Outdoor pergola dreaming
January 18, 2013
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Hello and welcome to the (almost) weekend! Got anything fun planned? Not much here other than time with my loves, maybe a little decluttering and DIY, and perhaps a nap. Perfect weekend at home. :)
It’s only 32 degrees here today but I’m dreaming of warmer weather already…we were teased with a lovely 65 degrees last weekend and it was fabulous!
We took advantage of the warm weather to address the…ahem, disaster that has been waiting for us on the deck.
Our lovely gazebo that I showed you a couple summers ago:
Started falling a few weeks ago (I just found this pic on my phone):
So sad. :(
It only got worse – the wind was CRAZY that few days and it was just getting more intense. Hubby was out of town and I was so afraid the whole thing was going to blow off and hit a neighbors house or something. So I decided to pull some of the cover off so it wouldn’t catch the wind as much. It helped, at least it didn’t fly away!:
Some of you suggested that maybe it could be salvaged but there was just no way. The steel braces that hold it on to the deck were bent and some ripped in two – insane! At least we know our deck is sound because it didn’t budge! :)
That cover acts like a parachute, I tell you what. It had been up for 18 months without an issue till now, the winds we had were just too much this time.
So anyway, last weekend we spent a couple hours taking it apart. The gazebo itself wasn’t too bad to disassemble – it was all the glass from the pretty lights we had up that we had to watch for. What a mess!!
Now we’re left with a wide open space again:
I need to get a cover for the stuff on here now, it’s been protected by the gazebo till now. (We don’t have a spot to store outdoor furniture over the winter.)
So now…we’re thinkin’. Thinking about what we could possibly put there in the future. I should say dreaming…because most of the ideas we like are spendy.
One thing we know for sure – no more fabric roofs!! It’s just not going to work. I love the look of pergolas – I’ve heard if they are built correctly you can block the sun for most of the day.
But we’ve been known to sit out there in the rain in the summer, and I like having the protection for the furniture. A pergola with a roof like this one would be perfect:
(source)
Or a screen option would be my dream because I am an absolute mosquito magnet in the summer. It’s horrible. We loved our gazebo because we could close all the screens and I could actually enjoy being out there.
But of course for the price of that one above, we could just built a screened porch onto the the house!!
Who knows what we’ll do and I don’t think it will even happen this year. Honestly we’re both kind of loving the deck open like it is right now. I guess it’s that whole less is more feeling we get this time of year. We’re digging it…who knows what I’ll be saying in July when I’m getting eaten alive by the skeeters. :)
What’s in your dream backyard? A covered gazebo? An open and airy pergola?
We have a bamboo trellis pergola (intermediate step till we can afford to build a full deck) and grow wisteria over it. I was shocked at how well the blocks everything. Plus its like being in a little nature preserve, so peaceful.
ReplyDeleteMy in-laws have an amazing covered patio. It's got a ceiling fan and canned lights and it's wired for sound. They are able to use it all year (we live in Northern California) and their furniture is protected (no snow here, but lots of rain in the winter). I would totally do something like that if I had the money!
ReplyDeleteThere is definitely a grill or two, and plenty of places to lounge. My brother just built me this amazing wine barrel bar table that I'll utilize outside this summer: http://www.thebookofjimmy.com/merry-chrihmers/img_9242/
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing and I can't wait to use it. Even still smells a little like the wine it aged.
I go back and forth on the pergola idea. I do love me some vine covers though, so something like that would be a must to get that started.
I love love love the lattice with a full roof covering it. So pretty! And my sister gets eaten alive by mosquitos, too. I would come inside with just one or two bites, and she would come in with 50. Crazy. I've heard it has something to do with how much potassium is in your blood or something weird like that. That screened in porch, though, would be awesome for keeping the bugs away.
ReplyDeleteOoh... I love that last one, too. Totally hear you on the mosquito thing, and then in the Fall, it's the bees when you're trying to dine al fresco.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking you and your Dad could tackle that project, no?
The one thing I really miss about our old house was the screened porch. I guess this summer you could just go crazy with citronella and bug spray, and enjoy the wide open space like I will be doing.
