When looking at an architectural column, it is easy to focus on the column itself. Its shaft, capital, proportions, and decorative details tend to attract the most attention. But there is another architectural element at the bottom that plays an important role in the overall design: the pedestal.

A pedestal is the architectural base or support upon which a column, post, statue, vase, or other feature is placed. In outdoor design, pedestals can provide both practical support and an important visual transition between the landscape and the architecture above it.

For landscape professionals, understanding what a pedestal is and how it relates to columns, posts, and other architectural elements can be useful when designing pergolas, pavilions, porticos, garden structures, and formal landscapes.

What Is a Pedestal in Architecture?

At its simplest, a pedestal is a raised architectural base that supports something above it.

When used with a column, the pedestal creates a transition betwe...

Columns play a critical role in outdoor design, combining structural performance with architectural style. Whether used on covered patios, pergolas, porches, or outdoor living spaces, columns help define how a space looks, feels, and functions. When thoughtfully designed, they transform outdoor structures from simple additions into intentional extensions of the home.

The Structural Importance of Outdoor Columns

At their core, columns provide essential structural support. They carry roof loads, stabilize outdoor structures, and allow for open layouts without excessive framing. In outdoor construction, properly designed columns are key to safety, durability, and long-term performance.

Outdoor columns must withstand constant exposure to wind, moisture, sun, and temperature changes. That’s where systems like FineHouse’s PostCore™ come in. PostCore™ is designed to reinforce columns while simplifying installation, ensuring your outdoor structures are both strong and reliable.

Column...

Column Styles

At FineHouse we have been supplying columns to builders, landscape pro's, and homeowners for over 20 years, hence our credentials for taking an informed look at the market for manufactured columns today.

The most popular styles today would be square, round with taper, and square tapered.

Square columns are by far, the most widely used columns throughout the country, probably because they work architecturally with almost any house style; traditional, contemporary and many vernacular home styles can work with square columns. Square columns can come with different base and capital configurations ie. Tuscan, or just simple trim done in different ways. Square columns are also available in fluted as well as paneled iterations. 

Another category of square columns is the tapered column. This design is often found in an Arts & Crafts or Craftsman style home, and increasingly in subdivisions by the larger home builders.

Round tapered columns are a standard in colonial h...