How to Create Landscapes with Retractable Awnings
American home owners are showing a growing impulse to move outside, treating their back yard landscapes as more than a place to store the grill. If you feel the allure of this back-to-the-yard movement, then you’ll be interested in ways to make your outdoor environment as welcoming and festive as possibly, creating a relaxed living area that’s friendly to plants, animals, and people alike. Retractable awnings can help you create the soothing blend of sun and shade, energy and calm, that you want to experience. Here are 3 steps to help you combine functionality and style to design a personalized outdoor living space.
1. Map your existing outside space. Where are your high-use areas? Where are decorative plants and rock walls located? If the contours of your yard are not very defined, you might consider hiring a gardener or landscaper to assist you in creating a “blueprint” for the space. By identifying what you want to happen where (grill location, seating, flower beds) you’ll be able to identify the ideal areas for sunlight and shade.
2. Visualize the future landscape. What elements do you want to add that don’t currently exist? Will you entertain large groups on your deck or patio? Serve drinks at the poolside? Build a play area for the kids? Create a small, romantic setting for personal use? When you have a picture of where the space is headed, you will be able to identify the architectural elements necessary to make that happen. These might include a pond, organic garden, lighting, flower bed, privacy fence, deck, trees, or awnings.
3. Decide how much time (and money) you want to invest. Some landscape elements, like gardens, grass, and water features, are maintenance-intensive and expensive to keep up. Others, like hardy trees, decks, and patios, are much easier to maintain. On the extreme end of the efficiency spectrum are awnings, which are maintenance-free-and target a central need in landscape planning: controlling sunlight to cut UV rays and heat. Like lawns, humans are susceptible to the exhaustion caused by too much heat and dryness, so a well-designed outdoor space will blend sun and shade for seamless recreation and relaxation. Awnings allow you to clearly define areas and provide instant shade for people and plants.
In the outdoor setting, the genius of retractable awnings resides in the efficiency, flexibility, and variety they lend to your landscapes. Easy to install, they can be lowered or retracted in under a minute, either manually or at the push of a remote control button. This means you can sip drinks in the shade or stargaze using the same area. And today awnings are produced in a wide spectrum of colors—bright, soothing, solid, striped—to help you extend your living space out of doors. Want to explore further? If you understand the basics of home awnings, take a look at How to Add Value to Your Home with Retractable Awnings. And before you jump into the purchase process, be sure to read How to Choose Awnings.
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Filed Under Home Awnings, Retractable Awnings |
Tagged With decorating, Home Awnings, home improvement, outdoor living spaces, Retractable Awnings
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