Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Brilliant idea #10 – building a pergola

Alongside my monstrosity of a garage is a kind of useless space. It is paved with concrete and rests between my garage and my neighbors’ garage, with a little weed strip on the edge for visual interest. The back has a chain link double gate and the front looks onto the side of my back yard. You could park a small car there, I suppose, except for the large wooden structure mentioned in Brilliant Idea #7 and another piece of something that looks like it might at one time have held a swing.

I didn’t know what to do with this space. It doesn’t get much sun because of the garage, so I knew I couldn’t turn it into a vegetable garden. The chain link fence is unsightly and offers no privacy, facing out to the alley. What to do, what to do.

Then I had one of my most brilliant ideas, an idea which remains so brilliant because, as of yet, nothing has been done toward accomplishing the sheer brilliance of it.

I decided it was the perfect place for a pergola. More precisely, for a hammock!

My idea is to use large planks of wood to build the pergola structure, and to paint them white for lightness since the area doesn’t get a lot of natural light. Then I would plant shade-loving viney sorts of plants to grow over the pergola for a more secluded feel. I would buy willow fencing to cover the chain link gates, giving privacy but still allowing the fence to be utilized. And from the pergola structure, I would hang a hammock. Voila! The perfect area for privacy and a bit of quiet reading, still outdoors but not in the blaring hot sun.

In my mind, it’s quite lovely. :)

No comments: