Composite pergola in Val de Vie.

The brief

This home on the Val de Vie estate near Paarl, in the Cape Winelands, wanted a generous covered deck to live on through the seasons. The brief called for the warmth and grain of timber to suit the estate setting, but without the sanding, sealing and re-oiling that real timber demands under the hot Winelands sun.

The build

We built a composite pergola over the deck, a slatted, timber-look composite roof carried on a charcoal powder-coated aluminium frame, sitting above timber-look composite deck. The slats throw soft, linear shade across the deck through the day, while the composite reads as natural wood yet never needs sanding, sealing or painting and won’t warp, crack or fade in the Winelands heat.

The result

A warm, low-maintenance outdoor room that opens off the house onto the garden. The look of timber with none of the upkeep, staying as good as new with nothing more than the occasional rinse.

Fit for the Val de Vie estate

Estates like Val de Vie expect additions to look like part of the original architecture, so the pergola had to be more considered than a standard patio cover. The slatted composite roof on its charcoal aluminium frame picks up the timber-look composite deck below it, and the whole assembly reads as one designed piece from the garden and from inside the house.

The Winelands climate settled the material question. Paarl summers are hot enough to crack and bleach real timber overhead within a few seasons, which is why the brief asked for the grain without the wood. Composite slats keep their colour in that sun, throw the same soft lines of shade across the deck through the day, and ask for nothing beyond a rinse.