of a full-yard floating deck. The approach makes indoor-outdoor living easier, leading to better flow overall. Plus, the light-colored wood keeps the space feel bright and welcoming.

The addition of planting spaces along the outside edge also makes introducing greenery possible. That ensures the deck area doesn’t feel overly sterile, ensuring there’s a touch of life within the space.

21. Small Entry Floating Decks

With this entry area, you don’t have just one floating deck but several. Most of them work similarly to stepstones, guiding people toward the door. However, a small square becomes the perfect spot for a bistro set, allowing for outdoor dining.

Here, the wood tone blends well with the pea gravel, which makes the overall design feel very natural. Plus, the neutral darker hues allow the greenery to pop, ensuring the organic elements stand out.

22. Multi-Level Freestanding Deck and Hot Tub

This multi-level freestanding deck serves several purposes. First, it creates a space for lounging, allowing the homeowners to enjoy the sunshine. Second, it makes entering and exiting the hot tub easier, reducing the distance between the top and the floor.

The lower sections of the deck are relatively small, but they could create room for more seating or bistro sets for outdoor dining. However, when left open, the overall look is clean and contemporary, making those spots appealing even when empty.

23. Lit Floating Deck with Bench Seating

This floating deck includes lights along the outer edges to illuminate the yard and enhance safety when the deck is used at night. The bench seating ensures there are convenient places to sit even if most of the deck remains open. Along the benches, there are a few attached planters, creating spots to add greenery.

The deck is also large enough for seating or outdoor dining while having enough room to move around. Ultimately, it’s a very versatile space, supporting indoor-outdoor living or working well for entertaining.

24. Eclectic Floating Deck

This floating deck design leans toward eclectic. The deck itself is reasonably simple, offering clean lines and a basic rectangular shape with a small protrusion. The cutout for the tree in the back is filled with gravel, which allows the tree to remain without leaving a big hole.

Around the deck is a somewhat traditional lattice in the same hue as the deck. The surround adds privacy and helps the area feel cohesive, ensuring the surrounding colors all work well together.

25. Modern Partially-Covered Freestanding Deck

With this floating deck, you get a modern design. The base has the appearance of concrete, while the wood tone is a bit deep and very warm. One side is covered with a sloped roof, making the space usable in any weather. There are also wall slats on that side for additional privacy.

On the portion without the roof, there’s a center section for a sandbox, giving children a place to play. As a result, it’s a family-friendly space that’s still roomy enough for relaxing.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the floating deck ideas above show you the various available design options. There’s something for every style of home, offering an array of features and elements that make the spaces more convenient, fun, or unique, so there’s likely at least one that could work for you.

Did you enjoy checking out all of the floating deck ideas above? Did any particular floating deck design particularly catch your eye? If you enjoyed seeing all of these decks, please let us know in the comments. Also, share the article if you know someone who wants to design their perfect deck.