The summer barbecue season is coming quickly and it’s certainly here to stay. With longer days and kids staying home from school, many people are tackling summer DIY projects.

One of the newer trends is pergola structures over your barbecue to create an outdoor kitchen environment. It’s not always DIYed but it can be a great summer project for your family.

Aside from homes, they’re commonly seen at beaches, particularly at the shower stations on east coast and California beaches. But you can bring them into your own backyard too.

Follow along as we check out some cool pergola setups, and get ready for a fun summer project. 

Stone Pillar Pergola

Our first idea on the list, this pergola structure gets quite the lift, thanks to stone pillars. What’s cool here is the structure is built right into the cornerstones of the patio. Some freestanding pillars mark the entrance into this barbecue setup.

There’s also a fireplace with a large stone chimney, perfect for late, cool summer evenings.

Flower Garden Barbecue

This setup is quite different from our first example. Here, the pergola is built into the house, and stretches out to cover the barbecue pit. Flowers surround the whole build, creating an inviting space to sit out on the deck and have a great time grilling.

A Small Outdoor Kitchen

This kitchen builds on the last example, quite literally! A green egg joins the barbecue, and a small refrigerator sits in the corner of this L-shaped patio.

From the sink to the barbecue and beautiful pergola setup, you have everything you need to grill comfortably outdoors. The all-wooden siding is a nice, clean touch as well!

Spanish Colonial Pergola

This clever build combines a well known style in Spanish colonial design with a fantastic pergola roof. The clay-like building for the structure and layered brick countertops send the Spanish colonial look home.

There’s also a colorful backsplash surrounding the whole grill – a nice touch on a unique outdoor build!

The Pergola Bar

This setup is perfect for intimate gatherings. Complete with a small pergola cover, a barbecue, and bar style seating, you’ll have many enjoyable nights with friends and family.

The whole build is impressive, from the stone tiling on the barbecue to the intricate patio. The pillars holding up the pergola and the lighting fixtures are a step above the competition!

String Light Barbecue

How can you make your barbecue setup that much cozier? Add some string lights into the mix! Lots of restaurants use this style of lighting to set a late night evening mood, and it’s a perfect addition to your backyard.

String up the whole pergola, or have it cover the surrounding area. Whatever you do, it’s sure to be beautiful!

The Pergola, Budgeted

If you want to save some money on your outdoor kitchen space, building a small pergola structure may be for you!

The large elaborate tiling for the patio is quite beautiful and takes centerstage, along with the stone decorative elements by the stainless steel barbecue. 

A Modern Pergola

A contemporary take on the pergola finds us with dark elements making up the frame of this elaborate structure.

In true form with outdoor builds, the patio space is decorated with white concrete slabs, brick siding for the countertops, and gorgeous wooden siding.

A large barbecue pit enclosed in brick sits behind the table and chairs. The chimney here is quite beautiful and well hidden so the smoke can escape unnoticed!

Eccentric and Tropical

There’s a lot to unpack here, but let’s start with the grill. Placed in the corner, a large black range hood and chimney sprout up to carry away smoke and excess heat from grilling.

A bright backsplash surrounds this L-shaped space, and is toned down with brick siding on top and concrete as the base. It’s a great place to kick back at the picnic table under some gorgeous late night lighting provided by those beautiful lampshades. Make your space tropical!

Freestanding Pergola

This freestanding pergola looks quite gorgeous lit up with string lights, and seems the perfect fit for late night conversation. The whole build is set up very nicely. A complete barbecue with counter space and a refrigerator make up one side, while a large fireplace and a couple chairs complete the three-sided space.

Enjoy the fire and a bite to eat, and turn on the lights to keep the night young!

Take Lunch Outdoors

Our mouths are watering as we look at this meal. Moving onto the setup, everything about it is gorgeous! Beautiful countertops and open shelving make serving dinner under the shaded table easy.

This modern backyard pergola is attached to the house. The tall plants offer additional shade so sunlight doesn’t reach the table unobstructed. Plus, the neutral colors here make this space warm and inviting.

The Contemporary Outdoor Barbecue

Coming to you from the near future, this contemporary pergola setup brings some new materials and design trends to the forefront. Built into a modern home, a darker wood is used for the structure of the pergola. This helps it blend with the rest of the exterior.

Dark wood is used for the walls, the barbecue, bar structure, and the picnic table as well. The bench and coffee table complement the rest of the furniture beautifully.

Two hanging lamps set the mood for parties that last late into the night, and evoke a modern restaurant feel – right in the backyard!

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That’s all from us! Hopefully you’ve been inspired to install a pergola into your backyard barbecue. They’re quite beautiful, and very simple! If not, we have plenty of other barbecue options for you to choose from. Check out some of our other articles on outdoor barbecues below if you want to see some other options.

If you liked this article, and want to see more outdoor setups, head on over to our Pinterest page. We have plenty of boards with outdoor pins, including our backyard kitchen board and our general backyard living board, filled with everything from bars to kitchens and patios.

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