10 Pergola Ideas for Outdoor Living
Turn your yard into a gorgeous oasis with the help of this outdoor featureBy Avantika Singh Rathore, Senior Architect Greenova.
We all appreciate our outdoor spaces more and more, but we also understand sun damage better. How does the canny home landscaper deal with this conundrum? By researching pergola ideas, of course! While many of us want to maximize our time in nature, it may seem like you can’t enjoy your outdoor space without risking those harmful rays. A covered pergola helps solve that problem, and can even let you better enjoy the comforts of an indoor living room or dining area on your backyard patio. But you’re going to have to decide what kind of alfresco style your seating area is going to have—and that’s where scrolling through pergola designs comes into play.
We’ve gathered 25 amazing pergola ideas to help you find inspiration to create the perfect ambiance for your “living room on the outside,” from Mediterranean-influenced designs to modern pergolas, and poolside pergolas to firmly earthbound ones. But first, let’s answer some basic questions to get you on your way to living your best pergola life.
What is the point of having a pergola?
Before you upgrade your outdoor living, it’s important to understand the difference between a pergola and a gazebo, among other common outdoor structures—and it’s a minor but important one that will greatly affect your design ideas for your outdoor living space.
A gazebo is a freestanding structure that has a full roof. They’re typically octagonal, often screened and with their own decks—though none of those elements are actually requirements for a gazebo.
An awning is a shade cover that juts out over an area. They’re often attached to the wall of a home, and they don’t include walls—they’re basically small, extendable roofs.
A privacy screen, on the other hand, is all wall, a visual barrier that’s often used to block the view your neighbors have into your yard—and you’re not going to get much shade from a privacy screen unless you’re sitting right next to it. The same goes for a trellis, which is a latticework or framework used to support and train the growth of climbing plants. A trellis could be freestanding or built on to an existing structure, like the side of a home—or a pergola.
So what is a pergola, then? Like a gazebo, it’s a structure that provides shelter and some shade from the elements, but unlike a gazebo, it doesn’t have a full roof and is designed to let some sun in at least part of the time. It can be freestanding or built onto an existing structure. (Narrow pergolas built onto the sides of homes are sometimes called “eyebrow pergolas,” as they kind of make your home look like Groucho Marx.) But a pergola can also incorporate elements of the other outdoor structures we’ve discussed, too, like a retractable awning as an optional pergola roof for complete sun coverage, or having a wall or trellis that acts as a privacy screen. Beyond the practical, there’s also the landscape design aspect: The best pergola can provide a perfect focal point for your outdoor space, and they will take any deck ideas you’re considering to the next level.
What are the pros and cons of a pergola?
So is a pergola the right choice for you? It depends on your outdoor living situation and what you want out of your potential pergola design, according to Freda.
Among the benefits of getting a pergola is a combination of the aesthetics and sturdiness, she says. “People like the look of it more than a shade sail or umbrella. It looks more built-in, custom-made and it’s more of a substantial structure. You don’t have to worry so much about the wind, like with an umbrella or sail.”
With retractable roofs and sides or features such as open-and-close slats, pergolas can also be more adaptable to your particular climate than a temporary shelter. “Standing umbrellas and awnings are mostly overhead shade,” Freda says. “In a pergola, you can also have a retractable canopy that comes down on one side. You can pull these blinds down that’ll give you better sun protection than the other options.”
But at the same time, a pergola doesn’t go overboard and verge into looking like an immutably permanent outdoor structure, like a gazebo sometimes can. A backyard pergola is also a better option for those worried about patio space—a pergola may be easier to fit into a small backyard than even a modest gazebo. “Gazebos [can feel] a little outdated,” Freda says. “Pergolas are more contemporary-looking.”
Another leg up pergola design has over gazebo design? You can enjoy the “outdoor” part of “outdoor living” more. “Pergolas are meant to be able to be opened to the elements, so you can let the sunlight and air in.