I love that last one too. But, like you said, they are expensive! Mine is open like yours. So with the mosquitos, bees and wasps we have a problem with (and the crazy wind), we don't sit out there. I never even put the table out last year. I could just see some storm ripping through and breaking my glass top table. My dream for our home--- a 4 season porch with LOTS of windows! A $20,000+ addition, but would be so nice!
ReplyDeleteWow that screened in pergola looks like a little piece of heaven! I dream of having one of those too in the next few years:)
ReplyDeleteAs a fellow skeeter magnet, I would opt for anything that has screens.. ;D
ReplyDeleteOh so sad :( we need a cover over our patio and outdoor furniture too. The hubs wants something we can push back at night to see the star - yes I said STAR, we live in the city. Okay, maybe we can see a dozen. I just want deep shade from the Texas sun in summer.
ReplyDeleteEEshk! I am glad I saw these pictures before we bought anything like that for our outdoor space. We live in an area that has sustained 40mph winds almost daily and gusts of 60mph don't even make us bat an eye. No match for fabric gazebos! I guess we'll have to think of something else...
ReplyDeleteBeautiful deck and patio furniture!
ReplyDeleteThis happened my lovely Gazebo too!!
ReplyDeleteI love the look of a pergola too & I know what you mean about the mosquitoes. They're awful in Louisiana too. The high the other day here was 37. It was AWFUL!!! Today we're back in the 60's which is still a little cool for me. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteWhatever I eventually do, it will definitely have to be at least partially screened in! First things first - get 60 ft. trees down that are only 15 ft. from the back of my house!
ReplyDeleteSo many pretty options! I love the look of the pergola. We have a screened in back porch and it would be great at keeping out the mosquitos if the kids didn't keep going in and out so much. I need to use my screened-in balcony more off my bedroom, but right now it's storing all my ladders/nail guns/etc for my master bedroom redo. The balcony should be my next project! I've got to use it before it gets too hot here.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget to file a claim with your insurance! You might be surprised how much they'll give you for something like that. You don't have to replace it the same way or even right away! Never hurts to ask...
ReplyDeletewhen it rains, just use a tarp over the furniture. Have the type of shade you like. The lattice work with lights is magical at night...
ReplyDeleteI love the pitched roof pergola! We're thinking of doing something like that soon (in the next few years... before our oldest's graduation party (two years! eek!)).
ReplyDeleteOh your poor gazebo! Geez. It was beautiful. We have a wide open deck on our new home too that will need some coverage, I haven't even begun to think about that yet since we just moved and have SO much to do, but can't wait to see what you decide. Above all I think twinkly lights are a must.
ReplyDeleteI've seen pergolas where a sliding curtain is hung on the underside (pretty easy to do actually) so that way you can have it open during the no rain evenings and still enjoy the stars and closed during the times when you need full shade from the sun!
ReplyDeleteYuk, that must have been disappointing to see your lovely gazebo destroyed! The wind caught our patio umbrella and blew it into the neighbor's fence, actually broke the fence post! :P I'd love to have a screened porch or gazebo some day.
ReplyDeleteWe had the same thing in our back yard. I loved it. When my husband installed it, he had to go above and beyond to screw it into the cement. We live in California. Where we live it is windy all the time. On some days we have 60-70 mph gusts. I think we are under a wind advisory every other week.
ReplyDeleteWe would have to replace the cover every spring. I had it down to a science. Then one spring I told my husband I was going to call for a new parachute...cover...He told me not too because the metal had rotted. He was able to bend it with his foot. Ha! We finally had a more permanent cover built. The sun does come through the small slats but I really like it. It does get very hot where I live and we even get snow once in a while in the winter. we bought a small shed to house our furniture in the winter. But I will say. It really is nice to sit under in the summer. Not to bad with the slats!
Good luck. I like all of the ones you showed.
