Design Dilemna: Shade Needed!

After the first 80+ degree day in our new home last summer, I quickly realized that our patio is useless without some kind of shading device. It faces West, and gets sun pretty much from noon to sunset.  The dark stone flooring also absorbs all the heat and just keeps on radiating, making our primary outdoor room a pretty unwelcoming place to hang out on a hot summer afternoon.

I considered retractable awnings, a big umbrella, tensile structures, regular sail cloth mounted to posts, etc. Frankly, I didn't like any of these options.  I wanted something that will withstand the test of time and that will be flexible in terms of the actual shading material.



My solution: a pergola! And here it is:

I designed and developed a 3D drawing of what I thought the pergola should look like first, researched materials, finishes and other details, and then invited a few companies in to bid on the construction of the pergola. I chose Sunny House Construction to build the pergola. Their price was reasonable, and they were very professional to work with.  I showed our town building inspector the 3D drawing I'd developed and the structural details. Permit in hand, we started construction.  Sunny House had the job done on time and budget, and they were great to work with.

Now on to the more challenging part...

The pergola obviously is not actually providing shade, it basically is the structure from which to hang, support, or mount some kind of shading device.  Which brings me to my point...

What kind of shading device won't break the bank, will be durable (or cheap enough to be replaceable), will provide protection from light rain, and will look good?  

The first option I considered is a retractable canopy mounted either above or below the structure (can be motorized or manual, would be Sunbrella or other marine-grade fabric).  ShadeFx and ShadeTree are two manufacturers of these. So what's the problem with this solution? They would double the overall cost of this pergola... yes, double.  And I don't think they even look that great.  I need a much simpler solution... 

My solution, as depicted in this photo: Rolls of bamboo attached (probably stapled) to the top of the pergola.  Depending on how dense the bamboo is tied together, I might add a layer of clear corrugated plastic to the top, making it more permanent but also protecting the patio from the elements.

Now, on to finding the right bamboo product...

Already looking forward to outdoor dinner parties this summer!