Once we moved in to our home in Florida we quickly discovered that the afternoon sun was not only extremely hot but bright and literally in our eyes as we ate dinner inside. We decided to have a pergola (or shade structure) built when we added brick pavers as part of personalizing the backyard. Here’s the journey behind the pergola so you can skip it, fast forward and go straight for the win.
Not so fast. It was beautiful and provided a bit of shade perhaps. It cast some cool shadows but it wasn’t enough relief from the blazing sun.
We planted vines which quickly grew up and over the entire pergola structure providing desired shade at last! YESSSSSS!
Shade, yes. And bees. And ants. And falling leaves. And requiring my husband to ascend a ladder to trim said vines along the structure, out of the gutters and off the roof. NOOOO!!! This became a hazardous project. So………we ripped down all of the vines and went back to the drawing board. One of our neighbors built a pergola and added corrugated metal roofing. It provided them with shade and made an amazing sound when it rained!
Kristen decides this is brilliant and runs out to Lowes for metal to use on the roof. Gets it home and realizes *They had the roof built at an angle for the rain to run off*. We did not.
It’s ok. That can be fixed. We decided to hire a company to slope the structure and secure the roofing. I loved this adaptation for so many reasons. And, yes, I’m going to share them all! That’s the beauty of a blog not a facebook post.
Here are a few reason to love the metal roof: it gave us shade, it was clean (no leaves to clean up or trim), it was waterproof so we could sit out there even during the rain. And speaking of rain- it was the BEST sound ever to hear rain on a tin roof. I’m talking as soon as it started to rain I ran out to sit on a rocker and just listen!
Here’s Greta girl out there in the rain. She, like many dogs, didn’t like to get wet. I let her out and this is where I found her when I looked out the window!
One oldie but a goodie memory. Greta went through this weird phase of liking to be up high when she was a puppy. She’s deaf so our theory was if she got up on top of things she felt more relaxed since she could see everything. I thought it was pretty funny. Goofy girl!
We had so many great memories out there over the 10 years. From hanging out with the kids and neighbors, to carving pumpkins and dying easter eggs. It was my favorite outdoor perch. I certainly miss that part of our home and blogging about it makes me miss it all the more.
Perfecting the pergola took time, trial and tribulations but in the end we got it right and you can too!
