Happy Monday, friends! Today I want to share with your our latest project at the lake house. We started installing new exterior sun shades for the deck! Come see what we chose and why! @americanblinds.com @coolaroo #coolaroo
We finished the covered deck at our lake house a few months ago. We still have a bit of touch-up painting left to do, but it’s coming along nicely! Because we took down the large shade tree in order to build the deck, it left us exposed to the harsh afternoon sun. We decided to buy some roller shades that will give us some relief from the sun as well as privacy on all sides of the deck.
After a lot of research, my husband found the perfect exterior roller shades online through American Blinds. (The brand name of the shades is Coolaroo.) We carefully measured the openings between each beam where we wanted the shades. My husband called American Blinds and spoke with them directly about how to accurately order the right size, etc. They were extremely nice and helpful! We ended up ordering 8 shades altogether and this is how they arrived. (shown below) Each shade was individually packaged and labeled in these sturdy cardboard cylinders. We ordered the 8 shades in the order they were to be installed. They were labeled 1 of 8, 2 of 8 etc. Very handy for installation purposes!
We ordered inside mount shades so the valances and shades are mounted directly below the bottom of each beam. And this is definitely a two person job!! NOTE: We figured out that the valance and brackets for the shades are mounted throughout the same screw holes, which makes it easy. We also popped a screw in the middle of the valance before installing the shades for extra security and to pull the valance up in the middle, flush with the beam.
We snapped the shade into place then my husband attached the pulley mechanism to the side of the beam in order to raise and lower the shade. There are little elastic balls that attach to each end of the shade allowing it to snap into a little holster to secure the shade while it’s down. Here’s what it looks like! One down, 7 more to go!
When the shade is pulled all the way up, you hardly notice them at all! Plus, the white is nearly a perfect match!
Because we were on a roll now that we knew what we were doing, we installed another! This one blocks our view of the neighbor’s house and yard. And while we love our neighbors, it’s nice to have a little privacy sometimes. Another great feature of these shades, is they are long enough to go all the way to the floor and snap into place. This will allow us the flexabitly to use the deck year round despite the weather. And when we have a fire burning in the fireplace hopefully the blinds will help keep some of the heat inside the deck.
Sometimes at the lake the wind and rain can be very strong. It was windy yesterday while we were hanging the shades and once they are pulled down and secured, they really block quite a bit of the wind. Mission Accomplished! Of course we ran out of daylight and so we will need to hang the others before we host our Thanksgiving dinners. Now, regardless of the weather, we can still enjoy our time together as a family outdoors thanks to these @Coolaroo Shades!
Just for fun, here’s UP and DOWN! The opening to the right of this shade faces the lake. And while we always prefer to look at the lake, sometimes while the sun is dipping down, it gets too bright for comfort. (Especially for our sweet grandson) So, the shades facing the lake will help control the sunshine and heat during certain months of the year. If you are looking for a bit of privacy on your deck or patio consider adding one or more of these cool shades. They are available in a variety of colors and sizes to suit your needs. So Coolaroo!
Naturally we never want to block the view of the sunsets, which are always incredible! But I have a feeling the new shades will be a game changer when we want to utilize the deck during uncooperative weather. And, if I’m not mistaken, maybe we can even watch an outdoor movie on one of these? It could happen!
I’ll be sure to post pictures when we hang the rest of the shades, but for now, farewell! I hope you have a great day! xoxo Dell
