They had 36 hours and a budget of $25,000.  Torie volunteered to be the team leader on the project.  Unfortunately, she took the back seat and let Antonio make most of the decisions.  The clients wanted a clean and modern yard that was kid friendly and also be able to accommodate large gatherings. 

They (or I should say) Dan had a big (or I should say HUGE) mishap.  He was supposed to spend no more than $5,000 on a pergola.  Even though there was a little confusion when Torie was handing out money, Dan somehow thought he had 10 grand to spend.  Which he did spend and then some!  This brought them way over budget.  The show had to donate another $5,000 to the project so that they could finish what they started.  Tsk Tsk!

Here is a pic of the finished project with the dreaded (& out of place) $10,000 + pergola…





I have to say, they did accomplish a lot in the 36 hours they had alloted.  The yard was cleared out of everything except the brick patio and pool.  It was all dirt with several different fences around the perimeter.  They put in new fencing, new sod, new patio surround around pool, $4,000 worth of plants, new furniture and of course the bright white pergola (who could forget that?).  (Go to HGTV.com to see more.)

When judgement time came, Torie and Dan had to face the music.  Dan for the horrific purchase of the pergola and Torie for lack of leadership and for lack of creativity in her shopping choices.





Although Dan was shaking in his boots and desperately tried to remove some of the blame for the pergola debacle from him, Torie was the one to get the boot.  She was eliminated because she has this habit of going shopping and taking the easy route by purchasing sets of furniture.  Her lack of creativity was her biggest flaw.  It didn’t help when she didn’t lead the team in this challenge either. 

Dan and Antonio didn’t use their imagination when they were attempting the “wow” factor with the pergola either.  They shopped together for this item and Antonio is famous for making quick decisions but this time they didn’t stop to think if it would go with the overall design (or what the price range would be).  It was criticized for being this big square structure amongst all the organic shapes in the yard.  I would have put in a black pergola to match the black modern dining set.  Maybe like this one…





Or if you want one to have even a more organic shape how about this…





There are so many choices out there and definitely more affordable choices of pergolas too.  Here are some other pergolas that look great in their spaces.

















Select images for source information.

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