Ideas for a Beautiful Backyard Pergola Makeover

Hello there! Dawn here, from DesigningDawn.com. I've had fun offering up my suggestions for reader submitted questions (in the form of a Photoshop mockups) the past few months, and I'm back at it this month- this time with another curb appeal question. (FYI, you can see all my moodboards and mockups by clicking here!)If you follow Remodelaholic on Facebook, you've probably seen several of the reader questions that are submitted every month. As I've mentioned in the past, I love the helpful community vibe of these posts, so here's my two cents on one reader submitted question and a mock up of what I would do if I were in your shoes! (Pssssst- you can submit your reader questions by messaging Remodelaholic on Facebook!)

First though, my disclaimer: While I can recommend ideas that I think look nice, I have never seen this house in real life and don't have accurate measurements. I am also not an architecht or landscaper and do not know the planting recommendations for your area- I just like to make things look nice. I can't guarantee that any of the items I put in my 'virtual' design will actually work in real life (or that they'll fit your design style for that matter), and this is not intended to be a professional design consultation. So think of this as a just-for-fun rendering that hopefully gets your wheels turning and provides some inspiration!

This month, my mock up is a little close to home… my sister's home actually. My twin sister, Dania, and her husband, Chad, have been debating over what to do with their bare backyard for months, specifically what color to stain the pergola. (Side bar: Chad built that awesome structure himself last summer! I know!) They finally brought me in as the tie breaker, since they couldn't come to a decision. I guess asking for visuals before you take on a major project is one of the perks of having a designer sister.

Well since I was mocking it up anyway, I thought I'd share it with you too. It was a fun challenge. Here is what the back of the house looked like originally:

The main debate was over what color to stain the pergola. Dania was considering something fun and unique, specifically a light blue stain, while Chad was leaning towards a deep rich brown stain.

After mocking up both colors for them, we all agreed that the blue was not working. I have to say that I fully expected blue to be the winner, at least in my mind, but seeing it up next to the color of the house, I exercised my right as a woman to change my mind. BlogThis!