Adding an Awning to Your Home

Don’t Forget The Awnings When Planning Your New Garden and Patio

If you are planning a revamp of your garden there are many things for you to consider. It can be quite difficult to know where to start, so perhaps looking at the views you will have from your windows would be a good place to begin.

Look at the boundaries particularly. Is the view from any of your windows a brick wall or sturdy fence? Some climbing plants can make these more aesthetically pleasing, and apart from a trim once a year, most of them do not need much effort to keep them looking good.

Then look round the borders. With these it really depends how much you like gardening. Borders full of flowers can look beautiful but create a lot of work with weeding and looking after them. Some people adore that type of job, but if you are not such a keen gardener, you should look at alternatives. Shrubs can look just as colourful and will not take so much looking after as flowers. You could also consider tree bark around the shrubs to help prevent the weed problem.

Now the edge of your garden has been dealt with, what else could you do to make your garden a bit special? You could create a winding path, just simply with crazy paving or blocks.  This can add some character to your garden, as well as making it easier to get round it. It does not have to be long or wide, as long as your two feet fit, a path can be an interesting addition.

Some tall grasses with strategically place lighting is an inexpensive way of adding some class to your new garden. It always gives the impression you have spent much more than you have, and using LED outside bulbs means they will be very cheap energy wise to run.

There are so many other things you can do such as build a pond, plant some trees, have raised beds for shrubs and maybe build a barbecue.

Patios

 One thing that most people want in their garden is a patio area. It does not have to be huge, just somewhere pleasant to sit and relax. A patio can become almost like an extra room on your house, particularly if you have an awning over it.

Awnings come in any size you want, tailored to fit your patio. There are manual ones and motorised ones, both of which are very easy to operate. As well as giving some extra colour to your garden they will keep you in the shade when the sun is at it hottest, and give you shelter if it starts to rain.

You can have them with sensors that will put them out or retract them depending on the weather, and they are a classy addition to any patio area.

Make Your Own

There are lots of ways you can recycle things to use in your garden; it just needs a bit of imagination. An old wheelbarrow, some plastic bottles or an old bowl can easily be planted with some colourful flowers and made to look really attractive. As well as being eco friendly, a few of these scattered around your garden can really brighten it up.

If you have a couple of sturdy trees or fencing that is solid, you could build your own hammock. All it takes is some tough material and a few pieces of rope to be able to be chilling out in your very own creation. In fact, it is not unusual for these to be put on a patio, so the benefit of the awning can be reaped, and the hammock get more use.

If you have a tree trunk you do not need to spend money getting it removed, turn it into a gnome home instead. You do not have to be handyman of the year to make a small door and frame, with a few decorations and perhaps the name of your gnome family painted on it. Apart from being something a bit different, it will certainly be a talking point.

Have You Got A Small Yard?

 If you have a small yard rather than a sizeable garden there is still things you can do to make it a very pleasant area to relax and entertain your friends and family. Often, a small area is totally slabbed or blocked, and any plants are in pots or other containers. You can still have the same problem of too much sun though, and an awning is the perfect answer.

When you have a small yard, an awning may cover most of it when fully extended, making it even more like an extra room than in a larger garden. The choice of materials and colours make it possible for you to treat it like an outside decoration, adding atmosphere and class to your small yard.

Keeping The Cost Down

 None of the things we have discussed above will break the bank, as you do not need to spend a fortune to have the garden you want. Even the awnings are not expensive, and will cost you even less if you use a company that measures for them and fits them free of charge. Someone with over 20 years experience of blinds, shutters and awnings of every shape and size you can imagine, that only charges the cost of the product sounds too good to be true, but that is exactly how Smart Blinds and Shutters work.

As a family run business, Smart Blinds are small enough to give you a personal, friendly service, but large enough to have the experience and expertise to ensure that your blinds, shutters or awnings are tailor made especially for you.

It will cost you nothing for our measuring and quoting service, so why not get in touch with us today. You can call us at Thatcham on 01635 866600 or at Caversham on 01189 509449, whichever is most convenient for you. We are a friendly bunch and if you would rather, you are very welcome to call into our showroom to view our ranges and get any help and advice you may need.

Smart Blinds and Shutters are based in Berkshire but cover a wide area across southern England.