Why we changed our name from Deckscapes of Virginia to xScape after twenty one years in business. This is a brief account of how we went from a does-what-it-says-on-the-tin company name to a fully-fledged brand.
Twenty-one years ago, we started building decks. We were good at it. Really good. So good that homeowners across Northern Virginia started trusting us with their porches, their patios, their hardscapes, their pools, their outdoor kitchens — everything that makes the space beyond the back door feel like home.
Somewhere along the way, we stopped being a deck company. But our name didn't get the memo.
Deckscapes of Virginia served us well. It told you exactly what we did and where we did it. But the truth is, it hadn't described the full scope of our work for a long time. When a client hires us today, they're not just getting a deck. They're getting a complete outdoor living space — designed, built, and landscaped by a single team under one roof. That's not a deck company. That's something bigger.
So we asked ourselves a question we probably should have asked years ago: if we were starting this company today, knowing everything we know now about who we are and what we do, what would we call it?
The answer was hiding in our old name the entire time.
Turns out our new brand was buried in there all along — the feeling our clients describe when they step outside into a space we've built. That moment on a Saturday morning when you step out with your coffee, look around, and realize you don't want to be anywhere else. That's not a deck. That's an escape.
We took that feeling and made it the name. The X in xScape represents everything we build — every deck, every patio, every pool, every pergola, every outdoor kitchen. One letter. Everything we do.
But a name change isn't really about the name. It's about who we are underneath it.
Over the past year, we've done a lot of soul-searching as a company. We identified the values that have always driven us, even when we never put words to them. We call them our guiding principles.
Before we pour a single footing, we think about how you'll actually live in the space. Where will you sit? Where will the grill go? How does the light hit in the evening? We design backward from the finished moment — your family gathered around the fire pit, your friends spread across the patio — and then we build everything to make that moment real.
Every project starts with a vision of what done looks like. Not just structurally complete, but right. The kind of finished where you look at it and think, that's exactly what I imagined. We hold that picture in our heads from the first meeting to the last walkthrough.
Good enough isn't good enough. We push each other to find the better joint, the cleaner line, the detail that turns a nice deck into something you stop and admire. Craftsmanship isn't a slogan for us. It's a daily practice.
Underneath all three principles lives our core value: contentment. It's the feeling our clients get when they step outside and realize the space is exactly right — not just beautiful, but theirs. Saturday morning, coffee in hand, nowhere else they'd rather be. That's the contentment we build toward on every project.
And here's the thing — that feeling isn't just for our clients. When our crews walk off a finished job knowing they challenged every detail, kept the end in mind, and set the furniture before the first board was cut, they feel it too. The quiet satisfaction of knowing you did the best work you're capable of. And that work isn't temporary. It's going to be part of someone's life for decades — the backdrop to birthday parties, quiet evenings, holiday gatherings, and ordinary Tuesday nights that somehow turn into the best memories.
Our tagline says it best: Bring it all together. That's what we do for our clients — we bring their vision, our design expertise, our specialist crews, and the finest materials together into a single, seamless experience. And honestly, it's what we ask of each other every day on every job.
For us, it's a promise. The same team you've trusted for 21 years, the same craftsmanship, the same commitment to building outdoor spaces that change how you live — all under a name that finally captures the full picture.
