What Is The Purpose Of A Pergola?
The question we have to answer today is a simple one, but one that we think a lot of Winnipeggers would benefit from knowing the answer to: What is the purpose of a pergola?
To answer that question, we’ve got to answer a way more pressing question: What is a pergola?
Here’s how we’re going to break it down: We’ll teach you what a pergola is and then explain the advantages of a pergola. By the end, you’ll know.
What Is a Pergola?
A pergola is a simple outdoor structure consisting of columns supporting a roof of beams and rafters. These beams and rafters are sometimes covered, but they’re often left uncovered, allowing the sun to shine through. Pergolas are often attached to houses, but they can also be left freestanding.
There are a lot of outdoor structures that kind of meet this definition, so it’s important to compare them.
Pergolas are not arbors. Arbors are similar, but they’re smaller, they’re often curved at the top (while pergolas are flat), and they’re mostly freestanding, used as architectural flourishes along garden paths or gates.
Pergolas are also not gazebos. Gazebos tend to be round and are almost always fully covered. They also usually have raised floors, while pergolas generally have no floors at all.
Now you know what a pergola is and what a pergola isn’t. That brings us to the question of the day: What is the purpose of a pergola?
Why You Should Consider a Pergola
They Beautify Your Outdoor Space
Architectural features like pergolas draw people’s eyes. You can design the entire flow of your landscaping around a feature like a pergola. There are a wide variety of different materials, shapes, and styles available for building pergolas, so they can be integrated into almost any outdoor space.
The design of pergolas also makes them particularly well suited to growing vines like the Virginia Creeper. By growing vines on the latticework of your pergola, you’ll be able to create a more enclosed, natural-looking space. Pergolas with vines are strikingly beautiful, and they create a unique space for guests to enjoy. That brings us to our next point:
They Create a Gathering Space
Whether your pergola is enclosed or open, it can be used as a space for friends, family, and guests to gather. One excellent way of doing this is to incorporate your pergola into a patio design.
Take a few patio chairs, bring them under the pergola, enjoy each other’s company and take in the sun. We particularly love using pergolas covered in vines as gathering spaces—it can create an almost mystical, very naturalistic feeling, especially when the pergola is made of wood.
You can consider using hardscape features like stone under your pergola to create an enchanting patio. Whether this patio is attached to your home or close to your garden is entirely up to you. Pergolas are large and customizable enough that they can be incorporated into sizable patios, creating a beautiful, shaded outdoor space for gatherings.
They Provide Shade
Love gardening? The versatility of pergolas means you can provide your plants with as much shade as they need. Want more shade? Get a covered pergola. Whether you’re looking for full shade or for some sunshine to make its way through, we can build a custom pergola for your garden.
Shade is also nice to have when you’re hosting and using your pergola as an extension of your living space. You can use your pergola to provide protection from the elements, including sun protection; who doesn’t love some shade on a sunny day?
They Add Value to Your Home
Pergolas are permanent additions to your space. As we’ve discussed, they can be used for gatherings, offer a type of outdoor living space, and make your yard more beautiful.
That’s all very attractive for many buyers, and pergolas will add lasting value to your home. Professionally designed landscaping, including pergolas, can add up to 20% to your home’s value. That can be a significant return on investment!
Best of all, you can use your pergola all summer long without having it affect your pergola’s value—there’s practically no wear and tear, here (outside of the elements). Value while you live in your home, and value when you sell your home; if that’s not a good reason to get a pergola, we don’t know what is.
Pergolas in Winnipeg
Our pergolas are built to last in Winnipeg, with materials that can endure our incredibly harsh winters. You’ll get the most out of our gorgeous summers, too! Our landscape design services are all-encompassing; we’ll redesign your backyard, build a pergola, and handle any other landscaping elements you’d like us to.
