Congratulations to the winner:

 

“The key to good deck design is taking the environment you are given and working within it, rather than trying to overwhelm it,” says Mark Tabor of Stahlschmidt Construction. And that’s exactly what this architectural designer did when charged with replacing a simple backyard deck with a new structure that would serve the homeowners for years to come. The result: a gorgeous, bi-level cedar deck of more than 1,000 square feet, featuring Deckorator’s black Baroque Architectural Balusters, as well as top honors in Deckorators First Annual Signature Deck Contest. “Our focus on this job was to work with the desires of the homeowners and provide them with options that would add visual interest and versatile outdoor living space,” Tabor said, adding that submitting the deck to the contest was company owner Frank Stahlschmidt’s idea. “We don’t work for awards, but it’s certainly a bonus. We approach every job we do without preconceived ideas about what we will do. In this case, by working with the natural contours of the yard and a landscape designer, we created a deck that flows from the home into other areas of the yard, including a new stone patio,” he says. The homeowners were incredibly excited about their new deck and could not say enough about the superior craftsmanship executed by the Stahlschmidt Construction crew. Tabor’s design was selected from a field of dozens of entrants in the Signature Decks Contest. The contest utilized online peer voting and a final vote by a panel of judges to select the winner. “We were incredibly impressed with all of the entries in our first deck contest, but this particular deck had so many innovative features that made it very special,” says Darrin Haugan, brand manager for Deckorators. For his efforts, Tabor received $500 in cash and the deck he designed will be featured in a new full-page ad that will be part of Deckorator’s 2006 marketing campaign.

And the Runners Up: