Awning or Pergola: Which One Suits Your Garden?
People who want to add features to their garden eventually have to decide between two things: awning or pergola? They provide shelter, allow you to spend more time outside, and several companies sell both products. Since they’re both marketed the same way, that’s not going to help you. They become different products when you consider how you’re going to use the space, so think about that before you let the brochures do your thinking for you.
Let’s start with awning because it is the easier of the two.
The simplest way to think about a pergola is a sheet of fabric that you can pull out or retract. That is basically what a pergola is.
If the sun coming in makes your back room too hot to use and you want a quick, low-cost solution awnings are your best option. You roll it out to add shade, and you roll it in to let your garden be open again. There is nothing that you have to leave up overnight to weather or that you have to clean in the morning. A made-to-measure awning that fits the entire wall can cover an entire section of your garden, and motorized ones slide out and in at the push of a button.
An awning isn’t made to withstand the elements. It can block light rain, and with a little adjustment can help out in a shower. Wind is another story. Most have a sensor that retracts them automatically when wind is detected. This reveals their limits. If fair weather is when you’re out, then they’re a dependable (but rude) companion.
A pergola is a different commitment
A pergola is a structure. Unlike awnings, they have posts, and are built to last year after year. The high-end options have features beyond throwing shade.
Retractable and louvre-roof systems are worth your time, because if you’re comparing to an awning, these also have the adjustable feature of being able to close the roof when it rains, and open it when the sun is shining. A retractable roof pergola would have features such as proper rain runoff, wind resistant side screens, and the option of built in lighting and heating. An awning would have to scurry back into its housing. With a pergola, you’re creating an enclosed outdoor room.
The obvious trade-offs include cost, a bigger job to install, and permanence. A garden pergola is a wonderful permanent feature of the garden if you plan for it. If you don’t, it may be an eyesore. A pergola in the wrong spot will not simply go away like an awning.
The part that decides it
Having seen both work and both disappoint, here’s what I think.
Get the awning if you want the shade cheap and are honest that you use the garden only when it is nice out. If you don’t need it most of the year, don’t buy a pergola. Showroom pergolas are often impressive, and people convince themselves that they need a pergola for the garden, when in reality they use the garden eleven days a year. Don’t be that person.
Get the pergola if you want to use the garden more year-round, including outside in the covered spot that works in the drizzle, and outside in the covered spot that still functions in October. An awning will always feel like it is falling short of that goal, and you will wish you spent the money on the pergola.
The size of the garden also plays a role. A smaller garden of a tighter terrace usually fits an awning better, since a pergola can take up most of the space and feel really small and boxed in. A bigger garden can carry a pergola better.
Integrating multiple options
Importantly, people seem to use choice as if it is a dual choice; there’s nothing to stop you having a sunshade over the kitchen backdoor, and further along, a pergola for outdoor living. Different functions, different spaces. Often the better answer on larger plots is to provide several solutions rather than to try and make one do everything.
However, whichever way you choose, get someone to look at the space rather than buying it off page. A good company will tell you which option is best and the wall, the aspect and how exposed you are will shape the answer more than any feature list.