The Best Pergola Ideas to Kick-Start Some Outdoor Inspo (2024)

FAQs

How do you jazz up a pergola? ›

If your pergola allows it, you can utilize hooks for hanging flower pots or trailing plants, or suspend potted plants using chains or wires around the beams or rafters. However you could decorate any one of our pergolas with you climbing plants such as wisteria or roses can also be set up on a trellis or net.

Gazebos are more robust constructions than pergolas. Pergolas tend to be less expensive and easier to build. Both pergolas and gazebos add shade and flair to your yard. Both structures can increase your home's value.

Pergolas can be customized to include retractable grommet curtains for privacy, incandescent lighting for nighttime lounging, picturesque box planters or hanging planter filled with fragrant herbs or flowers, and ornate trellises for fast growing vines to climb.

Dress up the structure's supports and slats with climbing vines to offer additional shade and add a natural element to the design. Hang outdoor string lights from the pergola to make al fresco dinners even more enjoyable.

Building a pergola yourself will be more cost-effective than buying one because you only have to pay for materials and not labor. The national average cost to build a 10 ft. traditional wooden pergola yourself is about $3,500; however, it varies depending on the project and the location.

The best and most durable pergola material you can go with is aluminum. It has the best price to performance ratio when you're trying to build pergolas that last a lifetime. The main factors that make aluminum the most durable pergola materials are: Aluminum is HIGHLY weather resistant.

While there are many caveats, in short, the answer is yes. A pergola has the potential to add value to your home, with many estimates putting the return on investment at somewhere around 50% to 80%. That makes pergolas one of the more valuable additions homeowners can put on their homes.

For instance, place it in between the shade of two trees so it looks more natural. For maximum shade, consider having an open-roof pergola and place it in a way that its rafters orient both north and south. So as the sun's direction changes, the rafter can cast wide shade under the structure.

What do you put on the side of a pergola? ›

You can add more shade to a pergola with coverings at the sides. Fabric panels are a simple addition, and can be hung, like curtains, from railings fitted just below the perimeter of the roof structure. They will soften the lines of the pergola, too.

An Array of Color Choices

From neutral tones such as taupe, platinum grey, black, white and bronze; to bolder hues like ruby red or mint turquoise, you can explore colors for your louvered pergola that communicate subtlety, tradition, or high energy.

Building a pergola on a budget? You can install a vinyl pergola that mimics the look of real wood, and you won't have to worry so much about maintenance. Though vinyl pergolas only cost $10 to $30 per square foot, they generally don't last as long as wood or aluminum pergolas.

Cedar is our number one choice for pergola lumber because we believe it's the ultimate outdoor building material. It's beautiful, takes stain and finishes well, and is dimensionally stable — so it won't twist and warp like other types of lumber. It's also light, making it easier to work with.

Method 1: Use Sandbags or Water Weights

You can find these easily at garden centers or online. Filling them with sand or water is a breeze, and once they're ready, strategically place them around the base of your pergola's posts.

Plants, planters, crawling vines, and hanging baskets of flowers are all capable of turning your space into a lively and colorful garden gazebo! After all, you are outside, so using Nature itself to decorate your pergola will always be in style.