Sunday afternoon, two gents stopped by our house and asked if they could see the pergola in our back yard. They seemed sincere and trustworthy, so we stepped outside and escorted them through our gate and into the back yard.

Turns out, “Jack” had been admiring our pergola every time he drove past our home on Gosnold, and wanted to re-create something similar in his own backyard.

As the two men stood in front of our pergola, gushing praise and saying all the right things, I looked at my husband’s face. He was grinning from ear to ear.

In November 2008, he started building working on this pergola, working from nothing but a picture. He designed it, did the necessary math for that little hip roof, installed the slate roofing shingles (modern), and even applied the primer and finish coats of paint. It took him a year of weekends to finish the project, and about 3,381 trips to various lumberyards.

I’d first seen this pergola in an old 1924 house plans book, and being a die-hard purist, I wanted all improvements to the yard to be of a proper time period. And, I thought that the pergola shown in that old book was one of the prettiest things I’d ever seen.

And it’s even prettier “in the flesh.”

The image from my 1924 house plans book

MY pergola, with Teddy the Dog enjoying the views

Teddy says hello to the pedestrians walking by. One note, we have a special rule that no dogs are allowed on the nice swing with its nice cushions.

Pretty, pretty pergola - sans dog.

Late afternoon at the Pergola.

Wayne takes a "puppy hugging" break during the pergola's construction.

Mr. Pergola Builder

To read about the pretty pink house, click here.

To read about Sears Homes in Norfolk, click here.

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