Summertime is here and that means lots of grilling out, entertaining and other fun activities outdoors. While the sun is always welcome during these events — it is a major part of the appeal of this time of the year, after all! — there are times when you want and need some shade. With an outdoor garden pergola, finding that shade is not only easy, it’s a process that can add lots of visual appeal to your space.
1. Create your dream kitchen — outdoors!
Outdoor cooking has reached new heights. Installing an outdoor pergola can provide the right amount of shade, space and ventilation to make it a pleasurable experience. An arched pergola creates a dramatic visual effect while also allowing for an expansive amount of room for all of your backyard kitchen apparatus. With that much shade, you’ll find that people will love to keep you company while you cook.
2. Use a pergola as a transition
A garden pergola is the ideal way to ease the physical and visual transition from your home to the outdoors and vice versa. An attached garden pergola creates a seamless transition from your home to your yard while still providing lots of shade. Use it to soften the buffer between your home and landscaping stones, for example, or some other feature in your yard.
3. Make use of the natural landscape
Outdoor garden pergolas are versatile and can fit into the natural landscape that already exists within your yard. Build one that makes use of the shade of your favorite tree or use the tree as an extension of the pergola — as long as the tree won’t become too large. Integrating these elements of the natural environment creates a relaxing and shady haven for you and your whole family.
4. Create a relaxing space
Even if you are the type of person who loves to sun themselves and relax under the open sky, you’ll eventually want to come out of the heat. Creating a relaxing oasis under your pergola encourages your friends and family to slow down, relax and unwind. Thanks to the open design of the pergola, it’s easy to capture the breezes of summer.
5. Use fabrics to your advantage
Don’t fall into the thought pattern that fabrics are only for indoor use. As long as they are rated for outdoor use, you can utilize them in conjunction with a pergola to create a physical barrier between the heat, humidity and sunshine. Choose ones that are long enough to brush the floor to gain the full effect. You can also find options that allow you to tie them back out of the way when the day is cooling off or to allow a breeze to ripple through. Using curtains also affords you privacy — even when you’re outdoors.
6. Blend a pergola with an existing deck or patio
Your existing patio or deck can also be seamlessly integrated with a pergola. You can use your pergola to outline or extend a border that already exists. With a pergola, it’s also a snap to create zones — such as for relaxing or cooking — when you combine it with the deck or patio already in place.
7. Go green
If your yard already boasts well-developed greenery in the form of bushes and trees, a pergola can accentuate the landscaping. Not only will a Redwood pergola set among thriving and flowering foliage look simply spectacular, but it enables you to enjoy the cooling shade that comes with all that vegetation. When you factor in how beautiful the contrasting colors and textures are when an outdoor garden pergola is situated among the cooling properties of greenery, it can evoke a sense of relaxation that allows you to unwind and enjoy yourself completely.
Adding an outdoor garden pergola improves the way your space can be enjoyed, making it more welcoming and relaxing. With a number of attractive pergola options to choose from, it’s easy to increase your enjoyment of your outdoor space.
