Outdoor Gazebo

I want to give my landscape some “pop”—any suggestions?
One idea is a garden structure such as an outdoor gazebo, something we at Exterior Worlds have been building for years. First of all, gazebos are beautiful to look at. Kids love them and, with their young imaginations, can turn a gazebo into a castle, a fortress or a stage. But, because of their versatility, they can be quite functional. You can outfit them with built-in benches and screen them in to provide an artist get-away. Or you can create another entertainment center by installing a fire pit or outdoor fireplace.

What are the best construction materials to use for an outdoor gazebo?
You have a wide range of construction materials for an outdoor gazebo. Over the years, we have used treated wood, which is one of the most traditional choices. It looks good whether painted or stained and sealed. If you have an English garden design, a white, wooden gazebo makes an impactful visual statement. You can combine it with other landscape elements like a trellis, garden arbor or garden arches, covered in honeysuckle or climbing roses. A substantial material like stone or brick makes a lovely gazebo, especially in a Japanese garden. You can further enhance the look by choosing a pagoda roof style (a smaller roof on top of a larger one).

Wrought iron, metal, or painted aluminum are all durable material choices, especially here in Houston with our challenging Gulf Coast weather. We have also had good luck with Hardiplank™, a fiber cement plank product made by the James Hardie Company. It is resistant to our varying temperatures and humidity levels because it is made of stone, quartz, sand and fiber.

Who can help me build an outdoor gazebo?
A competent landscape designer or landscape architect will work all the elements of your landscape into a seamless whole. They will walk you through your design decisions such as the shape you want for your gazebo—octagonal, square, oval and rectangular. You can also add flair to a gazebo with the roof style you choose: a curved upsweep or pagoda-style, steep or flat, open lattice or wooden shakes. Your architect or designer will also help you coordinate these choices with the architecture of your home and what works best with it. We have a list of such professionals with whom we have longstanding relationships.

The different sections of a major landscape design and installation need to be interwoven, very similar to how a dance is choreographed. We try to be frank with our clients as to where we can be most valuable. If a customer only wants a simple garden structure, we may refer them to one of our artisan contractors. But if they want, say, a gazebo wired for lighting and integrated into the irrigation system and drainage system—that’s another matter. The more sophisticated the design, the more important a partner like Exterior Worlds becomes. In these cases, we become a necessity, not a luxury.