February 25, 2009

Ramada

No, no...not the hotel chain. 
A structure for our soon-to-be back patio.

ramada, noun

An open roofed structure of ancient desert origins, usually made from branches, detached and set apart from the house, providing shelter from the elements, but allowing the passage of air.


Image ~ Sunset






The front of our house gets the hot afternoon sun, so we're going to focus on making the shaded back yard an afternoon/evening sanctuary.  The addition of a ramada will be purely for aesthetic reasons.  I don't want the back of the house to look like what it is...a trailer.

Since we have deer (and rabbits!) here who eat everything, the ramada will be purely decorative.  No wonderful vines growing over it...*Nancy just suggested ironwork vines. Brilliant.


39 comments:

My Castle in Spain said...

oh this is a new word to me...thanks!

your back yard will look terrific..
i wonder if you will do it yourself

you already know everybody will want to see pics of your new ramada !
:-)

A Woman Of No Importance said...

I didn't know those structures were called ramadas - I dearly would love one in my back garden too - More for shelter from our summer winds, than heat!

Good luck with the construction of your sanctuary, Diva!

High Desert Diva said...

Oh yes....we'll be building it ourselves. We do all the work around here.

Lisa's RetroStyle said...

Can't wait to see what it's going to look like. Thanks for the education...I didn't know that's what ramada meant.

Chrisy said...

We call them pergolas here in australia...you could grow some wisteria over it...or even grape vines..

A Wild Thing said...

I want one too...do you deliver...?

Can't wait to see the finished product.

High Desert Diva said...

A pergola is what I had been thinking of....but let's face it, an English cottage garden is not what we have in the desert. Ramada seems more fitting.

Catherine said...

You will love your Ramada! They create a cool and restful sanctuary. We love ours. We have rabbits that eat everything, so we don`t have much vegetation on ours either.

Golden West said...

It will be like having an outdoor room - a perfect place to spend summer evenings. What a fun project to do together!

Lori P said...

I learned a new word today! Thank you.

We had one of those at our last house and LOVED it.

Hey Harriet said...

Oh so that's what you call a pergola in the desert. Cute!

Hey I took your suggestion on board btw :D

Unknown said...

well, vines or not, i'm sure it'll still be lovely. i've always liked these structures.

Cecile/DreamCreateRepeat said...

Best of luck with the project! And thanks for the "new" word. I never thought about the derivation of the name of the hotel chain! ; )

littlebyrd said...

Exciting! I love wooden structures like this. I have been wanting to add one for years to this concrete slab we have in the back yard. This may be the extra push we need!

Nancy said...

Bale in Indonesia, lanai in Hawai'i; and now ramada in the desert. Another word for what I don't have and keep hoping to get.

Maybe the Ramada Fairy will stop by one night; and grant my wish.

Nancy said...

Oh, and perhaps ironwork vines? Not a favorite of forest creatures.

A Cuban In London said...

New word for me and new design for you. This is a fair world after all :-). Lovely picture. Wish you luck with the revamp.

Greetings from London.

Barn House said...

We built our pergola a couple of years back and absolutely love it! We got a little crazy and planted FIVE wisterias around it...which will eventually probably pull both the pergola and house to the ground. :o)

High Desert Diva said...

Nancy...ironwork vines...BRILLIANT!

Cuban-really, new word for you? cool

BH-ha!

chelsea said...

Hey diva- how goes things. Ramada sounds like a great spring project! And HECK yes to the hubby making vines!

Tess Kincaid said...

I can't wait to see it. I know it will be fabulous, like everything you do!

Teri and her Stylish Adventure Cats said...

Love it. One of my brothers lives in Tucson and built one over his patio.

I learned that's what they were called when we visited the Desert Museum there.

Peggy said...

Fabulous, Diva! "Ramada" is a new word for me... I've always called these structures pergolas. I'm off to spend a few minutes with the dictionary!

T.Allen said...

Vines, yes-lots of them. I can't wait to see it.

Cynthia Pittmann said...

Decorative and... comfortable? You are going to make a sitting area, right? It's such a beautiful idea and is a way to embrace the environment. I can see you, Charmaine, welcoming guests, "Shall we sit in the ramada."<3

Anonymous said...

Well your house is already the most amazing trailer on the block!! *giggles*

Can't wait to see the new addition... you never cease to amaze me!!
;)

picciolo said...

what a great idea, it sounds like it will make a big difference
: )

Jill said...

Thanks for the new word for me! Also that dappled sun that you'll get from that will be perfect for hanging baskets that the deer might not get to.

Alicia @ boylerpf said...

What a great place to relax AND watch the wild life!

time worn interiors said...

Now, now thats not a trailer, it's manufactured housing!! I think that's the term that all the mobile homes sales people perfer! I love the ramada, I would like to have one of those in the yard behind my Manufactured House!Hah! Hah! Have a great day!
Theresa

Cindy said...

Sounds like a nice place to have dinner!

Two Dog Pond said...

Please post step-by-step instructions so we can make one along with you (like a knitting club, only with sticks and power tools). Sounds wonderful!

Jeanne Estridge said...

Looks great -- looking forward to seeing the pictures when it's done!

Mark and Patty of Crystal Pyramid Productions in San Diego said...

I'll never forget traveling through Oregon in '86 and spending time in the desert there. It was so surreal. My hubby and I saw a tortoise fossil embedded in the side of a mountain. Also spent time in a lava cave, not to mention Crater Lake and Three Sisters hot springs. Such splendor in your state.

You may want to look into plants that deers and rabbits don't like, and plant them on the periphery of any other plants you may want to have. I think the indigenous plant life is spectacular, especially the flowery ones in the spring time.

Robynn's Ravings said...

Whatever YOU do I'm sure it will turn out to be gorgeous. Can't wait to see it! :)

Michelle Engel Bencsko said...

Sounds just the right place for margaritas and salsa. Shame you can't get SOME green to grow! Pesky wabbits.

Unknown said...

A new word to me as well, always thought it was called a pergola but perhaps that must be attached to the house...??? Will look that up now :) The iron vines are a great idea, nice thinking Nancy! I can't wait to see this take shape. Your designs are always so brilliant!!!

Amy P. said...

Sounds lovely. And ironwork vines... genius! (Yay, Nancy!!!) We've been plotting a metal vine motif rose trellis. Technically, this is for visual interest in the non-blooming months, but I figure it will come in handy when the deer eat all the roses!

jcb said...

Have you seen the Ramada style pergola at www.PacificPergola.com?

It made of Juniper trees with pine vigas and ocotillo canes on top.