Your patio can be an excellent place to relax and chill out and do your stuff. But during the summer, surely you wouldn’t read a book or hang out there when the temperature is scorching hot. But there is one thing you can do to make your patio an ideal place to hang out regardless of the weather: add shade.
Most people also bring out their furniture outside to their gazebo so that they can do their thing outdoors. Without the proper shade, the harsh weather during the winter or rainy season can damage your outdoor furniture. Protection from the elements can help you move your indoor activities outside to your patio. Here are some of the ways you can add shade to your patio and make it a cool space for dining, reading, or socializing.
Easy Ways To Create Shade To Your Patio
Add A Freestanding Umbrella
A freestanding umbrella can be a generous way to shade to seating areas in your patio. It comes with cantilevers and an adjustable arm that allows you to reposition the umbrella depending on the location of the sun. This means that you have to nothing worry about staying outdoors whatever is the time of day.
Light It Up
Patios can also be an excellent space for dining with family or for entertainment. But a traditional umbrella at the center of the dining table can block out some of the natural light. Suspended tea light lanterns can add a little glow to your space both before and after the sun goes down.
Hang Outdoor Curtains
Outdoor curtains can help make your open patio an enclosed space. Also, you can use them on a freestanding structure creating an outdoor room with an upscale resort cabana vibe. Outdoor curtains are adjustable so you can limit the sun and heat as desired and allow light in when you don’t.
Go Green
Going green on your outdoor space creates shade from different sources. It may come from a wooden trellis covered with leafy foliage, colorful potted plants that can soak up the sun from each side, and tall bushes that can give you privacy and block unwanted sounds.
Extend An Overhang
For your roof’s overhang, you can place a super flexible cantilever umbrella to give your patio the necessary shade you want. Just don’t forget to close the umbrella at night.
Extend An Overhang
Use An Awning
If a permanent shade blocks off too much of the light from your windows, a retractable awning is a good alternative. You can roll it in and out when needed. You can extend it out in the morning to protect your outdoor furniture from getting hot and roll it back again in the evening when the sun is no longer that hot.
Add a Roof
A slatted roof will leave the sides of your enclosed space open without sacrificing airflow. It is a permanent solution that will protect furniture in your patio from winter weather, summer rain, and blistering sun.
Incorporate Landscape
Another possible option for adding shade to your patio is a pergola-style open roof. You can integrate the large-leafed tropical trees and a tall fence to it without you suffering from claustrophobia. You can include the trunks and branches of the tree into the architecture giving your dining area a natural beauty.
Grow Vines
Planting vines that grow up and around freestanding posts and structures is a low-maintenance shade option for your patio. Whether its bright flowers, sweet grapes, or trailing ivies, it will keep your patio cool. However, growing vines requires constant check on your part.
Use Planters
Planters offer a simple, no-commitment way to create shades for your patio. You can suspend them from an overhang on your home or from hooks creating a temporary wall of foliage. Choose the annual planters and then change the color scheme during the spring.
