It is often said that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. When you consider how people will navigate the deck space be sure to design uninterrupted aisles for direct movement between principle parts of your deck. You want to clearly establish a path for fluid movement through the deck, too many turns or side steps will make the space seem clumsy and awkward.

Make sure that your furniture and grill arrangements do not interfere with access to your house or stairs. Everyone knows how frustrating it can be to have to ask someone to move a chair to get around them. Consider how food will be served from a grilling area. Will people have room to form a line? Stairs should be easy to locate and free to access. Code requires stairways to be at least 36" wide. I recommend designing stairs to be 48" wide to give you a little extra space. Wider stairs can come in especially handy when moving objects like furniture on or off the deck. Never dismiss the importance of human traffic patterns on your deck.