Mooresville, NC sits among the fast-growing Charlotte metropolitan area where winding subdivisions meet lush farmlands in the North Carolina countryside. It’s a beautiful place for growing families, but the Southern heat and blazing sun can make outdoor living spaces unbearable during summer afternoons.
For the owners of one recently built home—still waiting for surrounding trees to mature—the heat was driving them away from their beautiful patio where they typically gathered with family for barbecues and festivities. Wanting to reclaim their outdoor space, they reached out to Azenco dealer Kulyk Outdoors for a complete backyard before and after transformation that would give them control over the sun, rain, and everyday heat.
Project Details
Table of Contents
Project Overview
Creating a shaded and rain-protected outdoor dining and grill space for this home allowed the homeowners to take full advantage of their new home’s lush backyard. The backyard before and after transformation was striking—turning an underused patio into a comfortable, functional space for everyday living.
Building a pergola after the patio has been installed can present some unique challenges. In this project, with an existing patio already defining the living space, the design team at Kulyk Outdoors crafted a rectangular pergola with an adjustable louvered roof to allow the homeowners to control the sun/shade balance on the patio.
Selected from Our Pergola Collection
Color Options
Gray Bronze Frame and White Louvers
Premium Option
LED lights
Comfort Features
Fans
- To ensure the homeowners could climb the stairs to the home and be protected from the elements, the team incorporated a solid fixed roof zone connecting the main pergola to the home.
- An additional solid roof zone was added over the grill station, which fell just outside the footprint of the patio itself.
With a creative mixture of louvered and solid roof zones, the Kulyk Outdoors team completed a backyard makeover that gave these homeowners the full enjoyment of their outdoor space.
Design Challenges
R-BLADE™ louvered roof
This covered patio project made for an amazing backyard before and after transformation—the addition of the pergola completely changed both the look and functionality of the outdoor space. The homeowners wanted to control the sun/shade balance on their patio and also ensure full protection from North Carolina’s routine afternoon rain showers.
For the main pergola zone, Kulyk Outdoors turned to the Azenco R-BLADE™. As the only adjustable louvered roof pergola on the market capable of totally blocking out the rain, the system was the ideal fit for this backyard before and after success story.
R-SHADE™ insulated roof
Building a pergola after the patio has been installed can often create challenges for the pergola designers. In this case, the new structure would have its footings on the patio to ensure a symmetrical look to the final design. But the homeowners also wanted to protect their outdoor grilling station—just outside the patio’s edge—as well as the stairs leading from the patio to the back deck. This meant the project required more than just a pergola installation; it called for a thoughtful backyard before and after approach.
Kulyk Outdoors designed a smaller pergola zone using the solid fixed roof of the Azenco R-SHADE™ to protect the stairs down to the patio area. Attaching the pergola to the home ensured complete sun and rain protection, allowing the homeowners to move between the spaces comfortably. This upgrade became a key visual element in the overall backyard before and after makeover.
To cover the grill station, Kulyk Outdoors added another Azenco R-SHADE™ zone that extended over the grill area. Supported by two pergola columns anchored on a masonry wall, this space gave the outdoor kitchen both functionality and structure. It was a standout feature in the backyard before and after transformation, blending beauty, utility, and architectural consistency.
Selecting the approriate options
The Charlotte area is generally quite humid during the summer months. So, to give the homeowners more control to cool an outdoor space like this backyard pergola, Kulyk Outdoors designed the structure with an integrated fan beam from which to mount a pergola fan. Maximizing this fan beam, they also incorporated embedded LED lights allowing the homeowners to extend their evening entertainment past sunset. The fan beam also became a style element by splitting the louvered roof zones down the middle. This thoughtful detail added both comfort and visual appeal to the overall backyard before and after transformation.
HOA approvals
A challenge which many Azenco dealers often encounter when building in modern subdivisions like this neighborhood is Homeowners Association (HOA) approvals. The covenants of an HOA often mandate what type of structures can be built in the neighborhood, where they can be located and even the allowable colors for structures. Needless to say, they become cumbersome when taking on any home addition. In this case the Kulyk Outdoors team presented the board with 3D renderings of the project to give them a pergola visualizer which helped streamline the approvals and keep the project on a speedy timeline. The renderings clearly highlighted the dramatic backyard before and after transformation, making it easier for the HOA to envision the finished result.
Color Selection
The color selections for this pergola project also added to the dramatic backyard before and after transformation. With the home’s existing exterior set in a solid gray and offset by white trim, the designers opted for a two-tone color scheme for the pergola. A gray bronze frame and columns help the pergola stand out from the home and create an architectural element for the backyard.
This thoughtful palette played a key role in the backyard before and after impact—visually elevating the entire outdoor space. The gray bronze also helped create a color transition to the brick pavers in the existing patio. Choosing all white louvers and fixed-roof panels ensured the patio still felt spacious and airy when the roof was closed and tied it back to the home’s white trim.
The Turn Around
- Four weeks
- Two days on-site installation
If you would like to explore how an Azenco custom pergola can make your backyard makeover shine, contact us to explore more amazing backyard before and after photos, and we will connect you with one of our expert local dealers who will make the perfect contractor for your outdoor living project. Contact us to learn more about our innovative solutions for your courtyard, deck, or patio at 305 306 32-04.
