Want to make the most of your outdoor deck or entertainment rain, hail or shine? Insulated outdoor awnings can help make your dreams a reality.
Sydney is the ideal place to take up residency if you like your lounging to be outdoors. But even sunny Sydney is partial to some 
seasonal variance. That’s where outdoor awnings come into play. Keeping you cool in the summer and the place insulated during the winter, they let you take full advantage of your home’s vantage points all year round. Carefully planned and considered awnings on your home could see you outside 365 days of the year.
But how?
You’re not going to have your very own outdoor oasis to admire your home’s views from simply by putting up any old awning and calling it a day – there’s a lot of careful planning involved, but all that effort has a huge payoff at the end.
Obviously the first thing you need to do is find the right awning for you and your needs. Does it need to be particularly big, or are you happy for it to cover a smaller space that will accommodate just a few chairs, rather than a big outdoor dining table? In what kind of environment do you live and how will this affect your choice of building materials? What about colouring – pale to let in lots of light, or darker to create a bit more shade?
When you know what awning you need, you can start to build onto it through additions to the space. Creating a windbreak or privacy screen by putting up a lattice screen is one thing to try, maybe even with a climbing vine or two to add some colour and nice scents. You can even start getting decorative with small sculptures or planters so that you get shade on at least two out of four sides, as well as plenty of privacy without sacrificing your own aesthetic benefits. You might also look at what you’re choosing as a surface material for the area – pavers will retain heat unlike wood, which might be a sensible idea if you live in a colder area.
When you think carefully about your outdoor awnings rather than throwing one up and seeing whether it sticks or not, you’re not only much more likely to get a space that’s comfortable all-year round, but it’ll also be a space you’ll want to spend time in.
