I’ve always been an avid gardener and and take great pride in my back yard. So, I’m always looking for new and creative ways to improve its function and aesthetics. Recently, I visited a friend’s new summer home and was fascinated by her beautifully inspired Italian garden. But, the most spectacular feature was a gorgeous wooden pergola stationed right in the middle of the yard. Two wooden benches hung at opposing sides and lush vines, wrapping up the pergola legs and around the lattice ceiling, grew from four huge Italian mosaic pots. I was mesmerized by the pergola and knew I wanted to incorporate one into my upcoming back yard renovation.
Later in the evening, when I brought up the subject of my renovation at dinner, my friend knew exactly what I was going to say, asking, “You want to know where I got my pergola?” She proceeded to tell me that her pergola was contracted and built by a professional Italian woodworker who runs a four-generation-old family business. The pergola had cost her forty-five hundred dollars and was the smallest and cheapest option they offered.
Although I fell absolutely in love with her pergola, I knew buying my own was out of the question. I had high school tuition to pay for two children, college tuition for another, an endless list of bills ranging from car payments to dental insurance, and an already hefty bill for my upcoming renovation. But, I never forgot about the pergola and would often find myself looking at pictures on Google or marking down pages in my home garden books that featured pergolas. Eventually, one day while reading through a backyard renovation forum, I saw a post with the title “How to build a pergola.” The post had pictures of beautifully crafted pergolas that looked just like my friend’s and claimed to have been built by normal people for a few hundred dollars using pergola plans.
I was stunned and in disbelief, questioning whether these beautiful constructions could be built with simple pergola plans. But, person after person claimed that they had built a professional looking pergola without any previous experience other than some simple carpenter skills. I had never wondered how to build a pergola, but knew that if I could find the right pergola plans my husband, who’s very handy, could build it. I took advice from the people on the forum and ordered plans from pergola-plans.com. My husband took one look at them and was confident in his ability to build it. He said that the plans were simple, clear, and concise. It was also a relief knowing that the plans came guaranteed to satisfy and that I could return them if they failed to live up to the hype. But, my husband had no problems and after a few weekends of work I had a beautiful centerpiece to my new backyard.