How To Pick The Perfect Decking Colors For A Stunning Two-Tone Deck
Modern composite and PVC deck boards offer an amazing variety of colors and finish options that hold up for the life of the board, unlike old wood decks which need constant re-painting or -staining. That's opened the door for deck owners to create show-stopping decks that combine two or more different deck board colors for an original two-toned look.
Creating a two-toned deck of your own requires you to pick colors that mesh well together. Our deck project planners help thousands of deck owners every year to create amazing outdoor spaces - and we want to share the best deck board color combinations we recommend to our customers.
Dark Hickory and Coastline
French White Oak and American Walnut
Espresso and Whitewash Cedar
Spiced Rum and Havana Gold
Vintage Lantern and Rope Swing
Foggy Wharf and Rocky Harbor
You can see six of our favorite combinations above. Click on a color combo to jump directly down the page and learn about it, or keep reading to see all the color combos, plus pro tips on how to pick your own shades for a two-toned deck!
Table of Contents
- Tips For Picking Deck Board Color Combinations
- Pick Colors With Similar Undertones For A Unified Look
- Try Complementary Colors For An Eye-Catching Contrast
- Choose Boards With Lots Of Undertones To Give You More Color Combo Options
- Match One Or Both Colors To Your House Or Railing For A Polished Look
- The Best Deck Board Color Combinations
- TimberTech Coastline & Dark Hickory
- TimberTech French White Oak & American Walnut
- TimberTech Espresso & Whitewash Cedar
- Trex Spiced Rum & Havana Gold
- Trex Vintage Lantern & Rope Swing
- Trex Foggy Wharf & Rocky Harbor
- Photo Gallery: See More Two-Toned Decks
Tips For Picking Deck Board Color Combinations For Two-Toned Decks
When it comes to picking two different colors of deck boards that will pair well together, there are a few basic principles to follow:
Pick Colors With Similar Undertones For A Unified Look
When you pick deck boards from the same rough color family, you create a unified, consistent look across your space. Using the color wheel is helpful here.
Color Wheel image via aekikuis
The color wheel puts "analogous" colors close to each other - they're shades with similar undertones that pair well together. For example, the deck below uses two different shades of brown. The lighter-colored boards are Trex's Havana Gold, and the warm yellow-orange undertones look great alongside the darker, reddish-orange tints of the darker deck boards (Trex's Spiced Rum).
Shop Decking By Color
You can see another example below. Both of the TimberTech deck boards shown are different shades of gray, though one is extremely light gray and the other very dark.
Try Complementary Colors For An Eye-Catching Contrast
You can also look across the color wheel for a complementary color. This will create more of a stark contrast, but will ensure that your two very different shades don't clash, but complement one another.
Here's a great example. Blue and orange sit on opposite ends of the color wheel. They're two very different shades - but they don't clash.
You can see a closer look at the deck boards below. One (Trex Select's Saddle shade) is a brownish-orange, while the other (Trex Select's Winchester Gray) is a grayish-blue. The subtlety of similar shades is often great, but if you really want your deck board contrast to stand out (like if you're creating a race-track to mark the edges of your deck, or creating a deck board pattern to highlight footpaths or distinct spaces within your deck), contrasting deck boards is a great way to draw the eye where you want it to go.
Choose Boards With Lots Of Undertones To Give You More Color Combo Options
If you want to broaden the color combo options available to you, look at deck boards with lots of underlying colors. TimberTech deck boards, for example, are richly multi-tonal, blending together a huge range of different shades into each board.
You can see this in action below - the lighter-colored boards are almost white. But they feature small streaks of dark gray and blue, allowing them to pair well with dark gray or blue-gray boards, as shown on the bottom.
When you look at a high-quality deck board up close, you'll see all of the different colors that blend together to create the shade you see from afar. Take a look at this close-up shot of TimberTech Composite's Ashwood color:
This same brownish-gray deck board looks much more gray in the deck below, when it's paired with a dark gray board and gray deck furniture:
If you're looking for richly multi-tonal deck boards, here are the decking collections we'd highly recommend for the widest color mixes:
These decking lines also feature multi-tonal color blends:
- TimberTech Advanced PVC Landmark
- Trex Enhance Naturals
- TimberTech Composite Reserve
- TimberTech Composite Terrain
Match One Or Both Colors To Your House Or Railing For A Polished Look
It also helps to take your deck's surroundings into account. If your home or yard have any distinctive colors, you can create your deck's two-toned color scheme around those undertones.
