Image from outdoorrooms.com.
Having a pergola installed in your outdoor living space not only adds an elegant touch, but also provides necessary shade while still allowing the fresh air breeze. Simple outdoor structures, pergolas do not have walls or a solid roof, and can be freestanding, or attached to the side of a home. Their architectural beauty and several practical uses have made them very popular among Hudson Valley homeowners. If you're considering adding a pergola to your backyard outdoor living space, here's what you stand to gain.
1. Protection From The Scorching Sun
Though a typical pergola doesn't provide you with total shade, the beams or lattice at the top do provide some relief from the scorching sun. You can also use a lightweight covering—often made from outdoor fabrics from Sunbrella—to create a solid shade, while still maintaining its traditional appeal.
2. A Defined Space in the Great Outdoors
Other than roof beams and pillars, pergolas usually include some type of flooring (concrete pavers from companies like Unilock or wooden decking). If your yard is filled with only grass and plants, having a pergola installed can help create a more defined outdoor space for entertainment, relaxation and dining. Add some screens or drapes, and you'll create even more privacy from the public view.
3. Space for Growing Plants
If you love sprucing up your backyard with plants, pergolas with help you do just that. They provide the perfect space for growing vines and other plants that need support such as ivy, hops, grapes, clematis and wisteria among others. Climbing plants not only provide shade during hot days, but also add a beautiful view and privacy to your yard. And if space is already an issue in your yard, you can grow your plants vertically with pergolas.
4. Works in Sync with Other Structures
To get the best from your pergola, consider using it as a lead-in to other structures like verandas and gazebos. For instance, when it's attached to your home (around the front door area), it can create a leafy, welcoming path for your family and guests, besides providing protection from rain, sun and wind.
5. Increased Value To Your Home
Having a pergola installed can create visual interest to an otherwise vanilla landscape, especially if you have fragrant flowering plants and vines growing over the rafters and along the vertical posts. You can also hang planters and other design elements from the rafters to make it even more appealing. As already mentioned above, this outdoor structure is more than just a beautiful relaxing and entertaining space; the growing plants around it provide shade, improve air quality and block unsightly views. All these factors when combined help to improve the value of your property. Your home will attract more buyers and a better price when it's time