Enjoy your weekend,
Cathy
You have made a little slice of heaven !!!!!!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE it .. just fabulous
ReplyDeleteWhere we live (west of Grand Junction, CO) the wind is like a tornado on our back deck. Nothing can survive out there when the wind blows. I have to use several clothes pins on my laundry or it'll be down the road somewhere. One good thing about that is laundry dries quickly, lol. Was the same way where we lived in MT.
ReplyDeleteYou have several options in your horizon as to what you'll do for a cover.
We've been going to build a pergola but hubs had a stroke so he's not going up to do the top part on his own and I'm not exactly Mrs. carpenter, I get dizzy on top of anything, lol. The back of our house faces the West in afternoon so it's like an oven out there in summer, can't even touch the door handle. We'll have to appeal to somebody to help build that pergola, hopefully while we're still alive and can enjoy it out there, lol.
Good luck and hope no more hurricane winds hit your deck. Will look forward to seeing what solution you come up with.
Might I make a suggestion? We have a pretty sturdy type of gazebo, one that we got from SAMS CLUB, Check it out here...
ReplyDeletehttp://buhayatbahay.blogspot.com/2012/05/hello-summer-our-outdoor-oasis-in-2012.html
Price is a little steep, but we've had it for 3 years now and it's pretty sturdy considering we live at the highest point in town (wind can be have huge damaging effect).
Good luck! I feel for you.
That exact same think happen to us. I was so upset we only had it about 5 months. As adorable as they are I will not buy another one. We had a pergola built instead and I adore it so much more then the gazebo. I even hung a chandelier from the center of it and added curtains.
ReplyDeleteI can't be in the sun because of a chronic illness, but we don't want the patio cover we are building over our patio to block all the light coming through our windows. We are having the portion of our patio cover over our windows built as lattice much like a pergola. The remainder will be covered. The lattice portion will have a metal rail on each side perpendicular to the window. We will have a large piece of Sunbrella fabric with several grommets or rings along each edge and either a tether or metal wand at the edge of the fabric we can use to move the shade back and forth underneath the lattice to provide shelter from the sun or rain but still allow light to stream into our house. Make sense? This canopy here is a similar. http://www.2greenthumbsup.com/2007/07/canadian-tire-pergola/
ReplyDeleteI will be interested to see what you come up with. I have a built on, glassed in sunroom which I personally love! Also, just so you know, Vitamin B helps to deter mosquitoes for some reason. I take a B Complex every day and rarely get bitten (I researched it when living in Asia where my husband contracted dengue fever - mozzies were dangerous over there!).
ReplyDeleteWell of course a wooden structure would certainly be perm and withstand high winds. We love our covered back porch, nothing fancy just a covered back porch from wood. I've been dreaming of a fire pit for years and will get one built one of these days.
ReplyDeleteI would love to have a pergola over our patio. Maybe one day we'll get around to building it. I love Moroccan influences, so I am I trying to steer my backyard patio towards that style.
ReplyDeleteI like the 4th picture down with the twinkling lights! So gorgeous.. can' wait to see what you do!
ReplyDeleteKayla
www.lovelucygirl.com
Wow! Great job on the table.That amazes me. As for the deck, I work at an awning shop-I would bite the bullet and splurge for a fabric covered welded frame deck canopy. Ballpark is $3000-$4000 for a 12' x 15'ish.It will last for years! Winter gets nasty.
ReplyDeleteI want a three-season porch off my dinette where the patio door is. I too, am a mosquito magnet (maybe some of us are just "hotter" tan others, LOL! As you know, it's the carbon dioxide our skin gives off that the skeeters zero in on and the warmer you are, the more carbon dioxide your skin throws off). I looked into pre-manufactured but too rich for my meager budget. So, I just dream.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry for the destruction! But I know you will do something beautiful with it!
ReplyDeleteI fell in love with your gazebo right after I saw the first photo, but I got sad after I saw the next one. It’s distressing to see a beautiful gazebo get ruined. I know it’s hard to maintain it, especially when the weather gets harsh. Nevertheless, I’m sure that you’re going to make it gorgeous again. Who knows, you may come up with a more stunning idea than your previous one! :)
ReplyDelete