In a city the size of Calgary, finding extra space around your home is always a priority. However, creating that extra space can be challenging and costly, especially if your only focus is on expanding your internal square footage. No matter what size your outdoor area, installing a pergola is always a great option as they are the cheapest way of dramatically increasing your usable living space.
What is a pergola?
The classic image of a pergola is the wooden post and beam structure out in the garden with a dining table below and climbing plants creeping across the lattice roof. While this is certainly a popular option, pergolas come in all shapes and sizes to match the amount of space you have available. They can be freestanding as described above or attached to your home, creating a shaded oasis over your patio or deck. Instead of wood, you could choose a more contemporary material such as stamped aluminum, which can make your outdoor space feel luxurious as well as reducing the annual maintenance task list.
Pergola benefits
The benefits of installing a pergola go beyond simply adding some extra space to your home:
- Privacy – a pergola is a great way to gain some privacy, essential if you live in one of Calgary’s many populated suburbs. It’s less obtrusive than a fence, but the posts offer a great opportunity to hang drapes or shades to keep prying eyes out. You can also maintain a cabana type feel to your outdoor space with wicker or woven screens that rest against your pergola as well as using large plants and ferns to create a private oasis.
- Continuity – pergolas are a great way to help transition from your home to your garden. They can be designed as a blended space, where you can put fancy outdoor furniture next to potted plants and grasses to weave the two areas together. You can also use this idea of continuity to help with your design, like choosing an aluminum pergola to sit on top of your wooden deck to provide contrast and links to both home and garden.
- Protection – finally, a pergola offers you protection from Calgary’s wind and sunshine. You can put up bigger screens between the posts of your pergola if you live in one of the windier parts of the city, or simply rely on the structure to act as a windbreak if you choose a freestanding pergola out in your garden. You can also change the size of the lattice and how you cover the pergola to allow more or less sunshine through as you see fit.
Whether you’re planning on selling any time soon or not, a pergola will also add value to your home, and it has one of the best returns on investment on any home extension project out there. This combined with an average install time of less than a week means that it’s always the perfect time to come visit the Desert Sun Patio showroom to start your pergola journey.
It sure was helpful when you said that a freestanding pergola could offer protection from the sun’s rays. This is something that I will consider because my children love playing around the lawn and deck area every afternoon. I want to keep them safe from the sun’s damaging rays that may lead to skin problems, so I will have a pergola constructed before Friday comes.