If you think a pergola is only for decoration, you’re partly right and partly wrong. That’s because some homeowners do choose to include a pergola in their outdoor living space purely for decoration. Pergolas are eye-catching. If you want a pergola for its decorative function, it will not disappoint. However, some homeowners include pergolas in their deck or patio design for other reasons as well. Here Archadeck of Akron, your Akron pergola builder, looks at several of the reasons you may want to include a pergola in your outdoor living space design. Which of these reasons resonates with you?
7 Reasons to Include a Pergola in Your Combination Outdoor Living Structure
1. For decorative purposes — The pergola itself is attractive from a design perspective, and you can train flowering vines to grow up and over it if you want to use it like a trellis or arbor.
2. For partial shade — Pergolas are most often designed to provide shade; however, the traditional pergola supplies only partial shade. We’re careful to tell clients this so they’ll have the appropriate expectations of a traditional pergola. The amount of shade a pergola casts depends on how it’s situated in relation to the path of the sun as well as the width, number and angle of the rafters across the top. Archadeck of Akron can adjust the angle of the pergola’s rafters to increase or decrease the amount of shade provided.
3. For total shade — If you want to get creative, we can design a pergola for you that provides more shade or even total shade. To accomplish this, we’ll add another material across the top of the structure. Canvas fabric can work for this purpose, but the material usually used for a total shade pergola is a panel of Polygal plastic sheeting. Polygal is flexible, unbreakable and lightweight and comes in several colors and degrees of transparency. One thing homeowners like about Polygal is that it not only blocks the sun’s UV rays, it can also provide thermal insulation, keeping you cooler.
4. To support additional amenities — Here’s where pergolas become really interesting because we can get creative with them if these ideas appeal to you. We can install a ceiling fan under a pergola or hang a privacy screen from it. You can hang wind chimes on a pergola or even add curtains or some colorful, gossamer fabric and allow it to float and wave in the breeze.
5. To shelter additional amenities — Many homeowners enjoy bench seating under a pergola. The benches we install under Akron patio pergolas are usually made of stone to coordinate with the patio materials. For Akron deck pergolas, we usually build benches with the same materials we’re using for the deck. If you want to place a dining table for two under your pergola, we can install subtle lighting there to create a romantic nighttime atmosphere in which you can actually see each other. A pergola is a dreamy setting for a hot tub or spa! Some homeowners choose to install a fountain or statue under the structure, allowing the pergola to serve as a frame for art and beauty.
6. To define the boundary of your outdoor living space — When we design your patio or deck with a pergola at one end of the structure, the pergola serves as a visual cue that defines the boundary of your outdoor living space. Your eyes and brain process this without you necessarily being aware of it.
7. To signal the transition from one area to another — A pergola makes a statement when it serves as the gateway from your deck to your patio, or from your patio to your pool surround, for example.
Choosing the Material for Your Akron Pergola
Traditionally, pergolas were constructed of wood, which allows the structure to feel like part of the natural surroundings. Cedar is often used to build pergolas. Other materials we can use include vinyl, PVC, composite decking materials and powder-coated aluminum, which are all low-maintenance materials. Vinyl pergolas are usually white and would contrast nicely with your deck or patio materials. PVC can be painted any color you desire. When we build your pergola with composite decking materials, we can use the same color we use for your deck, or you can select a coordinating or contrasting color. Powder-coated aluminum pergolas are available in an array of color choices. Peruse our pergola galleries on our website for examples of pergola designs, colors and materials.
—This vinyl pergola stands over a stamped concrete patio to provide shade for guests.
Erase from your mind the notion that all pergolas look alike! Akron pergolas can be narrow and dainty or wide and beefy, and there are infinite varieties of pergola sizes and shapes between those two extremes. As your Akron pergola designer, we will create a pergola for you that enhances and defines another outdoor living structure such as a deck or patio. Many homeowners who ask for “only a pergola” find that the structure is lost and lonely when it’s not used on conjunction with a combination outdoor living project.
Contact Archadeck of Akron today to schedule your free pergola -and-deck-or-patio design consultation. The combination of all three, the pergola, deck and patio, is something to consider, too! You can reach us at (330) 537-6412.
