PERGOLA AND PAVILION DESIGN AND BUILD IN MINNESOTA
Enhance your outdoor space with a custom pergola or pavilion designed and built by Minnesota’s premier landscape design firm. A pergola adds architectural interest, dappled shade, and a natural extension of your landscape, creating an inviting retreat. Our durable, all-season structures blend beauty and function, elevating patios, gardens, and outdoor living areas.
Mom’s Design Build is the most awarded landscape design and build company serving the greater Twin Cities, MN area. Our skilled designers and craftsmen bring decades of expertise to creating custom pergolas and pavilions, using premium materials and exceptional craftsmanship for lasting beauty and durability. From the initial design phase through to the end of construction, you can count on our team for exceptional customer service and a spectacular final product.
Enhance Your Outdoor Living with Stunning Pergolas & Pavilions
Choose a Style that Suits You!
Whether you’re feeling stuck choosing materials or have a clear vision but aren’t sure how to bring it to life, hiring a designer at Mom’s ensures that your pergola or pavilion will perfectly match your style and needs.
Our nationally award-winning designers offer an extensive portfolio of pergola and pavilion designs, ranging from sleek and minimalist with clean lines to architecturally detailed masterpieces. Your design can be modern, industrial, transitional, classical, a combination of two or more, or a style unique to you. Let us design and build the columns, beams and rafters for your pergola or pavilion today!
Pergola vs. Pavilion: Which Is Right for Your Outdoor Space?
Choosing between a pergola and a pavilion comes down to your outdoor living needs, style preferences, and budget. A pergola features an open-roof design that provides partial shade, creating an airy, stylish retreat—perfect for climbing plants and decorative lighting. For added versatility, louvered pergolas offer adjustable slats, allowing for near-complete protection when needed. A pavilion, on the other hand, has a solid roof, delivering full coverage and making it ideal for all-weather entertaining, outdoor kitchens, and year-round relaxation. Reach out to one of our award-winning designers, and we will talk through the pros and cons of each!
Best Materials for a Durable and Stylish Pergola or Pavilion
Popular options include cedar and redwood, which offer natural beauty and resistance to decay, while pressure-treated wood provides an affordable yet long-lasting choice. For a modern, low-maintenance alternative, aluminum and vinyl pergolas resist weathering and require minimal upkeep. Steel adds strength and a sleek, contemporary look, while composite materials blend the beauty of wood with enhanced durability. Wooden pergolas can last 10-15 years with proper upkeep, and aluminum or vinyl pergolas can last 20-30 years. Selecting the best material depends on your climate, aesthetic preferences, and desired upkeep level.
Levels of Function
Pergolas and Pavilions add several key elements to an outdoor landscape that can dramatically change the game when it comes to enjoying your yard – shade and comfort, aesthetic and architectural enhancement, privacy and shelter just to list a few!
There are 4 general levels of function that can be helpful to understand when choosing a pergola or pavilion for your yardscape. Any of these can be designed and built to suit your needs and style preferences.
The Traditional Pergola
The traditional pergola is typically constructed using lumber or composite materials and generally offers no rain or sun protection. These pergolas are often added to add architectural interest to the space, defining an area and adding both beauty and character to the home. This type of pergola is intended for design and appeal, not for protection from the elements.
Shade Sail Canopy Pergola
The shade sail canopy pergolas have shades that are attached to carabiners, which is what we like to call “mobile” shade, allowing you to adjust the shade as needed throughout the day. While these pergolas do not offer rain protection, they are ideal for creating a comfortable outdoor space that can adapt to changing light conditions on sunny days.
Louvered Pergola
Louvered pergolas are modern outdoor structures equipped with adjustable slats, or louvers, that can be tilted to control the amount of sunlight and ventilation in the space below. Made from durable materials like aluminum, these pergolas offer flexibility and convenience, allowing you to open the louvers for sunlight and airflow or close them to create shade and protect against rain. With these pergolas, you’ll be more fully protected from elements with 95% rain protection and full shade when wanted. They provide a versatile solution for homeowners seeking year-round use of their outdoor space, regardless of weather conditions.
Pavilion
Pavilions are considered to be buildings without walls – freestanding outdoor structures with a solid roof supported by columns that provide shelter and shade! Different than a pergola, pavilions offer 100% protection from precipitation. Heaters can be added to pavilions, warming them in the cooler months for year-round use. Pavilions serve as versatile extensions of the home, perfect for dining, entertaining, and relaxing.
FAQs
Why a pergola and not a different structure?
Pergolas are an excellent addition to any landscape design because not only can they provide shade and comfort, but they aesthetically enhance outdoor spaces, define outdoor living areas and make distinctions between poolside lounges, backyard kitchens, etc., provide versatility and customization with the variety of types and style options, and provide privacy and increased usability of your outdoor space, making your yard an extension of your home.
What is a pergola?
A pergola is an outdoor structure that has vertical columns that support crossbeams and an open roof made of rafters. They are designed to create shade and add to the overall look of a space.
What is the difference between a pergola and a pavilion?
While both are outdoor structures, pergolas have an open roof with beams and rafters that provide partial shade and protection, whereas a pavilion has a fully enclosed roof, offering complete protection from the elements.
Do I need a permit to install a pergola or pavilion?
Permit requirements vary depending on local building codes and may also vary depending on whether it is freestanding or attached to the home. The designers and team at Mom’s Design Build will do all the permitting, design, and build work for you on your project!
Why should I choose Mom’s Design Build for my pergola or pavilion design and installation?
- Work with expert designers and craftsmen at the most awarded landscape design build firm in the state of Minnesota.
- Our efficient, transparent project management adapts to your preferred level of involvement—from hands-on collaboration to a fully managed process.
- Personalized designs that not only fit your style and interests, but that bring your dream space to life!
Explore our comprehensive design and installation process known as…
Award-winning Pergola and Pavilion Design and Build Team
Connect with Mom’s Design Build today if you’d like a high-quality pergola or pavilion professionally designed and built into your landscape.
Mom’s Design Build offers landscape design & architecture services in Belle Plaine, MN, Carver, MN, Chanhassen, MN, Chaska, MN, Cottage Grove, MN, Deephaven, MN, Eden Prairie, MN, Edina, MN, Golden Valley, MN, Hopkins, MN, Independence, MN, Jordan, MN, Lake Minnetonka Area, MN, Lakeville, MN, Maple Grove, MN, Medina, MN, Medicine Lake, MN, Minneapolis, MN, Minnetonka, MN, Minnetrista, MN, Mound, MN, New Hope, MN, Oak Grove, MN, Orono, MN, Plymouth, MN, Prior Lake, MN, Savage, MN, Shakopee, MN, Shorewood, MN, St. Louis Park, MN, St. Paul, MN, Tonka Bay, MN, Victoria, MN, Wayzata, MN, Woodbury, MN, Woodland, MN and in other surrounding areas!