One great advantage of Trex Transcend decking is that the brand also makes Trex Transcend railing that will match (or pair well with) any board in the Transcend decking line. That allows you to create a two-toned look where your accent deck boards match with your deck railing, like the brown-toned setup below:
The Best Deck Board Color Combinations
In our years of experience planning deck projects across the country, these are the deck board color combos we recommend the most often:
TimberTech Advanced PVC Vintage Coastline & Dark Hickory
For a really beautiful blend of earthy tones, we love mixing TimberTech's tan-gray Coastline decking with the rich Dark Hickory boards.
TimberTech's ability to blend so many colors into each board means this combination straddles the line between the gray and brown color trees. Both boards have grayish and brownish tones within them, meaning you can use this combination with a wide range of house colors and decorations, from warm to cool.
As you can see below, the Coastline boards look a bit more gray when stretched across an entire deck, but they still pair perfectly well with the tan stone of the walkway on the right and the pillar on the left.
TimberTech Vintage deck boards are made from highly-durable PVC, making them a great water-resistant option for decks near a pool or lake.
Shop TimberTech VintageTimberTech Advanced PVC Landmark French White Oak & American Walnut
For a high-contrast look that's also natural and calming, we love the combination of TimberTech's French White Oak and American Walnut.
This two-toned deck look definitely falls more into the brown/tan family, with some warmth to make your space feel cozy and welcoming.
It's an amazing pairing if you love modern farmhouse style. The French White Oak is lighty and airy, a perfect neutral baseline for modern farmhouse decor. Both colors come from TimberTech's Advanced PVC Landmark collection, with a cross-cut grain texture that's designed to look like the reclaimed wood you'll often find in modern farmhouse styled homes.
Like the Vintage collection earlier, these TimberTech Advanced PVC Landmark boards are made from top-quality PVC, which makes them durable and water-resistant. That means you can get the timeless, lived-in feel of reclaimed wood without the constant maintenance of staining, painting, or replacing boards.
Shop TimberTech LandmarkTimberTech Composite Legacy Espresso & Whitewash Cedar
If you want an even starker contrast, go with TimberTech's Composite Legacy collection, pairing the brilliant white of the Whitewash Cedar finish with the deep Espresso tone.
While the overall look is almost black-and-white, both boards have distinct grayish undertones that make them a beautiful match for one another. Whitewash Cedar is the lightest of TimberTech's huge range of deck board colors, an off-white look with natural grays and even blues blended in. The Espresso boards are a dark brown with a mix of black and grays.
Using such light, bright decking across your space lends a very open, expansive feel. Meanwhile the dark border in the deck above clearly defines the boundaries of the deck, while pointing out the precipices of the gradual steps down into the yard.
This combination is another excellent choice for the popular modern farmhouse look, playing up the black-and-white contrasts you often see in modern farmhouse styling.
It also creates a bright, neutral backdrop that allows your decor to pop, like the bright reds of the patio furniture and flows in the deck above.
These colors come from TimberTech's Composite Legacy collection, the brand's best line of composite deck boards with the authentic look and feel of real wood - minus the maintenance.
Shop TimberTech LegacyTrex Transcend Spiced Rum & Havana Gold
For a proven, traditional look that will stand the test of time, check out the combination of Spiced Rum and Havana Gold boards from Trex's best decking line, Trex Transcend.
This combo pulls from the multi-tonal boards in the Trex Transcend line. Havana Gold is a customer favorite, fitting nearly any outdoor space with its cheery blend of brown tones from golden yellow-brown to a warm, welcoming orange-brown.
Balance out the vibrancy of that board with the more down-to-earth look of the Spiced Rum boards. Spiced Rum hits the orange-brown side of the spectrum a lot more, with darker boards that still have lighter-colored streaks.
