Pick the Perfect Pergola:
Styling Ideas for your Garden or Outside Space
Frequently Asked Questions
Practical pergolas
Pergolas are often thought of, first and foremost, as a decorative object, but in fact, a pergola can provide shade and shelter to a patio area or decking at the back of your house. A pergola can serve a real purpose as a functional element of garden design.
Garden design
Because pergolas can also be decorative and stylish as well as functional, they are a great and cost-effective way to add interest to any area, provide an archway or canopy over a path, or create a focal point in an otherwise plain garden. A pergola can also ‘zone’ an area by delineating it, such as a location to eat and socialise, or divide one part of the garden from another.
Personalize your pergola
Pergolas form an integral part of garden design. They can complement a garden theme, match furniture or a decking area and be personalised with paint, lights or plants to make a unique statement.
Extend your home
A pergola can extend your living accommodation by adding a dining or socialising area to a living room, lounge, or kitchen. A pergola is informal and flexible and doesn’t detract from the back of the house or swallow up valuable garden space like a conservatory or brick extension. Pergolas don’t usually require planning permission either.
Pergolas are an enduring garden favourite because they offer the homeowner almost limitless design opportunities plus, they work for every kind of outdoor space, whether you have a large garden or a compact courtyard.
1. Slatted Wood Styling
Slatted wood is stylish and contemporary, allowing in just the right amount of light and breeze whilst offering shade. This pergola matches the linear look and regularity of wooden decking and partners well with angular furniture and seating. The overall effect is softened by the warm earthy tones and hues of the wood, which create an organic feel. This particular hardwood is iroko which is very durable, reducing maintenance and timber care.
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Double check whether you need planning permission, just in case.
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Before you create your pergola paradise, consider what it will look like, from all angles, this includes from the upper floor of your house and how it might impact the neighbours.
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Think carefully about roofing options; a semi-permanent roof will give you the best of all worlds, and you will be able to use the area underneath the pergola much more if it is weatherproof.
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Don’t be frightened to use bold colours, especially if your pergola is to frame a dining or lounge area.
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Decide whether the pergola is for decoration or function, or both.
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Choose your location before you decide on design and style.
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If you want lighting, think about a power source if the pergola is some way from the house.
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If you decorate with trailing plants, consider how your location will impact plant life in terms of sun, shade and rainfall. Location can limit or alter the climbing plants you choose. Potted plants or hanging baskets can be an easier option.
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Don’t forget about maintenance – wood is a natural material that will weather in the sun and rain and needs care. This might impact how you want to decorate your pergola.
Top Tips for Planning a Pergola
2. Extended Home Living
A pergola is a perfect way to add extra accommodation to the back of your house without the expense and disruption of building a formal extension or conservatory.
Pergolas can be freestanding or actually attached to the house and provide a zone effect for eating and socialising, plus shade in the summer for a south-facing terrace. It’s a clever way to extend your house without feeling you are encroaching on the garden. Pergolas can have solid roofs, which means you can access this area even when it rains. A simple design can be highly effective with the addition of climbing, scented plants like roses or pretty hanging baskets.
3. A Pathway to Perfection
A pergola makes a beautiful feature over a pathway, creating a canopy in an area without any features or interest. Put two pergolas adjacent to one another and create a tunnel effect with climbing plants. A pergola placed on the bend of a path creates an archway and can separate areas of the garden or different planting schemes.
In a long straight garden that lacks any natural curves or features, several pergolas create a line which may be dressed with shrubs, pots and climbers to provide an attractive, varied and shaded walkway. Solid paths are interspersed with focal areas of grass and other features to create a diverse scene that draws the eye.
Here are ten of the best pergola designs, ideas to whet your appetite and get the creative juices flowing.
5. Bright, Light and Minimalist
A pergola can remain a simple and unfussy structure totally unadorned and used to define or zone an area for the ultimate in outdoor living. It’s a clever way to extend a place where you may already have garden or dining furniture creating a ‘room without wall’ feel. An adjustable roof provides the best of all worlds.
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4. Compact Courtyards
Many people think pergolas are just for gardens, but a pergola can add a feature or zone to the smallest courtyard spaces. Open slats to the sides and roof ensure no loss of light, and potted plants or hanging baskets avoid the need for climbing plants that can be too dominant in a small area whilst still adding that essential greenery.A covered area like this is suitable for multiple uses, and the pergola creates a functional and stylish feature without appearing overcrowded or diminishing the light.
A painted pergola in soft pastels can enhance a small cottage garden and create a rustic feel with potted shrubs and hanging baskets. It’s cosy without being fussy and extends a small house with extra summer seating and an area to dine and socialise or relax. It’s ideal for compact cottage accommodation where an extension or conservatory would swallow up the whole garden
6. Combine a Pergola with a Water Feature
Combining a pergola with a water feature gives you a chance to up the ante creating height and dimension and making this a multi-dimensional design unique to your garden. Adding tropical-style plants develops a sensory experience. This type of styling can be adapted to contemporary gardens with the use of stone and metalwork as well as rustic and more traditional locations.
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7. Super-sized Outdoor Dining
A large pergola provides the perfect zone for a dining and entertainment area; this might include soft seating or a barbeque, a more formal dining area or a hot tub. Delineate the site by using the perimeter of the house or the garden fence and add pretty shrubs in planters or troughs to act as a boundary. Keeping the pergola high enough means no loss of light or air. Soften the look with hanging baskets of pretty flowers or soft green ferns, and pop in a pendant light or two to add a luxury, grand terrace feel. This styling is perfect for outdoor entertaining and requires little natural decoration to look good.
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8. Hanging Heaven
Pergolas are not just for delineation or decoration but are a great way to suspend plants, lighting and even furniture. Add a hammock for a touch of real jungle luxury, or suspend a retro Emmanuelle chair, sometimes called a hanging egg chair.
9. Zone In with a Pergola
A pergola can be combined with borders in a large, square or rectangular space to delineate garden zones. It makes a beautiful feature ahead of a lawn, separating the grass from a tiled area or decking outside the back of the property. In a flat landscape, a pergola can add height and draw the eye upwards. Borders planted on either side emphasise the effect of an entrance, so your garden has different rooms. This was how formal gardens were planted in the heyday of garden design. Using evergreen shrubs will ensure the look remains constant all year round.
10. Going Au Naturel
One of the most traditional pergola uses is to train green climbers over the top and then string the interior with pretty lights. Okay, it’s not original, but it really does work time on time and looks stunning in any location. Dine, relax or socialise beneath your green roof, and if the foliage is thick enough, you will be protected from rainfall.
To avoid a claustrophobic feeling, train plants around the corner posts and leave the sides open so there will be plenty of natural sunlight but enough shade offered by the roof canopy
