What Outdoor Garden Structure Is Right for You?

Pergola, gazebo, or cabana—the choice is yours (and your backyard’s.)

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I do not particularly enjoy "the outdoors," but I do enjoy botanical gardens, historic house museums with hedge mazes, and this one restaurant in Malibu where the (covered) patio sits adjacent to the sand. What do these spots all have in common? Aside from great gift shops where I can buy fridge magnets and coffee cups I don’t really need, they’re all home to gazebos, pergolas, and cabanas from which to retreat from the harsh rays of the sun or a sudden rain shower the weather app did not prepare you for.

If you have a backyard, setting up a pergola can be done in a few hours. A full gazebo you can put a dining table in takes an afternoon, and some cabanas can go from folded up to open and ready for use in a matter of minutes. Whether you’re looking to turn a patch of concrete into an outdoor dining room or start running a VIP lounge by the side of your pool, here’s a primer on outdoor structures that can turn your backyard—or driveway—into a destination.

Gazebos

A gazebo is the most heavy-duty backyard structure you can set up without getting into the world of California rooms and detached ADUs, which is to say it’s a sturdy, covered spot you can set up without having to hire a contractor. Gazebos offer more shade and protection from the elements than pergolas, and you can generally leave them up year-round (as opposed to a more seasonal temporary cabana). One real estate agent I asked said a gazebo in the backyard is a great way to create a defined space for outdoor entertaining—for smaller groups, they’re ideal for hosting full-on dinner parties, and for larger gatherings, make an excellent spot to set up buffet-style food and drinks. Tons of public parks have gazebos you’re probably picturing right now: wood painted white, with latticed trim and a shingled roof. An unvarnished, traditional gazebo offers an opportunity to get a classic look you can put your own spin on for less than $5,000, while a sleeker, contemporary version is going for a little less than $2,000.

How long your gazebo lasts depends on where you live and what it’s made of: a gazebo in Maine is probably going to be subject to more inclement weather than one in L.A., and a solid wood structure will age differently than one made out of aluminum. A good one should stay up for at least a decade, though, so if you envision yourself living in your current home for a long time, it’s a great "do it once and enjoy it indefinitely" kind of project. When it comes to assembly, a gazebo can absolutely be done on your own if you’re handy, while hiring someone to assemble a gazebo from a kit will run in the neighborhood of $500.

Pergolas

The very word pergola is very capital-R romantic, no? It comes from the Latin pergola, or projecting roof, which is essentially what it is—a roof with legs that can be set up over a grassy, open space, a paved patio, or a wood deck. Pergola roofs, unlike gazebos, are a little more open—they’re less about turning outdoor space into indoor space and more about offering shade on a hot day, making them a great option for outdoor space that gets a lot of direct sunlight. The lightness of pergolas as compared to gazebos makes them an ideal candidate for DIY assembly, and if you’re into gardening, pergolas are also often draped in flowering vines or ivy (I would probably use fake greenery, and if you do the same your secret is safe with me). This Swedish-made pergola has a distinctly MCM-look, and comes in a variety of sizes, while this one, made of cedar, would comfortably cover a long outdoor dining table.

Cabanas

A cabana is more than furniture, but it’s less than a room. It’s actually become fairly common for any structure, temporary or permanent, to be called a cabana if it’s near a pool or on a beach, which makes sense—they’re tent-esque setups that often have curtains that can be drawn in (for changing in and out of bathing suits) or left open (for admiring whatever body of water you happen to be looking at). They’re more flexible than you might guess, though, and ideal for when you aren’t looking to make a more involved commitment—say, you’re renting, or you only use your backyard or patio a few months out of the year. Also, most of them are easily assembled and taken down, even by people who do not have an aptitude for this sort of thing (I’m talking about myself). They bring a sort of old Hollywood glam to the party, especially when rendered in a Palm Springs-y yellow, like this one (it also costs less than $500!). For a real hotel pool vibe, this version is actually a covered daybed—towel service and lemon water not included.

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