Pergola

Main Entry: per·go·la
Pronunciation: \ˈpər-gə-lə, pər-ˈgō-\
Function: noun
Etymology: Italian, from Latin pergula
Date: 1675
1 : arbor, trellis
2 : a structure usually consisting of parallel colonnades supporting an open roof of girders and cross rafters






Building the pergola, has been on our minds for quite some time. Frankly, I can't believe we didn't do it sooner! Joe had started it last week, he had one of the 6x6 posts up, and I came home at lunch and said: wait, did you get a building permit or see if you needed to? Joe said, "no..." I urged him to call... unfortunately this lead to lots of back and forth conversations between us and the village, and the codes guy, and another lady, and anyway it worked out and we finally got the permit granted to us on Friday.  

I even helped! YES!! I was ACTUALLY outside for more than 5 minutes yesterday! I even got sun on my face! I helped- I really did. I handed Joe tools. And reminded him that he needed to do certain steps BEFORE doing secondary steps- which he seemed to miss. And pointed out situations that could have been bad. I held boards, and acted as "the heavy"... putting my weight on the cross beams so Joe could drill his 1 foot long drill bit through 3 pieces of wood for the bolts.  I didn't even get bothered by bees. And he didn't yell at me once!!  (which happens when he gets a bit testy and impatient during projects like this)

I can't wait to stain it a  nice deep cedar color next summer, I imagine the next addition will be fun string lights.  We are so thrilled with it... Just wanted to share!

Comments

  1. Wow! It looks AWESOME! You guys did a great job! I love all of the little touches...the lights and plants...looks really great!

    ReplyDelete
  2. fantastic! you most definitely need a wisteria or trumpet vine growing up this!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great job Joe. That whole area has transformed this summer.

    ReplyDelete
  4. you guys did a fabulous job..
    and no yelling..such a plus.
    this garden area is so beautiful, you must be enjoying it this summer.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your garden is coming on so really really nicely. Very inspiring. I have a million of ideas for my own one, but ... things move very slowly here.

    Pergolas are great. Can you grow grapes where you live? You should be able to. It is so cool when they are hanging there just above your head. Feels very Italian. Or there are so many beautiful other climbers.

    I could also work as a weight. Seems like a good job ...
    ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. It's beautiful! You'll get so much enjoyment out of it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Just lovely! We have a jasmine vine around up and over our patio and they grow fast. The small highly scented flowers are wonderful in spring. The rest of the year its a dark green leafy vine. It thrives in full sun (does not like any shade) and good watering. I can just see the lights up there too! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I've been wanting one of these for ages! I am inspired to try to get mine raised. (Maybe next year, if I'm lucky!) You know this might seem unconventional, but why not hang a chandelier? The glass crystals would look fabulous. You could check junk shops and flea markets to find one or parts of several to put together for an inexpensive option. I found a chandelier on the sidewalk once. You could find some interesting branches and drill holes and insert eye-screws and then hang strands of crystals in them. Maybe have Joe make you some custom sun-catcher pieces out of stained glass. Maybe some Moroccan punched metal lanterns? You can make inexpensive versions by shaping the metal used for covering radiators. They make a lot of decorative patterns now. Maybe some wind-chimes and bird feeders? You could deck it out with climbing vines. There are some hardy climbing roses that make the most beautiful tea rose smell. You could pair the roses with other climbing vines for your zone so that you get year round blossoms. Clematis, jasmine, wisteria – all nice options, and I could totally see some citronella candles there on mosaic-top side tables. Wouldn't that be lovely?

    Enjoy the pergola! It's like a blank canvas ready for your artistic touches.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I actually wanted to ask if you are planning to grow anything on the pergola. That looks like warm summer nights with a good glass of wine.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Love it! I like the chandelier idea too. Our houses look really similar :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. off topic: I am just now putting up a blog post about the specific ways your pieces have inspired my work and the way I see order vs. chaos / pattern vs. random. Come look.

    ReplyDelete
  12. It's beautiful, so czy and airy at the same time. All you need now is a 15 foot barn owl box!

    ReplyDelete
  13. So beautiful! I've been wanting something like this for a long time, but 'building things' is not my computer guru hubby's forte.

    Enjoy your new pergola!

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a beautiful oasis you both have created!

    Do not be surprised to look out one morning and see me sitting my fat butt in one of those fabulous chairs under your new fabulous pergola!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh, this is so cool! The whole yard looks so gorgeous! God, you guys did a fantastic job on everything!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oh I love it..and wysteria or jasmine would really be a crowning touch. The only thing I can't believe is that you need a permit to build something in your backyard. It really annoys when the government sticks its nose in just to make some money.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I'm sorry to have to turn on the word verification here, but I got fed up with spammers comments!

Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.
Buddha