Perfect Pergola Ideas to Transform Your Backyard

Pergolas are a popular addition to outdoor spaces. They’re incredibly versatile and can work with just about any backyard design, from sleek and modern to natural and rustic. If you’re considering installing a garden pergola in Katie, TX, it can be hard to narrow down all of the design options and features you have to choose from. Keep reading to get our top recommendations on pergola styles and features to help you choose the perfect pergola for your backyard space.

Add Curtains for Privacy

Pergolas are known for their open and airy look, but that doesn’t mean you have to let your backyard patio remain visible to all of the neighbors at all times. If you want a little bit more privacy, you can add curtains to the sides of your pergola. These can be tied back when you want to let in a breeze and have a view of your yard. But if you want some extra privacy or want to keep out a chill, they can be closed, turning your room into a room all its own.

Top It with a Cover

Pergolas have largely open tops, offering just enough shade to cool off the space a little while keeping it open to nature. This is great for many people, but others may want more coverage. It’s quite easy to add a cover to the top of your pergola, but you want one that blends well with the structure’s look. For example, a bamboo cover might blend well with a wood pergola in a similar tone. This can give you a little extra shade while keeping leaves and debris from falling onto your patio if there are nearby trees.

Let the Ivy Grow

Want an even more natural-looking cover for your pergola? You can allow any kind of climbing ivy to grow over the top of your pergola. This achieves a gorgeous, old-fashioned garden look that many pergola owners love. Of course, this does take time, and those climbing plants require quite a bit of care. But if you’re a committed and patient gardener, you can absolutely pull off this look. You’ll love being surrounded by the greenery of your ivy or other climbing plants, and if you use a blooming plant, you’ll have flowers all around you as you relax on your patio.

Build in Some Lighting

Often, the best time to use your back patio during the summer is at night, when the weather has cooled a bit, and you can sit outside listening to the crickets and the cicadas. But the harsh glow of your patio lights is hardly relaxing. Instead, consider building in some lighting when constructing your pergola. Adding built-in fairy lights allows you to get a soft, subtle glow all over your porch without having wires dangling down and plugging into an exterior outlet. It’s a great way to get more use out of your patio and pergola on summer nights.

Put a Fire Pit Under It

Speaking of summer nights, few things feel quite as summary as gathering around a fire pit in the evenings. If you’d rather do this from the comfort of a patio instead of in lawn chairs surrounding a portable pit on the grass, you could build a fire pit right into your patio. A pergola is open enough that you don’t have to worry about smoke collecting under the covering. You can enjoy a summertime campfire right outside your back door.

If you’re looking to create the perfect outdoor patio setup in Katy, TX—whether that includes a fire pit, pergola, or something else—contact All Things Outdoors Today. We’ll help you design the ideal patio for your lifestyle.