If you’re considering adding a pergola shade structure to your patio, whether it’s for your home or a commercial space, you’re one smart cookie. And your timing is impeccable. Pergolas are the kind of shade structure that offer tremendous versatility.
Why?
They provide a different kind of shade.
A pergola filters sunlight, so it’s cooler but not dark. It’s like sitting in the shade of a beautiful, broad tree. You get the full value of being outdoors without sweltering, so you can get more use from your patio when it’s hot. If you run a restaurant or bar, your patrons will clamor for a seat under your pergola.
At home, your pergola can create partial shade for your garden. Shade your hot tub, and you’ll still be able to see the stars at night. Your pets will appreciate being cooler, too.
Pergolas add a distinctive finishing touch to your patio.
Adding any type of shade structure can improve the livability of your patio or a deck, but adding a pergola can entirely transform the space visually as well as functionally. Your pergola can be custom-designed to fit your space, even if you want an unusual shape. The cross-beams and pillars can be simple or fancy to match any architectural style. Why have the same thing someone else has?
Pergolas always attract oohs and aahs, perhaps because they have a timeless quality that makes them look classy as well as cool. Whether it’s free-standing or attached to your exterior wall, a pergola shade structure instantly upgrades any patio. It’s no longer just a blank space next to your house or business, it’s a focal point that irresistibly draws the eye.
And you can decorate a pergola shade structure – with strings of tiny lights, or with climbing vines or roses that climb the pillars and weave through the cross-beams to create a living “roof.” Or go non-traditional and use beans or grapes. In addition to cooling shade, your pergola can provide lusciously fragrant flowers, edible fruits, exquisitely colorful fall foliage or berries or seed pods. Not every shade structure can do that.
They can be any size.
Of course you can cover your entire patio for lounging, eating or entertaining. But a pergola can also create a tiny gateway, a leafy walkway or a cozy, quiet hideaway corner that’s a garden oasis just for one. Add a rocking chair and a cold beverage, and you may never want to leave.
You can augment your pergola shade structure with one or more lacy lattice walls, to block a less-than-lovely neighboring view or block the neighbor’s view into your space. Wall can increase your shade, too, helping you stay cool even in the hottest afternoon hours.
A pergola shade structure is sturdy and weather-tough.
If you live near the beach or in some other area where it’s often breezy, a pergola won’t ruffle or flap in the breeze like an awning can do. Especially a lightweight retractable one. That’s because the very design of a pergola shade structure makes it stout and durable. You get a long-lasting investment that happily stands up to harsh off-season weather and requires virtually no maintenance. Pergolas are affordable, too.
You get instant gratification.
You could plant trees around your patio, but you’d have to wait a generation to enjoy their leafy canopy. Mother Nature does nice work, but she doesn’t work fast. On the other hand, working with a reputable company that’s in the shade structure business will give you great ideas, the perfect design and quick installation so you can start enjoying your pergola right away.
Round about August, you’ll be wondering why you didn’t add a pergola shade structure to your patio years ago. You’ll be the envy of the neighborhood. And all the friends and relatives who come over will be getting out the tape measure to plan their own pergola for next year.
Photo Credit: Field Outdoor Spaces via Flickr
