Garden Room, Veranda, Pergola or Awning: What’s Actually the Difference?

After many months of cold and dark evenings it’s no wonder we can’t wait to spend as much time outside in the summer as possible.

An increasingly popular way to do so is to build a garden room or pergola or make your current outdoor space more useable with an awning or a veranda.

Outdoor Garden Rooms

These are usually standalone structures with rubber or tiled roofs, built in gardens away from the house and designed to be used all year round with electricity and heating, double glazing and lots of insulation.

People choose garden rooms because they are cheaper than an extension and are extremely versatile.

They can be used as a quiet space, a gym, a children’s play area or a den for teenagers, or as an office or a space for writers and artists.

However, with a garden room, you won’t get the openness of the sky of a pergola or veranda, so you can’t watch the clouds or stars at night.

Verandas

Verandas are roofed areas attached to the house covering a patio or decking, sometimes with glass walls and used for outdoor entertaining and relaxing in the garden.

They are often installed over south-facing areas which are exposed to the sun all day so you can stay outside in the shade or keep dry if there’s a sudden downfall.

Their roofs are usually made from glass or polycarbonate held up with aluminium frames, and they provide all-year-round protection from the rain.

While they may look stylish and provide a clear view of the sky, without special coatings or special solar glass, glass-roofed verandas can cause a greenhouse effect, so you may want to opt for external blinds to block the solar glare.

The same is true of polycarbonate roofs, which will need external roof blinds or an awning to cover the roof on sunny days.

Pergolas

Pergolas are freestanding structures often located away from the house in the garden, though they can be attached to a house, and are fully or partially enclosed or left open.

They look very stylish and are tailored to a person’s needs and are often used to zone or frame areas such as swimming pools, hot tubs or a garden, for example, or for vertical gardening with scented plants such as wisteria, jasmine or honeysuckle.

They provide a perfect light and airy space which can be used all year round for entertaining and enjoying the garden while protected from the heat and any rain.

Pergolas can have an open roof, a fabric roof, a glass roof with external blinds to block solar glare, while some have an open slatted or louvred roof.

The bioclimatic louvres can be moved around to provide maximum light or partial or full shade when the sun is beating down through the slats, though they will block the light and are prone to leaking when it rains.

Awnings

Awnings are retractable, wall-mounted fabric coverings which shade an outside area like a patio or balcony, so you can continue to use the space during hot weather.

They can be operated manually or electronically and are particularly good at stopping solar glare if you have a south-facing or south-west-facing outside space.

Awnings are very good at preventing the solar glare from overheating your home in the summer, particularly if you have double-glazed windows or doors leading out onto the patio.

They are much cheaper than other shading structures, though you will have to maintain and clean the fabric well to make an awning last.

What's best for you?

Your budget is the most crucial factor. Awnings are the most cost-effective, followed by pergolas, then verandas and garden rooms.

You’ll need to ask yourself how important natural light is, whether you want to look up at the stars at night, and how much of the year you will use the space and whether you want an open or enclosed feeling.

If natural light and a feeling of openness is at the top of the wish list, then a pergola will be your best option.

Bespoke designs with Calista pergolas

Many people opt for Calista pergolas because they can be tailored to your exact needs and are built with integrated lighting, speakers and thermal-treated roofs.

They come with integrated horizontal or vertical sun blinds to protect you from the sun, wind and insects while preserving light and views, with fabric, colours and control options tailored to your preferences.

Calista pergolas also come with optional sliding glass walls to provide year-round protection while maintaining uninterrupted views across your garden.

If you’d like to find out more about the Calista pergola, please contact us.