The biggest reason not to go for a pergola, especially a freestanding pergola, is that your outdoor space might be able to structurally support it. “A pergola needs to be anchored really—it’s a substantial structure but can still be blown over,” Freda says. “You can’t attach a pergola to 2-by-2 pavers on a roof.”
Whatever you decide?
"Remember that ultimately the best pergola is the one
that makes outdoor living a bigger part of your day"
1. Levitating Luxury
Comfy hanging chairs seem to float off the ground beneath this wood pergola that emphasizes a sense of levitation with climbing plants. An outdoor refrigerator and generous counters mean it can also double as an outdoor kitchen. “We often add retractable awnings as well so the tops can be completely covered as needed,” says Lauren Lerner, principal and owner of Living with Lolo
2.La La Landed
To reinforce memories of 1960s Hollywood Regency style, interior designer Jamie Bush and architect William Hefner reimagine a Los Angeles home for actress Mary Kitchen using an elegantly geometric pergola to complete the white-on-white cool of this patio.
3.Real Steel Pergola
The black steel frame with inset ipe joists—designed without visible weld joints of screw or bolt attachments—are meant to gray out in the coastal alt air of this seaside home. “The pergola ipe joists compliment the ipe deck below. This all lent a sense of serenity to the space,” say Kate and Ryan Gross of Kate Anne Designs. “In general, we will situate a pergola where it’s going to help frame a space, supply shade as well as create an architectural feature against the home, when applicable.”
4.Rattan Plan
Using natural materials like rattan for a respite from the Montecito, California, sun, interior designer Suzanne Rheinstein crafted a pergola-anchored getaway with an assist from Bories & Shearron Architecture.
5.White Pergola in Napa
When the views are king, a simple pergola can let the natural beauty of the surroundings come through.
6.The Good Kind of Board Meeting
With its striking midcentury-modern dandelion chandelier and subdued sconces, this pergola, designed by Jessica Risko Smith, is grounded and formal-looking enough to host an alfresco business meeting, but also perfectly suitable for an impromptu weekend family meal. The dark frame of the pergola is a striking contrast to the light stone floors and low outdoor walls.
7. Zigzag Fountain
Elements like the dazzlingly tilework, Holy Grail–like fountain, hanging brass lanterns, and ornately detailed interior of the shrine-like central structure elevate this pergola from simple shade escape to near-religious experience. Unlike many of the other pergola ideas we’ve showcased here, this freestanding pergola doesn’t encourage you to linger and lounge but to pay respects to its grandeur while patiently ushering you along toward the cool recesses of the home’s beckoning interior.
8. Minimalist Pergola in Bangalore
Less is more in this metal pergola at an Villa house. The steel complements the design of the ipe-wood terrace by Garden Design Studio and the architecture of the home.
9. Vine-Covered Pergola
If you think of a pergola as an extension of your garden, you don’t need to settle for surrounding your patio pergola with hanging baskets and potted plants. Instead, you could take a cue from Villa Palagio, Sting .. Adding climbing plants, like Chinese wisteria, turned this 118-foot-long oak pergola into a cloister dedicated to Mother Nature.
10. Urban Oasis in the Clouds
Incorporating trellises with climbing plants, this urban rooftop pergola not only provides shades, it provides privacy—a rarity in the city. Architect Edward Siegel of Cooper, Robertson & Partners created the trellis and fireplace for the rooftop terrace of a Manhattan apartment that he renovated with decorator Ernest de la Torre. The slate paving is from Stone Source, the daybeds and glass-top tables are by Dedon, and the pillows are made of Sunbrella by Les Toiles du Soleil and Janus et Cie fabrics. The plantings are by Miguel Pons Landscaping and Matthias Kirwald Landscaping.
One Reply to “10 Pergola Ideas for Outdoor Living”
Prithivi
20 Dec 2023Nice Ideas.. Love them