"Ladies Night In" So at Home w/ Olive Grey 6 Post Pergola

What is it that speaks to your soul and causes you to feel like you are relaxing for the first time in your life? Have you been somewhere, where you have never been before and yet instantaneously feel at home, and you suddenly realize with surprise that you had previously been tightening your shoulders and holding your breath?

For me, home is a place that is open, spacious, that inspires awe creating a sense of joy in just being alive. It is a place where you can be yourself with people you love, having no pretenses of being who you are not; a place where you can wear blue jeans without any makeup, with no expectations that feel impossible to reach. There is a sense of being sheltered from the harsher realities of life, where you can create sweet memories and reminiscence about it later.

These outdoor shade structures provide the perfect place to vacation any and everyday. They are places that inspire and create that sense of joy at being alive. Yet, a person can live in the most wonderful place with the most awe inspiring scenery and not feel at home. Home is family, friends and neighbors that make a place feel like home.

The Robbins were some of the most genuine people I have ever met. Their gorgeous six post Olive Gray timber frame pergola is stunning and welcoming but it is the Robbins that make this place feel like home. In part, I believe it is because of the sacrifices they have made for others in life, with five years in Iraq and a purple heart, their separation has made being together so much the sweeter. There was no feeling of rushing through each moment to get to the next, they have created a home with a gentle ambience.

Upon arriving at the Robbins residence for the first time, I was in for a surprise. When I rang the doorbell and the door opened and three big dogs jumped out defensively as though to protect their owners and territory. Once, they were assured it was okay for me to be there, they welcomed me with wagging tails and beautiful faces that looked as if they were smiling. I am not sure if dogs smile, but it was smiles to me. A jet black cat was just as friendly and free with the dogs.

The Robbins celebrated our man of the house's 60th birthday with a party that included a band and dancing. They have electrical outlets on with with the TimberVolt™ power posts which they said made it really nice for plugging in for the band. Here they enjoy what Karen called her "ladies night in", get togethers with friends, family time, and parties. I came as a stranger and Karen welcomed me in. She is such a beautiful woman and treated me like old family and I when I left I could not resist stealing a hug from her. Their entire family was just as lavishing warm, thoughtful and fun to visit with. This is what outdoor living is all about, family, people you love and in bringing people together. Karen warmly offered me to come anytime and "hang out", have some wine or if I were Mormon, some lemonade.

A timber frame ShadeScape™ DIY pergola kit provides a wonderful place for a morning coffee, or lemonade if you choose, with a garden view and fresh air. Best of all, it is a place to spend with those you love.

I asked Karen about the unique color they had chosen for their pergola. Karen told me, "Its the Olive Gray, the newer color they just came out with this year. I like this color. For one reason, we have this white fence and I didn't want to have this high contrast. I really like dark ones but this blends into our landscape better. We have these beautiful views so when you look out to this, it is is not in your face, this really dark thing; which I say, I like the dark but, um, for me it is less, because we don't have this huge yard. We have a decent sized back yard but as this sits closer to us it makes it not feel claustrophobic."

Looking up I commented to Karen that it somehow felt higher to me with the lighter color of the Olive Gray wood stain.

"Yes," Karen acknowledged, "It does not feel like you are in a cage. The dark, as you know, you are an artist; when you paint the lighter colors give you more distance whereas the dark seems to come at you and makes thing feel darker, right? Okay. If you want the landscape to recede you add some light. You look at the landscape, the further the mountains the lighter and more distance it gives you. I like the lighter because it does that, gives depth to the landscape and it just looks more natural."

Karen added, "These are not the most inexpensive pergolas. They are very well made; the top of the line, however we felt, first of all, it is going to last forever. We live up here on these hills where we get really high winds and we never have to worry about it falling down."

"We spend so much more time in our backyard. We are actually using our backyard. We feel like it is a little mini vacation for us. We don’t feel like we are going to have to every weekend and or once a month go and travel because we probably have right here with our views and everything our own vacation spot right here. We got the fire tables, we have people over several times a month, family, several parties here, friends come over. My daughter, her friends are over here all the time."

"We can put the fire table on in the winter. We got these fur blankets we can wrap up in the winter. You could toast marshmallows. Not on this one. Its you had the wood type. We don’t do the wood but you could toast marshmallows out here in the winter and have little winter parties, literally use it all year round. It gives just enough shade to make it really pleasant out here even when it is 95 degrees out here."

"We tried to make this our own little paradise. Of course most people try and do that. It makes you feel luxurious."

Her husband quietly added, "It is peaceful."