What Size Pergola Do I Need?

At Amazing Pergolas, our customer service professionals increasingly encounter customers pondering, “What size pergola do I need?” Accustomed to box store fare, most assume standard sizing in limited options. However, our Arcadia adjustable aluminum pergola solutions are anything but cookie-cutter and come in custom sizing and designs to meet your specific shelter needs. How do you determine your pergola sizing needs? Pergola dimensions will mirror your patio size.

Patio (& Pergola) Sizing Factors
To determine your finished patio, and ultimately, pergola size, a variety of factors come into play: Yard size, how you plan to use your outdoor living space (dining, cooking, sunbathing, etc.), and furnishings. Planning your space, rather than winging it, can help you avoid inadvertently ending up with a cramped space packed with furniture, or a sterile, overlarge space that feels like an airplane hangar.  

Patio Styles & Sizing Fundamentals

• Living Room
  Hugely popular, today’s outdoor living spaces boast technology and furnishings as large and plush as their indoor counterparts, requiring a vast amount of space: Ideally 16-18 feet across with 3-feet of clearance surrounding furniture to accommodate traffic. Living spaces typically involve multiple functions, making a central gathering space, such as a fire feature or large sectional seating area, integral to creating intimacy. Outdoor rugs, flooring materials and colors, and masonry seat walls can help define space and help you steer clear of common mistakes
• Bistro
  Tucked into smaller, 6-7-foot diameter pads, bistros can be challenging to design. Get the most out of your space with these tips (LINK: Utilizing a Small Space with a Pergola (when approved)), ensuring a cozy, yet functional, space.
• Dining
  To ensure adequate space, determine how many you’ll regularly serve, selecting your seating setup to determine spacing:

• Round 4-Seater: 10-foot patio space.
• Round 6-Seater: 11-feet.
• Rectangular 4-Seater: 13x10-feet, approximately.
• Sideboard, Sofa or Added Furnishings: Don’t forget to add to your patio footprint to avoid a cramped dining experience.
• Kitchen
  Home kitchens come in an array of sizing and configurations based on amenities and available space – ditto for outdoor kitchens. Determining the goals of your outdoor kitchen and shopping for accoutrements first is key to calculating your footprint. Will you be going small with a grill? Or upping the ante with a smoker, pizza oven, sink, refrigerator and outdoor bar with island seating? Get dimensions for desired items before purchasing, using chalk to visualize and move around your ideal outdoor kitchen design to get a feel for necessary size and space.
• Bar
  Bars, like kitchens, come in an array of variations, from portable models to those that rival area restaurants.
• Office Space
  Design a relaxing, productivity-boosting outdoor office space with the help of these tips.
• Poolside Cabana
  For poolside lounging, calculate a 2x6-foot space for each chaise or lounge, with refreshment tables between. Incorporate 3-feet of walking space at the foot of chairs, with a 5-feet of space bordering the pool to avoid an inadvertent dip.
• Bath/Shower
  Increasingly popular, outdoor showers and baths are popping up across the country. Get a ‘sneak peek’ into design tips here. 

Shop & ‘Test Drive’
After you decide how you’d most like to spend time in your outdoor space and verify with your local government and homeowner’s association placement and sizing possibilities, it’s time to take your measurements shopping. Selecting furnishings and appliances first will help you design a properly proportioned patio safe from space snafus. Take photos and get dimensions on all of your favorite things: Grills, tables and chairs, large plants and greenery, fire/water features – all the things that will make the space yours. Before purchasing, take your detailed list outdoors, chalk-in your layout, and carefully consider sizing/placement. This chart is a great reference.

Determine Your Perfect Pergola Plan
Once you put in the patio prep work, you can calculate your perfect pergola size. The sleek, space-saving silhouette of your Arcadia adjustable aluminum pergola will be the cornerstone of your outdoor living space design, ensuring rain or shine use of your prize patio. With 170-degrees of motion, adjustable louvers ensure the perfect amount of sun or shade, providing leak-free rain protection at the touch of a button. Operate via remote, iLouver app, or integrated rain and wind-sensing tech, ensuring maximum use of your patio addition. Incorporate motorized screens for added shade, privacy, and pest protection, fans and heaters for comfort, and task-lighting for 24/7 use, designing your pergola to blend seamlessly into your home and life with an array of design and accessory options.  

Stumbling through patio design? The pros at Amazing Pergolas can help. Contact us for your complimentary design consultation today.

This post was originally published at http://austinpergola.net/what-size-pergola-do-i-need/