There’s nothing like spending time under your pergola at any time of year. In the spring, the scents and sounds of the world coming out of hibernation is best enjoyed in your yard, while the pergola provides great shade during the summer heat. In autumn, the warm evenings stretch out under the stars, and there’s even scope for some winter fun using your pergola as a base to return back to after fun in the snow.
The main drawback of your pergola, however, is the very thing that makes it such an attractive feature to have in your backyard in the first place: the open spaces. The simplicity of the post and beam structure prevent you from having any sort of privacy, and if you have a smaller yard or neighbours close by, you may feel self-conscious about being outside under your pergola. This is where investing in some sort of pergola privacy is worthwhile. Popular pergola privacy options include:
- Tie back curtains – there’s something luxurious about being able to surround yourself in pure white cotton curtains that gently blow and billow in the wind. It calls to mind images of sun-draped beaches and luxury Caribbean resorts, so installing some of these in your Calgary pergola design will bring a bit of vacation into your backyard.
- Permanent veils – if you’re looking for something that provides a good blend of privacy with being able to enjoy the sunshine, then you should choose a veil-type fabric to hang between the posts of your pergola. From the outside, it will make it hard for people to see exactly what’s going under the pergola, while from the inside you’ll still be able to get the sunlight and breezes that make being out there so magical. These can be placed permanently or left to blow in the wind.
- Drop down shades – a final option for getting some pergola privacy is to install some drop down shades that hang between the posts just under the lattice of your pergola. When you need some shade, or protection from the sun, the bugs or the eternal Calgary wind, you simply pull the shades down to make a screen room effect under your pergola. You’ll need to make sure you make accurate measurements, especially if you have a non-standard sized pergola, to make sure that you get the full effect of the shades when you draw them down.
The key idea to keep in mind as you plan your pergola privacy options is that you don’t want to be closed in all of the time. Whether it’s curtains, veils or shades, you will want to make sure that you have a way for them to be put in place and a neat way for them to be stored when not in use. Tying them up to the posts can look great if done right, but you can also make it so that they unhook for cleaning and storage, leaving your pergola looking perfect for your next outdoor gathering.
