If you’re lucky enough to have an outdoor pool, chances are that you’ll want a shady spot to relax in postdip or while enjoying views of the pool. While an umbrella placed over a lounge chair will do the trick, a pergola can create a shaded retreat large enough for hosting and become a standout feature that anchors the landscape.
As with any substantial landscape structure, it’s best to coordinate the design of the pergola with your home’s architecture and overall backyard to guide decisions relating to color, material and design. Here, we’ve rounded up 10 poolside pergolas in a variety of styles, all of which offer a shaded spot for outdoor entertaining and fit in well with the larger landscape and architecture of the home. Which one would you like to unwind under?
1. Contemporary Cool
A cantilevered, slatted shade pergola made of steel and ipe wood brings shade to this poolside lounge in Dallas. Details of the pergola — including the warm-hued wood slats and metal frame — are repeated in other areas of the backyard, by Randy Angell Designs, including the accent wall behind the water feature and fireside bench. This attention to detail helps visually tie the space together.
A cantilevered, slatted shade pergola made of steel and ipe wood brings shade to this poolside lounge in Dallas. Details of the pergola — including the warm-hued wood slats and metal frame — are repeated in other areas of the backyard, by Randy Angell Designs, including the accent wall behind the water feature and fireside bench. This attention to detail helps visually tie the space together.
2. Classic and Elegant
Cloud-like white fabric draped over a metal-and-wood pergola sets an elegant scene for this seating area by Bluewagon Landscape & Design in Woodside, California. While the fabric almost completely shades the lounge area — and protects the outdoor furniture — it still feels light and airy, thanks to the pale hue and generous height of the pergola.
Cloud-like white fabric draped over a metal-and-wood pergola sets an elegant scene for this seating area by Bluewagon Landscape & Design in Woodside, California. While the fabric almost completely shades the lounge area — and protects the outdoor furniture — it still feels light and airy, thanks to the pale hue and generous height of the pergola.
3. Beachy Modern
Set on a hillside above Laguna Beach, California, this hot tub with a view benefits from the shade provided by a modern-style structure. The long, relatively narrow shade structure extends from the home to the edge of the hot tub along the street side of the property, screening the hot tub from homes set higher on the slope and elegantly connecting the deck area to the home.
The shade structure built by Brian Lewotsky Company uses 4-by-4-inch pieces of lumber, which are also used in other exterior areas of the home to create consistency in the design.
Set on a hillside above Laguna Beach, California, this hot tub with a view benefits from the shade provided by a modern-style structure. The long, relatively narrow shade structure extends from the home to the edge of the hot tub along the street side of the property, screening the hot tub from homes set higher on the slope and elegantly connecting the deck area to the home.
The shade structure built by Brian Lewotsky Company uses 4-by-4-inch pieces of lumber, which are also used in other exterior areas of the home to create consistency in the design.
4. Elevated Farmhouse
Weathered-wood shade pergolas extend off this home in Scarsdale, New York, to cover backyard seating and dining areas. The pergolas, designed by architecture firm Alisberg Parker, tie in with the modern-farmhouse-style home and provide a mount for overhead outdoor lighting.
Weathered-wood shade pergolas extend off this home in Scarsdale, New York, to cover backyard seating and dining areas. The pergolas, designed by architecture firm Alisberg Parker, tie in with the modern-farmhouse-style home and provide a mount for overhead outdoor lighting.
5. Traditional With a Twist
This Bay Area, California, backyard by Kikuchi + Kankel Design Group features a wood pergola painted a crisp white to match the home’s trim; this is our second example of a pergola that extends off the back of the house. White-and-orange striped fabric strung along the top of the shade pergola sets the structure’s design apart from similar traditional designs and casts a slightly warm-toned glow over the seating area.
This Bay Area, California, backyard by Kikuchi + Kankel Design Group features a wood pergola painted a crisp white to match the home’s trim; this is our second example of a pergola that extends off the back of the house. White-and-orange striped fabric strung along the top of the shade pergola sets the structure’s design apart from similar traditional designs and casts a slightly warm-toned glow over the seating area.
6. Simplified Contemporary
A cantilevered, L-shape shade structure extends over a pair of poolside chaise lounges in this backyard outside Perth, Australia. The structure’s simple silhouette and mix of metal and wood complement the home’s contemporary architecture and tie in with other outdoor elements.
A cantilevered, L-shape shade structure extends over a pair of poolside chaise lounges in this backyard outside Perth, Australia. The structure’s simple silhouette and mix of metal and wood complement the home’s contemporary architecture and tie in with other outdoor elements.
7. Spanish Style
Terra-cotta tiles cover the roof of this outdoor seating area in a Los Angeles backyard. Walling off a portion of the pergola and adding a built-in hearth gave more presence to the entertaining space, which now offers the promise of evenings spent enjoying living room-level comfort in the open air.
8. Desert Oasis
A handsome metal shade pergola casts slatted shade over the outdoor kitchen and dining room adjacent to the pool in this Phoenix backyard by Prideaux Design. Shade is essential in the desert and other regions with hot summers, but it can be nice to have different degrees of it throughout the landscape. While the poolside pergola offers partial shade, an outdoor living room set closer to the house is fully and deeply shaded.
A handsome metal shade pergola casts slatted shade over the outdoor kitchen and dining room adjacent to the pool in this Phoenix backyard by Prideaux Design. Shade is essential in the desert and other regions with hot summers, but it can be nice to have different degrees of it throughout the landscape. While the poolside pergola offers partial shade, an outdoor living room set closer to the house is fully and deeply shaded.
9. Midcentury Modern
Designed to complement the 1960s midcentury modern home behind it, this white pergola partially covers an outdoor lounge in Houston. The pergola’s white panels reference the rectilinear shapes defined by the white columns surrounding the home. Low outdoor couches and midcentury modern-style containers help drive home the design, by Jamie Bush & Co.
Designed to complement the 1960s midcentury modern home behind it, this white pergola partially covers an outdoor lounge in Houston. The pergola’s white panels reference the rectilinear shapes defined by the white columns surrounding the home. Low outdoor couches and midcentury modern-style containers help drive home the design, by Jamie Bush & Co.
10. Horizontal Wood Slats
This 14-foot-tall and -wide shade pergola covers and partially encloses an outdoor dining table in Naples, Florida. Landscape architect Edward Westwood of GardenBleu Landscape Architecture says that the wood-slat design of the pergola was inspired by the horizontal lathwork of traditional lobster traps. The slats have been brought down the sides of the pergola, emphasizing the similarity with crustacean traps and partially screening the outdoor dining room from other areas of the backyard.
This 14-foot-tall and -wide shade pergola covers and partially encloses an outdoor dining table in Naples, Florida. Landscape architect Edward Westwood of GardenBleu Landscape Architecture says that the wood-slat design of the pergola was inspired by the horizontal lathwork of traditional lobster traps. The slats have been brought down the sides of the pergola, emphasizing the similarity with crustacean traps and partially screening the outdoor dining room from other areas of the backyard.
Content provided by Lauren Dunec Hoang at Houzz.com
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