How to Select the Best Trex Decking Colors for Your Outdoor Space

Picture this: you and your family are gathered outside, seated on comfortable, cushioned furniture.  Charming string lights hang above as you roast marshmallows over a fire pit table, grill burgers on the barbie or just enjoy an evening libation and share the news of the day. Sounds like an awesome summer scene, right?

You can create a cozy setting like this with the help of an outdoor deck. But before the deck of your dreams can become a reality, you must make a lot of decisions, and an important one is the color of the decking. If you choose Trex composite decking, you’ll have a long-lasting, low-maintenance deck, and one other plus is that you have a wide selection of decking colors, ranging from shades of red to shades of gray.

Here are our tips for picking just the right hue of decking to complement your home and your landscape.

What is Trex Decking?

Trex decking is a composite wood product that will last for years. It resists termites, won’t rot, warp or splinter, and never needs staining or painting. Plus, you can have peace of mind regarding the environmental impact of your deck because Trex decking is made from 95% recycled materials.

How to Choose Your Trex Decking Color

Trex decking is available in 23 colors, so there’s likely one that will be perfect for your deck or patio project. You want the deck to complement your home and look like it was meant to be part of the elevation. (The wrong color can make the deck look like an afterthought.) We’ll help you make the right decision with these simple steps.

Consider the color of your home

The first thing to do while deck building is to ensure your deck looks like it belongs with your home and to closely consider the exterior color of your home.  If your home is a warm beige, tan or off-white, choose from the brown and red families. If your home has cool undertones of gray, stark white or blue, stick with colors from the gray family.

Think about style

Just as important as the current color of your home, is the style. The architectural style of your home can help lead you in the right direction when choosing your deck color.

• Gray decking has undercurrents of blue and can evoke thoughts of the beach or can also look great in a city setting. The gray colors look best with Cape Cod-style homes and homes with a more modern feel.
• Warm and natural browns are the most popular color family, and we can see why—they look beautiful paired with almost any style of home. Just keep in mind that darker browns make more of a dramatic statement, and are better suited for Craftsman-style or Mediterranean homes.
• Deck colors in the red family are classic yet unique. If your home has any brick siding, you might want to try a reddish-brown deck to coordinate.

Use the Trex color selector

The variety of colors that Trex decking is available in makes it easy to find decking that matches with your home design and style. Trex decking colors comes in three different families: grays, browns and reds. You can explore all of the different shades within those families with the Trex Color Selector, an online tool that lets you see examples of all of the different colored deck boards and how they look in use.

Order samples

Looking at a deck color on your computer screen or even in a store is not the same as seeing it in your outdoor space. Once you’ve narrowed down a few Trex decking colors, order a sample of each so you can see what they look like next to your house. You can order samples online for $5 each. Set the samples outside where your deck will be, and be sure to view them in daylight as well as at night with your exterior lights on. Different lighting can change how a color looks and may affect your decision.

FAQ

How will the color of my deck affect heat retention?

Darker colors absorb more heat than lighter colors and retain it better. However, that can be a drawback for composite decking because of its plastic content. High heat can potentially cause dark-colored boards to warp, but Trex advises that shouldn’t be a problem if you follow recommended installation procedures, which include leaving enough space between boards to provide ventilation.

How do composite decking colors hold up over time?

No decking product is immune to weathering. and when it comes to color fading, Trex boards are vulnerable to UV radiation. The bulk of fading will occur during the first summer after installation, so if you protect the deck during that period, the color has a better chance of lasting.

Partly because they absorb sunlight and partly due to their reflective factory coating, darker colors are less prone to fading. Check out Trex’s selection of fade-resistant colors here.

Sources

• Trex: Does Composite Decking Warp? (2025)
• TrexSeal: Does Composite Decking Fade? (2025)