The typical backyard has architectural details that include yard furniture, patios, decks and grills. There may also be a children’s outdoor climbing gym and swingset that seems to dominate the yard. Adding some architectural details can help to shift the focus from what people don’t want as the primary focal points of their yards. A quick fix is to add some captivating details that draw the eye when entering that space such as arbors, gazebos, pergolas, and trellises. These are significant enough to work with and complement the other things that exist in the yard. The addition of outdoor lighting can spotlight these features at dusk and during the evening.
A gazebo can be a go-to place for rest, relaxation, and entertaining away from the main house. It’s an outside building that can be octagonal or have as little as four sides. It may be fully enclosed with walls or be built with simple or decorative posts, on top of wood decking or a concrete platform. Either way, a gazebo always has a full roof that makes it impervious to rain falling.
A pergola isn’t an enclosed structure; it is a latticed or beamed roof stretching over two trellises, often with vining plants climbing between its beams. The arbor is similar to the pergola except it is an arched roof adjoining two trellises.
What is common to the pergola, trellises, and arbors is that they offer a place for vining plants to grow and interweave themselves upon the trellises. Some of the most popular plants to start growing are grapes, ivy, roses, clematis, and morning glories. While the gazebo is usually a destination and has it’s own defined space, trellises, pergolas, and arbors can help to define a space. They can be used to signal the entrance to a backyard or a garden. You can control the amount of privacy and light you want with a pergola and arbor by changing the space allowed between the lattice and beams. Adding a gazebo, pergola, trellises or arbors to your yard will add instant focus and drama.