7 tips for furnishing and decorating your pergola
Installing a pergola on a terrace or balcony is an effective way of creating an enclosure while enjoying your outdoors and the sun. For this space to be really great, the best thing to do is to style it well with furniture and decorative items. So, here are our 7 tips to furnish and decorate your pergola.
Our ideas for decorating your terrace with pergola
Furniture, decorative objects, lighting, etc., a host of items invite you to create a friendly, warm atmosphere on your terrace.
Garden furniture
Garden furniture, the can't-do-without for setting off your terrace. Garden lounge furniture, a must for creating a friendly, comfortable space, comes in a variety of styles.
For example, you may choose to set up a dining table with chairs for your meals under your pergola. And, by adding an outdoor sofa or even a hanging chair, your terrace will become an ever-so friendly space. Add a coffee table and you'll have the perfect place for welcoming your friends during long summer evenings! You can also add a few stackable stools to go with the sofa, which means you'll have more seating room when you welcome everybody, and children will just adore it.
What's more, for a pergola located by the poolside, loungers and small side tables will be wonderful to create a stylish, relaxing area.
Plants
Adding greenery to your terrace is also an easy way to decorate it in style and make it even more charming. If your terrace runs along the garden, you can just plant flowers and shrubs directly in the soil.
But, you can also install pot plants directly on your terrace? This solution lets you add complementary decorative items in the shape of earthenware pots and planters in vivid colours or even in metal. This also means you can choose exotic plants that you can bring indoors in the winter.
The ground
The ground of your terrace under the pergola can add something special to the design on your space! You can go for wooden decking that you could paint in white, for example, to create a Mediterranean atmosphere. If you're looking for something more original, why not opt for coloured tiling and play with different shades.
You can also transform your terrace ground without having to do any work or changing it permanently by throwing a few rugs here and there. A short-pile or woven rug is perfect for outdoor use. And, you can layer rugs of different sizes to create a cosy atmosphere.
Decorative items
Little decorative items will definitely set your pergola off in style. Sea shells, glass sweetie jars, coloured trays, lanterns, etc. Adding these little objects will help you make this space more vibrant and will infuse it with a personal, one-of-a-kind touch.
Go for colour and original details too that suit your tastes and match your personality.
Lighting
To create a warm, cosy setting for outdoor evenings, think about your lighting. Strings of fairy lights, candles in holders or jars and other sources of indirect light will help you diffuse a special atmosphere.
What's more, the candles and fairy lights also add that little something extra to your terrace during the day. Some candles even help you ward off mosquitoes. And, some fairy lights and lanterns can work with solar power, so no need for plugs and electric everywhere.
Cushions and throws
Cushions and throws ensure you make your terrace more comfortable and, at the same time, enhance its style. You can set a few cushions on a sofa, leave a few covers and throws in a wicker basket for use when the evenings are cool, and even space out a few large cushions or beanbags on the ground to sit on.
Cushions and throws also offer you the opportunity to add dashes of brightness to your decoration, with really colourful prints and motifs.
Curtains
And, the final decorative item that can transform your pergola: curtains. You could add reed blinds for extra protection from the sun, but that let a few rays through. They'll turn your terrace into a Southern-style patio made for lounging around and will protect you from the eyes of the outside world around.
Another idea: sheer curtains that will move gently in the breeze and will set off your terrace wonderfully-well. It goes without saying that, before you install any sheer curtains or blinds, you need to make sure you choose a solution tailored to the type of pergola installed, in particular so they don't interfere with the pergola structural mechanism.
What atmosphere would you like to create for your terrace with pergola?
There's a host of ways to style your terrace. Here are a few extra decorative tips and tricks to create a really great-looking, special atmosphere.
Coming up with decorative ideas in a particular style
The style of your decorative design will shape the atmosphere of your outdoor extension. To really imagine this design they way you want, you can take inspiration from specific styles whose codes will help you come up with ideas. For example:
- A contemporary looking terrace will play on decorative simplicity, with sleek style and neutral colours like greys and blacks.
- A bohemian spirit will use second-hand and vintage furniture, highly-colourful rugs and pots, cushions with ethnic designs and strings of fairy lights and lanterns.
- A Mediterranean inspiration will focus on colours like whites and blues, enhanced with cane furnishings, sheer curtains and sea shells.
- A tropical atmosphere will go for dark wood furniture with a myriad of green plants and dashes of bright colours.
Tips and tricks to enhance your pergola style
Some factors will be really important when you're imagining the design of your terrace and will play a role in creating a harmonious, friendly atmosphere.
First of all, think about the materials you'd like to use, especially for your garden lounge furniture. Exotic wood, cane, steel, etc. The style of your furniture is the first part of your terrace look and can influence the rest of your decorative touches.
Next, pay attention to the colours you're going to use for your decorative look. Neutral tones, for example, create a classy designer style, whilst bright colours add a dash of lightness and friendliness. You can also add small bursts of colours to make them stand out and center stage the rest of the decorative design.
Last but not least, little details will add that final touch to your terrace look. It's these that can make all the difference. A simple set of garden lounge furniture can become an inviting, cosy, relaxing space if you add flowerpots, cushions and strings of fairy lights.
Styling your terrace: what type of pergola should you choose?
Before you choose your garden furniture and the decorative items you wish to include, you first need to think about installing the pergola and choosing the right model. The type of roof will be a key parameter.
The fixed-roof pergola
As its name states, this type of pergola has a roof that's not modular. As such, its waterproofness and thermal insulation are perfect for protecting you from the rain and the sun. These features make it a particularly well suited installation if you really want to set up your terrace with soft furnishings like cushions and rugs.
The open-up roof pergola
This bioclimatic pergola model boasts a modular roof that can be opened manually or automatically and is very easy to operate. It lets you tailor your opening to the weather.
It can be enhanced with sliding side doors, which lets you create a closed space and offers you more opportunity for choosing how you wish to decorate its interior.
The bioclimatic pergola with adjustable slats
The pergola with slats tailors to the weather? Its roof comprises adjustable, remote-controlled slats. By modifying the angle of these slats, you can change how much your terrace is exposed. So, you can have a closed roof when it rains or, on the other hand, leave the slats open and enjoy the first rays of sun in the spring.
The bioclimatic pergola with slats is also extremely stylish and will set off your outdoor space.
Customizing the pergola
As our pergolas are made to measure, you can rest assured your extension will enhance your terrace's style even more. A pergola isn't just a practical installation, it adds an extra something to your outdoors and makes it easier for you to design the space under it, as it will be sheltered and protected from the elements.
You can choose a colour for your extension that goes brilliantly with your poolside area or sets off the style of your home. Your pergola will blend harmoniously into its setting and make it even more visually appealing.
Why choose aluminium for your pergola?
All Abrisud pergolas use aluminium for their structure. Why choose this material?
First of all for its style: aluminium creates elegant designs that tailor easily to any setting. The aluminium pergola can be installed with a modern house or with an old, traditional-style house.
Aluminium is also a more reliable solution that wood or wrought iron. The structure will stand the test of time and will resist bad weather. Looking after it is easy and doesn't take much time. You can be sure that, with aluminium, you'll be creating a harmonious extension that you can easily decorate and style and use for years on end.
By sheltering your terrace or your balcony, a pergola creates a new space to live in for your home that's less weather-dependent than a totally open terrace. To take advantage of this space and spend lots of great moments there, your decorations and furnishings will play an important role. Let your creativity run free to add that something special to your installation, and think about the comfort you wish to create in this space.
