Pic of ceiling beam in the great room

pic of rail in the great room

You could stain it dark gray. Whatever you do, I would not paint it.

why not paint it was exterior grade paint? and if stain, should i stain it dark gray to match exterior trim or light espresso to match interior furniture trim like fireplace and ceiling beam. thanks!

I have never seen a painted pergola that was not white. Granted, they are not common here in any color. . . .

I like the colour that it is now! It adds warmth to your exterior. And it coordinates well with your interior floor, so there's that. Then again, there is white painted wood in the room too (built-in) so it would coordinate if it was white too.

Ultimately any choice would be fine, I would choose to leave it the natural colour.

even if i left it natural, i would have to seal it i think.

I like natural wood pergolas, not painted. I do love the color that it is already. You definitely need to weather seal it.

one thing to keep in mind is i plan to use the same stone that I have at the bottom of the front of the house at the bottom of the wood support beams for the pergola too. Not sure if that changes anyone's opinions?

Nope, it doesn't! :-D

that does make sense, the only reason my contractor suggested the stain same color as interior is the pergola is attached to our 23' nanawall and so when the nanawall is fully opened the pergola/porch is very much directly connected and flows seamlessly with the interior great room which has the stained wood trim for the fireplace and center beam etc.

I would leave it as is..it looks beautiful and it warms up the space as well.
Here is a project that has the pergola the same color as the siding..it works, but it's siding so it kind of blends with the rest of the house.

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Thanks, that picture is a bit different since the whole wall is that color in my case it's just the trim in that color. so it won't be as blended in and will stand out a bit more like the trim does.

"...pergola is attached to our 23' nanawall and so when the nanawall is fully opened the pergola/porch is very much directly connected and flows seamlessly with the interior great room which has the stained wood trim for the fireplace and center beam etc..."

That's an important piece of information. If one can stand indoors, see the exposed interior roof structure and also see the pergola, then there is a strong relationship. And vice versa: if one can stand outdoors, see the pergola and also see the exposed interior roof structure, there is a strong relationship.

Your interior photo, however, shows a continuous "bulk head" above all your windows and doors which clearly creates a visual interruption between indoors and out.

If it was my house, I would treat the pergola as an "outdoor" element and look at options for making it harmonious with the exterior of the house. Whatever you decide, you are going to have a great deal of future maintenance to maintain whatever finish you select, as well as to maintain the structural soundness of the materials. The ends, connection points and locations where one element is stacked on top of another element will need regular monitoring.

Good luck with your project!

assuming I go with stain, is there a brand/product you guys recommend? that's safe for kids around (got 3 little ones who will be running around it) and long lasting? thnx

Exterior! Definitely the exterior. That way it would go well with the overall exterior look of the house. Also, if you are adding stones at the bottom of the support beams, the pergola would look nice with the same colour as the exterior.

kan-

Regarding "safe for kids," almost all exterior stains are not going to pose any significant risk to kids, or humans of any age, presuming that they are applied per the instructions. Millions of homes have stained exteriors and this has not caused an epidemic of illness. The main concern would be frequent contact with framing members that are made of treated wood, and stain will help seal in those compounds.

I added one and they stained it white ....

Looks nice pamghatten :)

looks very nice indeed! In your case they decided to use the main color of the exterior white, in my case, my architect wanted us to use the color of the trim (dark gray) for the stain/paint color. but my contractor insists that wood stain color will look better and show off the redwood better even though it doesn't tie into the exterior as much since exterior is just white and dark gray.

In your case, I would go with your contractor ... a wood stain color would show it off nicely.

If it's the nice red color it looks like in the photo, I'd keep it just like that. If you want to paint/stain that, find a product that's right for this material. It may be a siding stain or it may be an exterior paint. If it's cedar, you want an opaque siding stain. I recommend Cabot.

Thanks for the advice, it's actually redwood not cedar. should i still use an opaque siding stain? and why should i use an opaque siding stain if it's cedar/redwood? thnx

Go find out what's the best paint/stain for redwood. I do know that redwood bleeds through regular opaque stains. Cabot opaque stains can be tinted to Ben Moore colors but if you want to leave it natural, you'll probably want a clear coat of some kind. Do not trust any information you get about these stains from Lowe's or Home Depot, even though they sell it, the person helping you isn't always familiar with the product. Find yourself a stand- alone paint store that sells decking and siding stain.

PS. Thompson's Weather Shield isn't the right product for this.

We have a table and chairs from redwood and so far, nothing we tried stuck..The wood is very oily. I will try this summer to apply on the teak furniture we have outside this one. It should work for redwood as well
https://www.westmarine.com/buy/sikkens--cetol-marine-finish-natural-teak-color-gallon--P004_128_002_501

What did you end up going with?