Project Spotlight

OUTDOOR PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS Residential: Pergola for Small Backyard Creates Secluded Entertainment Space

Photo Credit:Cloud Soucy Turning a small backyard into a private entertainment and dining space takes a deft design hand. With a busy neighboring beach and a confined outdoor space dominated by a swimming pool, these Virginia Beach, VA homeowners challenged our professional design network to create some small yard pergola ideas that would impress family and friends. Looking to delineate a private and functional outdoor entertainment and dining space for their beach getaway, these homeowners chose a pergola with motorized louvered roof that could control the amount of shade or close completely during coastal showers. Pergola ideas for small backyards abound, but it’s the attention to detail that makes this project a true showstopper. Extending the pergola height to 18 feet creates an airiness in this confined space that is offset by a faux boxwood privacy wall to create an intimate dining and relaxation space mere steps from the pool, while an innovative sensor array automates the louver controls. Location: Virginia Beach, VA

Type: Residential

Date: July 2021

Pergola For Small Backyard: Challenge Accepted The coastal dunes of Virginia Beach, VA are a haven for millions of visitors every summer. During peak months, the beaches swell with seas of families enjoying the drenching sun. From year-round locals and vacation homeowners nestled close together abutting the popular beaches, backyard space is a premium. This summer, Azenco dealer Virginia Beach Patios was challenged to turn a small pool deck into a peaceful, cozy and intimate space for family entertaining and outdoor dining.

Photo Credit:Cloud Soucy

Product: Louvered pergola

Model: R-BLADE

Size:10 x 20 feet

Options: Motorization, sensor package, fan beam

Color: White structure with bronze louvers

Benefits: Privacy, shade and autonomous all-weather controls for outdoor dining space When incorporating shade structures into already-confined outdoor spaces, designers try to create a feeling of airy volume, essentially looking to make the spaces feel larger than it actually is. With squared footage limited, many outdoor designers will recommend features that impart height to the space. While traditional open-roofed structures like trellises provide this open-sky feeling, their ability to create shade from the blazing beach sun is limited. This small backyard pool deck was calling for some shaded space where the family could relax by the pool or dine outdoors. The Virginia Beach Patios designers recommended the adjustable louvered roof R-Blade Pergola from Azenco. Able to open its roof to allow one hundred percent sun penetration, close down to provide partial shade and keep air flowing, or close completely to block out the hottest sun of the day, the R-Blade provided the fine-tuned all-weather outdoor living needed for this beach getaway. The coastal dunes of Virginia Beach, VA are a haven for millions of visitors every summer. During peak months, the beaches swell with seas of families enjoying the drenching sun. For year-round locals and vacation home owners nestled close together abutting the popular beaches, backyard space is at a premium. This summer, Azenco dealer Virginia Beach Patios was challenged to turn a small pool deck into a peaceful, private and intimate space for family entertaining and outdoor dining. The pergola small backyard challenge was accepted.

Photo Credit:Cloud Soucy

Small Patio Pergola Ideas Working within small backyards often requires custom-designed outdoor structures. This beachfront pool deck was dominated by a curving kidney-shaped pool, juxtaposed by linear wide-plank decking. The available space limited the shaded dining space to a 10-foot section flanking the inground pool which butted right up to the home’s property setbacks. To maximize the shaded entertainment space, Azenco customized the pergola to perfectly fit the 10-foot allowance, while extending the columns to 18 feet to keep the space from feeling confined.

Attention to Detail is Key for Small Spaces

When installing a pergola in expansive outdoor environments, the surrounding landscaping and scenery inherently distract the eye from the pergola itself. In smaller spaces like this, the tiniest detail of the pergola itself needs to compliment the surround architecture. Even unsightly seams or jutting assembly hardware can be a distraction. For this project, the single-extrusion aluminum segments of the R-Blade left no seams to distract the eye and Azenco’s patented internal assembly hardware meant there were not exterior bolts to disturb the clean lines this project demanded. The homeowners chose to powder coat the structure in brilliant white with bronze louvers to accent the darker tones of the decking.

Photo Credit:Cloud Soucy

Balancing an Open Feel and Privacy Another challenge of designing small backyard ideas with pergola, is striking the perfect balance where the pergola creates a complimentary focal point without overwhelming the architectural sensibilities of the home. On this project, designers looked to compliment the pool deck’s geometric composition. With the pergola positioned perpendicular to the lines of the decking, the structure creates another layer of juxtaposition to the overall space. The positioning also means the louvers were able to open towards the clear skies over the beach. This not only lets the louvers capture the cooling sea breeze, but allowed the view to fill with blue sky when the pergola was open. To maximize privacy, an accenting wall of faux boxwood shrubs was created flush with the R-Blade’s exterior. The result was a unique indoor-outdoor experience under the pergola giving the space the feel of an outdoor living room.

Photo Credit:Cloud Soucy

All-Weather Backyard Pergola Designs To create a truly flexible outdoor dining and relaxation space, Virginia Beach Patios recommended some creative additions to this pergola. A center beam was included to anchor a patio fan directly above the outdoor dining table. Because the unique Azenco dual-walled louvers ensure complete capture of rainwater, the homeowners could be sure there would be no annoying drips when they dined outdoors, even in the rain. The standard motorized adjustable louver controls were augmented with an intuitive sensor array that automatically closes the roof at the first sign of rain, so passing showers will not interrupt an afternoon nap or evening dinner party. Coastal Storm Resistance Building a pergola in coastal areas like Virginia Beach means the structure needs to stand up to the often-extreme weather that ravages the beach. The R-Blade combines a Miami-Dade NOC certified design with the highest quality aluminum construction and corrosion-fighting powder coatings to stand up to just about anything Mother Nature can level. The R-Blade can also be fitted with a wind sensor that responds to high winds by automatically opening the louvers to prevent wind damage. For these homeowners, selecting the hurricane-resistant Azenco R-Blade provided some true peace of mind for their investment.

The Turn Around Installation of full project: 3 days Manufacturing: 1 week If you have a pergola small backyard challenge for our network of qualified dealers, contact us to learn more about our backyard pergola designs be connected with a professional Azenco dealer that can help you realize your small backyard dreams at azenco@azenco-outdoor.com.