These two boards were simply made for each other - a darker board with lighter streaks and a lighter board with darker streaks, all in tones that match and balance each other.
Trex is known for traditional, earthy colors - and there's a reason those colors have become the go-to for decks across the nation. They fit extremely well in any setting, tying the deck to the plants, trees, and natural features beyond while also pairing with any wood elements in your home's siding, trim, or decor.
Trex Transcend decking is made from top-quality composite material with a scratch- and fade-resistant cap, meaning the look you install is the look you'll keep for years to come.
Shop Trex TranscendTrex Transcend Vintage Lantern & Rope Swing
For a much more straightforward contrast of light and dark, Trex's Vintage Lantern and Rope Swing tones make a dynamite pairing.
Both of these boards come from the same Trex Transcend collection as the pairing above. But these two boards show off the bold, solid-colored offerings of that collection.
Rope Swing is easily the lightest color within the Trex Transcend collection. Vintage Lantern is among the darkest. They're both solid colors, without the multi-tonal streaking of some of the other boards we've looked at. Both fit firmly into the brown/tan color family, and even if they're at opposite ends of the light-dark spectrum, they pair really nicely together.
A stark contrast like this is especially great when you want to draw the eye to specific places on your deck. A picture frame (sometimes called a race track) around the outside of your deck works well with this sharp contrast, clearly defining the space and drawing your guests' eyes any edges where they could step down off the deck. You can also use this pairing to create footpaths, or to cordon off specialized areas of your deck, like a space with separate cooking and eating areas.
Shop Trex TranscendTrex Enhance Naturals Foggy Wharf & Rocky Harbor
If you're looking for a way to get a two-toned deck on a budget, this combination of Trex's Enhance Naturals Foggy Wharf and Rocky Harbor is one we often recommend.
Both boards are richly multi-tonal. Though Foggy Wharf is gray and Rocky Harbor more on the brown/tan side, they go together extremely well because of the similar gray and black streaking in each board.
Both boards are made of capped composite material. Trex's Enhance Naturals line is an especially good value, too: the boards feature scalloped bottoms, saving on material and lowering both the cost and the weight of the boards.
Because both boards have lighter, more washed-out looks, they'll create a pleasant contrast without overpowering your deck furniture or decor. They also set up enough of a contrast that you can use one of them effectively as a breaker board to differentiate two different spaces on your deck.
Shop Trex Enhance NaturalsPhoto Gallery: More Two-Toned Deck Color Scheme Pictures
In addition to the combinations we recommend above, there are tons of other options you can create to make your space truly unique. Here are a handful of the best two-toned decks we've seen to help you visualize your ideal deck look.
Two-Toned Brown Deck With Picture-Framing Incorporating Railing
This deck uses darker brown boards for the main portion of the deck, with a picture frame (or race track) made of lighter, orange-brown boards and a matching composite deck railing.
Get This Look:
- Trex Transcend Decking: Vintage Lantern
- Trex Transcend Decking: Tiki Torch
- Trex Transcend Railing: Tree House
Two Colors Randomly Alternated Across A Deck
Instead of using different-colored boards as an outline, this deck mixes two different colors of deck boards randomly across the entire surface. The result is an intriguing blend of light and dark that gives the space a casual, natural feel.
Get This Look:
Two-Toned Brown Deck With A Darker Breaker Board
This deck uses multi-tonal TimberTech Tigerwood deck boards in two distinct patterns, broken up by a few darker boards - this is called a "breaker board."
Get This Look:
Three-Toned Deck Combining Gray, Black And Brown
This deck takes full advantage of TimberTech's wide color blends to mix not two, but three colors of deck boards together. It's not easys to pair brown, black, and gray, but this deck can do it because all three TimberTech boards have gray and black undertones mixed in.
The result is a clearly-defined space - the brown Mahogany boards point out the seating area, arranged in a circular orientation around the fire pit. The gray Coastline boards show the dining area, and the almost-black Dark Hickory boards clearly define the boundary between these two distinct areas.
Get This Look: