After winning the hearts of viewers on the popular series ‘Bachelorette,’ the reality stars recently unveiled their new home renovation featuring a modern outdoor living space that includes the Azenco R-BLADE™ louvered roof pergola.
JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers first met under the bright lights of ‘The Bachelorette’ TV cameras in 2016. Defying the odds, the couple found true love amid the limelight of the reality show, and were engaged in the series finale. Fast forward seven years, and the newlyweds have launched a new chapter in their shared life living their tropical dream in a newly renovated home in Puerto Rico.
Previous to the show, Fletcher had made a business of buying and renovating homes in her home state of Texas. Soon, Rodgers would join her there, and the celebrity couple would co-host their own home renovation show while remodeling their first home together in Dallas. With that project just wrapping up, and the global pandemic postponing their planned nuptials multiple times, the couple escaped to Puerto Rico where Fletcher has family.
Living in the island paradise, Fletcher and Rodgers fell in love with Puerto Rico, and the amazing outdoor lifestyle that comes with living in the tropics, so they bought a home there and they embarked on a complete remodel of their new home. One key element of that renovation was creating an outdoor living space that was both beautiful and functional.
“When we started this remodel, it was a down to the bone remodel, we started over with everything. In that process we actually lost the original outdoor patio space,” said Fletcher. “We knew we wanted a pergola but we didn’t know what options were available to us.”
That’s when Rodgers went into research mode, scouring the internet and social media to find the best pergola manufacturer on the market.
“Jordan searched high and low to find the best pergola system, so kudos to him!” said Fletcher. To which Rodgers quipped, “Let it be known that stalking on social media when it comes to, you know, a pergola system, not a bad thing. It actually ended up working out. I had to dig through a lot of different companies, shoot some DMs, and luckily, we found Azenco and it’s been amazing.”
Designing a Space When Life Is Better Outside
Jojo Fletcher and Rodgers came into the design process for their new outdoor living space with a distinct vision for the patio. It had to be beautiful and up to the caliber they had set with the rest of the whole home renovation, but it also needed to be functional.
“I don’t want to build just a structure that blocks the sunlight all the time. We want light to still come into the house, we want to be able to enjoy it when it’s sunny,” said Jordan.
Azenco’s local dealer on the island, brought its specialty design team to meet with the couple to discuss their vision. The pair soon realized the real expertise that Azenco and its nationwide network of expert pergola dealers bring to the table.
“As people who had done home renovation projects before, we had an initial vision of what we thought we wanted. But when Azenco and their local dealer came onboard, they combined their vision and our vision and gave some recommendations of things that we didn’t really think about like spacing, as far as what you need for strong winds, and sensors so we can leave it open.” Rodgers said.
Together, the couple envisioned a large motorized adjustable louvered roof pergola stretching from the side of the home to the property line. With the ability to control the angle of the louvers, they would be able to position the roof for full shade when the sun was blazing down on the patio. They could also angle the louvers, creating shade while keeping the blades open to promote airflow. With the uniquely-designed dual walled louvers and gapless roof design of the Azenco R-BLADE, the couple could also close the roof to completely seal out the rain.
“Having the ability for these pergola blades to open and close, rain or shine, I knew I could feel comfortable styling the space with all the things I love, and being able to use it every single day of the year.” Fletcher said.
Accessible through the home’s dining space, the patio includes an outdoor cooking station complete with a grill and pizza oven. The opposite wall is dominated by an outdoor fireplace. Above the fireplace, a privacy wall clad in green plants insulates the patio from the neighboring home.
Style and Function – Better Design, Better Quality, Better Experience
The exterior style of their new pergola was of the utmost importance to Jojo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers. With the new home renovation dominated by a minimalist modern aesthetic, they wanted to ensure that characteristic would continue onto the patio and throughout the pergola itself. The clean exterior lines of the R-BLADE, unencumbered by visible assembly hardware, was the ideal solution for their vision.
“Azenco just blew us away. It was obviously a beautiful, sleek design,” said Fletcher. Rodgers added his own spin to the look of his new pergola saying, “I mean, it looks sexy! You buy a car because it looks sexy, you buy a pergola system because you want it to look sexy.”
Quality Product and Quality Design
The tropical climate in Puerto Rico was also top of mind as Fletcher and Rodgers selected a product for their pergola attached to the home. The very climate that draws people to the wind-sept paradise also puts a premium on durable outdoor living structures.
“The first thing that stood out about the Azenco product was the quality. Not only the 15-year warranty which is the best in the business, and important for us, but the powder coating on it. So, its going to prevent rust and corrosion, which here in Puerto Rico is one of the main issues, it’s so humid and rains all the time,” said Rodgers.
These routine rain showers and occasional fast-moving tropical storms were also a prime concern for Rodgers. Making the R-BLADE more autonomous, so it could combat the weather independently, the team recommended the addition of an integrated weather sensor array. This high-tech sensor monitors for rain, and automatically closes the roof during a shower. It also includes a wind sensor that automatically opens the louvers if potentially damaging winds are detected. In a region that sees more than its fair share of hurricanes, these sensors greatly improve the ability of the structure to weather such a storm.
Color Selection and Tropic Styling for the Covered Patio
The same protective powder coating that repels water on the pergola can also be custom color matched to any home exterior, or clad in a wood grain finish. So, the design opportunities for an Azenco pergola are endless. Jojo and Jordan ended up going with this white because they wanted everything else to work together. With the clean lines matching their house, and the greenery and the furniture pieces, it all turned out so beautiful.
The white pergola also provided a soft canvas off of which the integrated LED lights could play. Azenco offers LED light strips as well as standard LED light bars that can be added to any of its pergola roofs, but for her design, Fletcher choose Azenco’s recessed LEDs that ring the interior of the well-lit patio.
“The lighting on this pergola is a showstopper. When you drive by, when you walk by, it really stands out,” said Fletcher. “Not only does it hit the design element, but its functional and it makes life outside better.”
Project Challenges – The Azenco and SHO-Pros Experience
Like most home additions, any pergola installation can run into challenges along the way. This is one of the reasons to make sure to always work with an expert pergola specialist when designing and building a luxury custom pergola.
“When we started to get to the point of the pergola system, and getting that installed it was one of the more seamless experiences we’ve ever had. Which is so nice when you’re going through a renovation and you’re deep in the trenches,” noted Fletcher
When it came time to install the new R-BLADE pergola, the SHO-Pros team faced one final challenge. The R-BLADE’s overall footprint was actually slightly larger than the patio area. So, the team chose to assemble the pergola outside the patio before rolling it into place on lifts. At the time, the patio’s glorious white tile flooring had yet to be installed, so the maneuvering the entre pergola superstructure into place took immense patience and finesse from the installation team.
Life is Better Outside
With their new motorized louvered pergola installed, and outfitted with all the amenities necessary for relaxing days and Caribbean nights, Jojo Fletcher and husband Jordan Rodgers are finally living their best outdoor lives in Puerto Rico.
“Life is absolutely so much better outside with our Azenco pergola."
"We have two dogs, we love spending time outside with them, we love just lounging around with them,” said Rodgers.
“So, the ability to have sun when its good weather, the ability to be outside and close the pergola system when it’s raining, and still enjoy the outside is something that really separates this product and really allows us to enjoy life outside.”
Turn-Around
- Manufacturing: 6 weeks (including two weeks to ship from Miami to Puerto Rico)
- Mounting on site: 5 days
“Ten out of ten with the experience,” said Fletcher.
“From start to finish it was such a pleasure to work with them, and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. It’s our favorite space.”
