Custom Pergolas in Charleston, SC

An attached pergola ties into your house along one side. It reads as a natural extension of the home, frames an existing patio or back door, and is usually the right call when you want the outdoor space to feel connected to the kitchen or living room just inside.

A freestanding pergola stands on its own anywhere in the yard. It creates a destination rather than an extension — a poolside lounge, a dining spot under the trees, a shaded seating area at the far end of the lawn. Freestanding designs give you more freedom in placement and orientation, which matters when you are chasing afternoon shade or a particular view.

If you want a fully roofed structure rather than an open frame, a covered patio (attached) or a pavilion (freestanding) is usually the better fit.

Over a patio. A pergola gives an open patio a ceiling line and turns a slab into a room, without blocking light from the windows behind it.

Poolside. A pergola beside the pool gives swimmers somewhere shaded to land — lounge chairs, a bar, a dining table — while keeping sightlines to the water wide open.

Over an outdoor kitchen. Pergolas are a natural frame for a grill station or a full outdoor kitchen, defining the cooking zone and carrying lighting and fans above it.

As an entertaining anchor. Paired with a fireplace, privacy wall, or built-in seating, a pergola becomes the spot everyone gravitates to when you host.

Building outside in the Charleston area means designing for heat and humidity, intense afternoon sun, heavy summer rain, salt air near the water, and storm season. Those are not afterthoughts in our process — they shape material selection, fastener choices, footing details, and how the structure is framed and anchored.

Orientation matters just as much. Rafter direction and spacing determine when your pergola actually shades the space, so we plan around the hours you use the yard rather than assuming a default layout.

Pergolas range from clean, modern lines with slim members and a tight rafter rhythm to a more traditional coastal Charleston look with heavier posts, beams, and detailed rafter tails. Column style, beam profile, and finish all shift the character of the structure.

Common additions include lighting, ceiling fans, privacy walls, fireplaces, and integrated outdoor kitchens. We plan those during design — not after — so wiring, structure, and clearances all work together.

It starts with a free pre-planning call, where we talk through what you are picturing, how you want to use the space, and roughly where it sits in the yard. From there we look at the property, work out the design and layout, and put together a detailed estimate.

Once the design is settled, we handle the build from start to finish and walk the finished structure with you. See our full process →

Homeowners often describe the same structure four different ways, and the names overlap in everyday use. Here is how we use them:

Pergola — an open-framed structure with rafters overhead rather than a solid roof. Filtered shade, open feel, attached or freestanding.

Pavilion — a freestanding structure with a solid roof, often A-frame, gable, or hip. Full shade and rain cover, standing on its own in the yard. See Pavilions & Cabanas.

Cabana — usually a poolside structure, often with some degree of enclosure or privacy on one or more sides. In practice many cabanas are pavilions built and finished for poolside use.

Gazebo — traditionally a freestanding roofed structure with a rounded or many-sided footprint. It is not the same thing as a pavilion, though people frequently use the word for any standalone roofed backyard structure.

Pool house — a more substantial poolside building with enclosed space rather than just cover. See Pool Houses.

If you are not sure which one matches the picture in your head, describe it to us on a free pre-planning call — that is exactly the conversation we start with.