How To Improve Shade in Your Outdoor Area
There’s nothing better than enjoying your backyard in the summertime, but outdoor areas don’t have to be all about soaking up the sun. Having enough shade can help protect everyone from UV rays, allowing you to safely and comfortably enjoy the great outdoors without putting yourself at risk.
But how can you go about improving the amount of shade in your backyard? Luckily, there are plenty of ways you can achieve this. Keep reading to check out our picks for the best and most effective ways to boost the amount of shade you get in your outdoor area and have year-round protection from the sun.
Install a Pergola
Pergolas can make the ideal addition to your backyard as they provide plenty of shade without completely blocking out the sun. A structure that’s made out of columns and a roofing grid of beams and rafters, pergolas can be freestanding or attached to your home. They’re also a great way to extend your living room to the outdoors, allowing you to spend more time outside and add some extra value to your home.
Whether you build one by yourself from the ground up, use a pergola kit or hire professionals to do it for you, pergolas make a stunning focal point for your backyard and simultaneously provide shade and style. They can be built over the top of an existing deck or verandah or you can
Add a Shade Sail
Shade walls are one of the easiest ways to add some extra shade to your backyard, and they’re both easy to make and affordable if you choose to buy one ready-made. To make your own, all you need is a triangular piece of fabric with eyelets in the corners so you can tie them up to your house, trees or poles.
We recommend using a breathable, semi-permeable material so that some sunlight still shines through, cool air can circulate through and rain won’t pool on top of it.
Use Trees and Plants
If you have the space in your backyard, why not take advantage of nature’s best provider of shade? Backyard trees and plants not only provide some beautiful greenery to your backyard, but also offer plenty of shade and help keep cool air in circulation.
Maple, oak and elm trees are some of the best options for adding shade as they grow fast and will provide the most coverage in the quickest time. Smaller plants and shrubs can be added around your trees or in areas where you need some extra shade. Hydrangeas and azaleas are some of the most effective shrubs when it comes to providing shade and coverage.
Outdoor Blinds or Curtains
Outdoor curtains and blinds can make a fabulous addition to your pergola or gazebo, creating an enclosure and protecting your outdoor entertaining space from sunlight, wind, rain, bugs and more. Additionally, they also can help keep the inside of your house cool, meaning less money spent on air conditioning and a lower carbon footprint.
Outdoor curtains and blinds come in an incredible variety of colours, patterns and materials to suit your decor, and they can even be custom-made to perfectly fit the shape and size of your outdoor space. Clear and tinted options are also available so that you can still enjoy the view of your backyard and keep an eye on your pets or children as they play outdoors.
Patio Umbrellas
Patio umbrellas are an affordable, easy and portable way to add plenty of shade to your outdoor space. With an endless array of colours, materials and designs available, you should have no trouble at all finding something that feels right at home in your backyard. What makes umbrellas so appealing is that you can move them around throughout the day and angle them to the sun’s position, helping you maintain the perfect amount of protection from sunrise to sunset.
Placed either in the ground or on a table, patio umbrellas are perfect for entertaining guests for an outdoor meal and getting the most out of your backyard without getting sunburnt.
