Clever Ways To Bring Shade To Your Deck Or Patio

Spring is the ideal time to start bookmarking and pinning ideas for sprucing up your garden. This year, it’s all about escapism; more and more people are ‘thinking outside of the box’ and are taking their indoor design ideas – outdoors. Nevertheless, somehow it becomes quite difficult to fully enjoy a day in the sun if there’s no place to hide from it when it’s the highest in the sky. Fortunately, there are several practical outdoor solutions with just a touch of creativity, ingenious design concepts, and the right choice of fabric; you can give your deck a makeover and redesign it in such a way to be able to enjoy it regardless of the weather.

Building Hardscape Structures

For those who are blessed with spacious backyards, there’s a lot of room for building practical, as well as architecturally appealing sitting areas. For instance, you may choose to make a pergola with a closed roof, leaving the sides of the structure open. It will provide you with a perfect balance for maximum enjoyment: you’ll be able to rest in the breeze without being exposed to harsh sun rays. Still, if you wish to blend the pergola with the surroundings and provide a bit more shade to the area, you can plant wines or any of the climbing plants to create a green shelter that will block the rising or the setting sun.

Temporary Solutions

Even when your patio is positioned in such a way that it receives a lot of shade, there might be certain angles that get hit at the most inconvenient times. If this is the case with your deck as well, you can always install quick, but extremely efficient solutions, like gauzy drapes, roll down shades, or operable shutters. This way, you will be able to enjoy a garden view all you like, and once the noon sun rays hit, you’ll draw the curtains and cover only one side of the patio. If you live in a rather windy area, you can opt for a shade cloth dust screen that will both keep you sheltered and provide much-needed privacy.

Simple Canopy Awning

Yet another excellent solution is the canopy awning, which is bolted to the deck, thus becoming a permanent frame for your sitting area. They are ideal for patios of all sizes – they provide full shading for compact decks and partial shading for larger ones. Canopy shades are strong enough to withstand rain and harsh winds, and with them being a permanent solution, you don’t have to worry about any moving parts breaking or jamming in the long run. It is highly resistant to tears and wears, it won’t sag, and it’s bound to serve you for many years to come.

Extending The Roof Line

For most people, an extension of the roofline is the first and most practical way of providing their porch with a shade. The only design-wise issue that might occur is that you end up with a relatively low-ceilinged space, so it’s advisable to paint it white and thus make the entire area visually larger. Just bear in mind that although this may seem like a simple weekend-long DIY project, if you don’t consider yourself that handy, it’s best to hire a professional.

Mid-Height Walls

Not only can the mid-height walls block the sun from various angles, thus increasing the shade to your sitting area, but it is also a great way to add a spark of originality to your garden. You can pain them in various colors and, as such, combine them with your patio furniture. Furthermore, when choosing the perfect color, bear in mind that white and lighter shades, in general, don’t absorb much heat and may feel more refreshing, as opposed to the darker ones.

Hanging Gardens

If you wish to be surrounded by natural elements, we advise building a Bohemian-style pergola (keep in mind that this kind of fragile structure is not suitable for extremely windy areas). For strong pillars, we recommend going with either redwood or cedar, since they can be quite strong; if you live close to the beach, then ipé is your safest bet since this tropical hardwood lasts well even in salty coastline conditions. Build a dome-like roof with canopy and hang flower baskets. Since these probably won’t provide satisfactory shade during the hot summer months, you might want to start letting plants that can withstand harsh sun grow around the structure now, and have a full-grown green roof by the beginning of July. Most people highlight this shade solution as their absolute favorite, since they get a much-needed shelter, but also don’t feel the pressure of the harsh wooden or concrete structures.

This season, it’s all about taking the indoor atmosphere to your garden. Do you have any DIY ideas and smart shade solutions you’d like to share with us? Let us know in the comment section!