Outdoor kitchens are a fantastic place to gather, cook and entertain during the warm months of the year. To make them truly functional and accessible on even the hottest days, the best outdoor kitchens have some type of shade or cover. Whether you need partial or full shade, it’s an important addition that will make your outdoor kitchen a much more welcoming space for everyone that uses it.
The following seven shade ideas for outdoor kitchens will help make sure that your dining experience is comfortable, practical and relaxing for everyone.
There are many places to place an outdoor kitchen around the home. For homeowners that have their kitchen on a raised deck or patio, sun exposure can be direct and intense.
Adding a pergola to the deck can help you get some much-needed shade while cooking and relaxing. It can also help add an enclosed feeling to the deck while retaining a light and airy aesthetic. Plus, vinyl pergolas are lightweight — unlike gazebos or pavilions — so they work well on decks that can’t handle extra weight.
A stand-alone pergola is one of the best choices for extra shade if your outdoor kitchen is positioned slightly away from the home. Pergolas are open on all four sides, so your kitchen and gathering area can remain open to the rest of your yard.
Pergolas help define and compartmentalize large spaces. Despite their lack of walls, they still provide the sensation of sitting in a separate space within the backyard. This distinction can help make the kitchen a focal point in your outdoor areas, clearly communicating to guests that this area is meant for gathering.
If you already have an outdoor kitchen close to the home in your back patio, consider adding a cantilevered extension over it for added shade and more interior square footage. As an added benefit, the integrated recessed lighting shown above maximizes nighttime visibility.
While shade for the grill and cooking equipment is important, it’s also essential to create a comfortable outdoor dining area. For an easy, shaded eating area, a post-mounted pergola is an excellent addition. This allows guests and family enjoying the outdoors to spread out and relax without crowding together under the cantilevered overhang.
Pergolas are one of the most versatile types of shade you can have for your outdoor kitchen. Not only can they be placed on decks or used as a stand-alone cover, but they can also be attached directly to the home for added stability and a unique, trellised extension.
Areas close to the home are some of the most popular places for a grill or full outdoor kitchen. That’s why an attached vinyl pergola is such a practical choice for homeowners looking for an affordable and easy-to-install shade solution.
It creates an enclosed feeling above, while still letting in plenty of light and air. Not to mention it’s much cheaper than a cantilevered home extension. The added shade from this design helps keep the kitchen and dining area from getting too hot while improving the home’s Spanish-style aesthetic.
Covered outdoor kitchens are a great way to protect people from sun damage and heat exhaustion. However, a ceiling alone might not cut it when the sun moves closer to the horizon. That’s why an added drop shade to your kitchen cover is such a beneficial addition. They are a discreet, cheap and effective way to ensure that family and friends stay protected and comfortable around the twilight hours of the day.
Combined with an outdoor pergola, this design ensures that dinner guests can enjoy the outdoors without worrying about harsh sunlight from any angle.
Some outdoor spaces may not be suitable for a full dining area: That’s where this design comes in handy. With a countertop space that allows for unobstructed conversation between a cook and his/her guests, it’s easy for hours to go by sitting around this outdoor kitchen.
To protect this space from harsh sunlight, a post-mounted, counter-height pergola is the best choice for the job. Thanks to the versatility of this installation, posts can be mounted at various heights directly on top of the dining and drinking area. For the extra handy host, this installation has the potential to be a DIY project.
Some pergolas are designed to block out most sunlight during peak hours of the day. Others are designed for more temperate conditions, where only 50% shade is needed for staying comfortable. In this outdoor space, sunlight is allowed to partially pass through the awning, so guests can still enjoy the warmth of a sunny day, without overheating.
Outdoor kitchens can add an extra gathering space to your home, without dishing out thousands of dollars on a home extension. With the right cover, outdoor kitchens and dining areas are the perfect places to spend a warm, sunny day.
Videos showing our installation process, from beginning to end.
How the blueprints for our pergolas get made.
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Over the years, it's common to find some questions that come up again and again. Scroll through the question and answer bank on the right, and if your questions aren't answered by the end, you can get in touch using the phone number below!
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The dimensions of a Heartland Pergola refer to the width and depth of the pergola's roof. The pergola roof will include the beams and rafters, and on a traditional style pergola, will extend past the posts of your pergola.
For an example, a 14' x 14' pergola means that the overhead roof dimensions are 14' x 14'.
To figure out post spacing you will want to look at the specific CAD drawing for the pergola size you are looking for. Noting that a typical traditional style pergola will be built with the posts inset one foot from the end of your beams. Modern pergolas will NOT have an overhang.
Tip while planning - if your patio space is 14' x 14', most homeowners will opt to go a size larger on a Traditional Style Pergola so that the overhang of the pergola roof extends past the edge of your patio, rather than stopping even with it. A 14' x 14' patio would benefit from installing a 16' x 16' pergola (or greater) for optimum sun coverage.
We have the best of both worlds!
Aluminum base structure for extreme durability and strength paired with a vinyl exterior that makes your pergola maintenance super easy!
Many vinyl pergolas on the market are going to have no reinforcement or internal reinforcement by wood. Over time, that wood will rot, warp and sag. The aluminum inserts of Heartland Pergolas ensure that is never an issue for your pergola. It's a solid structure, easy to maintain and will last you for decades! We are so confidant in that fact that we offer a Lifetime Warranty.
You can purchase any of our pergola kits or eyebrow pergolas online through our website or order by calling in (563-345-6745) and talking to our sales team. If you are ordering a pergola with customizations outside of our pergola design tool, custom sizes or configurations, you will want to purchase by speaking with our team over the phone/email.
Upon ordering, either via our website or through our sales staff you will receive a docusign document emailed to you detailing all your options and pergola specs to sign off on before we send your pergola to fabrication.
Due to the custom nature of our product, we cannot accept returns. All pergola kits are made to order specifically for your space and requirements. We recommend you work directly with our team to discuss all potential site, climate, and installation requirements before you make your purchase to ensure that you get exactly the materials that you need.
We want you to be happy with your purchase, if there is a problem just reach out and we will work with you to make it right.
It doesn’t happen often but if you do find something missing or damaged, we will replace it immediately.
For all orders in the continental US, shipping is already included!
If you live outside of the continental US and would like a quote on shipping, please contact Elizabeth for a shipping quote!
Each kit will come with the corresponding instruction manual for that pergola. It will list step-by-step how to install, what tools are needed and show diagrams for the installation. You will also get your related CAD drawing for your pergola as well.
You are welcome to download the digital version of our instruction manuals ahead of time if you want to take a look at the process first!
We also have installation videos available 24/7 playable from YouTube Play List. Our Video Installation series will break down each step into a short video so you can see exactly how each step is completed.
VINYL AND ALUMINUM STRUCTURES LIMITED WARRANTY
Subject to the conditions and limitations listed herein, Heartland Pergolas warrants its vinyl structures to be free from defective workmanship and materials and, when subject to normal and proper use, against surface peeling, rot, structural damage from termites, splitting, flaking, rusting, and blistering, abnormal weathering or abnormal discoloration.
We have many customers who go the DIY route to install their pergola! If you have some basic building experience and knowledge with some simple tools, you can build a pergola.
We provide you with written installation instructions, video tutorials online, and the best customer service you can get!
You can watch our videos ahead of time to see if you feel comfortable working with the tools and materials needed to build your pergola. Our Installation Videos are divided up into short step-by-step clips that are to the point and show you exactly how each part is completed.
General guidelines for DIYers:
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