Does anyone have a gazebo in their yard?

[yogiii]

Our backyard gets hit by the sun in the afternoon.  We never sit out on our deck for a few reasons, the first is that my DH wishes we lived in an igloo and the other is that he hates the sun beating down on him.  We considered converting into a screen porch or covered deck but the way he'd want it pimped out it was going to cost almost 30k and we, especially me, decided no way.

So he came up with the idea of getting a gazebo the other day.  A local place has them and you can get them with screens.  We'd have it in the backyard, a big one is about 6k.  I actually really like this idea because I figured it would be nice for our kids to have a small place with shade for the afternoon and my DD who is currently 1 may like it as a little play house as she gets older.  We'd also be able to eat dinner out there and when we have parties maybe the people like my DH who can't stand any direct sun could hang out in there and still be "outside".

So does anyone have one and actually use it in this manner?  I'm hoping we can go this weekend and check one out.  Maybe seeing it in person I'd be able to tell if this would work and satisfy needs or not.

[Wisconsin Beth]

No but I've always wanted one.  We have a small backyard and it's pretty cramped with the swingset, patio stuff and assorted outdoor kid stuff. 

[bean29]

www.sears.com/outdoor-living-gazebos-canopies-pergolas-gazebos&Sears/b-1024057?filter=storeOrigin&sid=ISx20070515x00001a&psid=33x384652&knshCrid=2684281&k_clickID=5eb11049-8147-3268-c2f2-0000351531eb

I like them.  DH wants a deck and wont consider it.

Neither is in my budget this year so it is irrelevant.

[Deleted]

My Dad and Stepmom use theirs all the time.  It's on the deck right off their dining room/kitchen, so they use it as an outdoor dining area a lot. 

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Not quite the same, but my cousins have a really nice set up in their yard.

They have a pool, with all the patio furniture out on the pool deck. However, their garage is off the house and leads out to the pool. During the summer, my cousin takes down the garage door and replaces it with a screen door. The cars get parked outside and the garage becomes a party room. The end of the garage has a bar built in, along with a refrigerator and a counter that runs along the back wall. The counter has a strip of outlets so that stuff to be warmed can be plugged in. They've put outdoor furniture in the garage and have it set up like a living room, but you can sit on the furniture with wet swimsuits.

When they renovated their house, they built a bathroom that enters both through the garage and the house. Bathroom has w/d in it, so that you can enter to use the bathroom or shower without tracking water through the house and such that you can beach towels in the washer at the end of the day.

This side of my family DOES know how to party, so this facility is well used!

[Gardening Grandma]

We don't have space for one. If we did have the space, for sure, we'd have one. I love the look and am sure we'd use it.

[justme]

The neighbors of my family cottage have one. The kids are older now, but when we were younger we could hear the gazebo door slam a lot (make sure yours has an auto-close door!) with the kiddos going in and out. It's their only screened in outdoor space (HUGE open deck) and with no A/C in any of the houses it's often used to avoid the sun or once the sun starts to go down to avoid the bugs.

Last summer their pet gerbil enjoyed himself out there. 

[Cookies Galore]

My Dad had one like this at his old house: . On my phone so I hope that shows.

We used to play in it sometimes and after we grew up he (or my stepmom) had a koi pond built. It was nice.

[yogiii]

Ahhh, I'm so glad people like them and use them.  Now I'm really excited to go take a look.  The one we have in mind is similar to the pic meghan posted but it is bigger, has screens and is vinyl.