Your architectural style can extend into your landscaping, especially when you choose elements like a 12 x 16 pergola. A louvered pergola is a blank slate that can be painted, styled, and accessorized. Customizing a louvered pergola is a fun way to create a comfortable living space in your yard.

Use Your Architectural Style

Your pergola can showcase your architectural style, especially when you choose a pergola with columns, beams, and louvers that coordinate with your home’s exterior or interior style. For example, you can create a modern look with clean lines and minimal accessorizing.

You can have a traditional look with decorative columns and attractive wooden louvers. If you’re looking for a cottage look, paint the pergola white and choose a model with turned columns that resemble a cottage porch.

Customize Your Colors and Fabrics

Louvered pergolas can have textured columns, and they are available in over 200 colors. You can accent your pergola with woven screens, glass-fiber fabrics, and other aesthetic styles. The louvers and accent fabrics provide sun protection.

You can add side screens to block the sun, and most exterior fabric options are waterproof. Consider white, beige, or gray PVC fabric for sun protection, or transparent fabrics for protection from wind and rain. If you want opaque fabric, you can add a window to be able to see into your yard.

Create Ambiance in Your Pergola

If you plan to spend time in your pergola after the sun goes down, consider adding LED lighting. The lights can be operated with an app or through a transmitter that also controls the screens and louvers on the roof. The lights can be added to the gutters, while lighting strips can be added to the columns or placed in recessed areas of the frame. You can also add hanging lights for a festive vibe. Consider adding a sound system to your pergola so you can enjoy music or relaxing sounds.

Add Fans and Heaters

You can turn your pergola into a resort-like atmosphere by adding fans and heaters. You can spend time outside when the weather is less-than-stellar, because the fans and heaters will cool you down or heat you up. You can use a remote to adjust the speed and heat of the components, and many people install heaters with a variety of heat levels.

Add Shades, Awnings, or Canopies

You can extend your outdoor living space with a shade, canopy, or awning. You can place them under the pergola, or have them extend out from the columns. You can control them with remotes, as they glide up and down from the roof or columns. They can protect you from the elements and make your pergola feel more like an interior space.

If you live in a part of the world with several seasons, shades, awnings, and canopies can extend your time in the pergola. They can provide protection from insects, especially if you add shades on all four sides. Many pergolas have rain sensors that force the shades down when rain starts falling.