abodes
↗ A white, unadorned pergola helps define an outdoor dining area and adjoins a fire pit.
EXTERIORS
PACIFYING PERGOLAS
Open-air structures admit breezes, invite relaxation by AUDREY POST
96
April-May 2021
EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM
O
utdoor living spaces can be many things: a patio; a deck; a covered porch — screened or not; a pavilion. A pergola, however, can transform your outdoor space into an oasis like no other. What exactly is a pergola? At its most basic, it is a free-standing, opensided structure with a top of parallel crossbeams. But there are a lot of variations on that theme. For example, a structure attached to a house or outbuilding on the property
is a sort of pergola, even though only three sides are open. A seating area framed by four beams and covered with a shade cloth instead of parallel beams on top is generally considered a “hybrid pergola.” Some people consider a shade sail, a triangular-shaped cloth suspended by three hooks high above the seating area, as a form of a pergola — although purists would scoff at that idea. So what exactly are the advantages of a pergola over other types of
