Pergola build finished! Shea did a great job. We also added an aluminum table underneath it for outdoor meals and/or meetings. This table extends for up to TEN people comfortably. It also sounds like a GREAT size for a Lego train set that is currently in the garage on fold-out tables. 🙂 The louvers on the pergola are very easy to open and close. Half of it can be closed, and half can be open. We’re also going to raise it, as I did with the gazebo over the hot tub, with cinder blocks. It has curtains and screens as an option as well. It adds some privacy, but mostly it’s better than having an umbrella with limited effectiveness to keep the sun off of people without completely blacking out this part of the yard. It’s also really nice that with the flat roof, it really doesn’t detract from the view from inside the bedroom and wet room with the big windows looking out to the garden.

I’ve literally been thinking about various coverings for that area for years. I bookmarked so many styles and worried about killing my plants, but this gives me the best of both worlds. I went high-end on the table, which will last forever and doesn’t need an umbrella, but is perfectly suited for outside.