Choosing the perfect awning for your home can add a whole lot of personality to your outdoor space, bringing the area to life with effortless style and elegance. But with so many factors to consider, finding an awning that suits your needs and preferences isn’t always an easy task.
If you’re struggling to find the perfect awning for your home, Open Space Concepts is here to help. In this step-by-step guide, we’ll talk you through everything you need to consider to make sure you select the right awning for you.
Our experts have been designing and installing bespoke modern awnings for over 25 years, which means we know a thing or two about crafting the perfect structure for every type of home.
If you’d like to enquire about our state-of-the-art awnings, get in touch with our friendly team today.
Choosing an awning for your home: Where do you start?
Before exploring the types of available awnings, it’s important to start by evaluating your needs.
Here, there are a number of factors to consider:
Desired coverage area
What area do you want your awning to cover? Will it be close to the house, or further down your garden?
If you want your awning to be close to the house, you might opt for a classic patio awning. This popular type is typically fixed to the external wall of your house and extends over an outdoor living space with a patio or decking.
On the other hand, if you’d prefer your awning to be further away from the house, a freestanding awning might be a more suitable option. These types of awnings have a full structural framework that allows them to be placed anywhere, without the need for wall mounting.
Purpose
What do you intend to use your awning for? Does it need to provide sun protection, rain protection, or both?
The intended purpose will help to determine what kind of material you should choose for your awning to be made from. For protection from the sun, you’ll need to make sure your awning is UV-resistant to ensure that harmful rays won’t pass through the fabric. If it’s rain protection you need, you’ll want to pick a water-resistant fabric that allows rain to roll off it rather than soak through it.
All of our house awnings are made from non-fading, water-resistant, dirt-proof acrylic to ensure they can be used all year round. They also offer UPF50+ sun protection so that you can enjoy your outdoor space even on the hottest summer days.
Frequency and ease of use
How often do you intend to use your awning? And will it need to be easy to operate for you to use it on a regular basis?
If you intend to use your awning often, it’s worth considering an electric awning. The electric feature allows you to retract the awning at just the touch of a button, which makes them incredibly easy to use.
Some of our electric awnings, such as the Erhardt KD Awning, even offer convenient add-on options like wind and sun sensors that will automatically adjust the awning for you whilst you sit back and relax.
How to choose the perfect awning for your home in 5 simple steps
Once you’ve determined what it is that you need from your awning, you can start to consider each aspect of the design in more detail to make sure the final product will meet your requirements.
There are 5 key aspects that you will need to think about:
- Type of awning
- Awning material
- Cassette box type
- Colour and pattern
- Additional features
Step 1: Consider what type of awning you need
The type of awning you choose will depend on where you plan to install your awning, as well as its intended purpose.
We’ve already covered the different types of awnings in a separate guide if you’d like to explore your options in more detail, but, at a glance, the main types are:
- Patio awning: An awning that is fixed to the wall and typically extends over an outdoor seating area. By nature, this awning must be installed close to the home and serves as a direct extension of your living space.
- Freestanding awning: An awning that can be placed anywhere with no need for wall mounting. It is ideal for those who want to create a sheltered outdoor living space located further away from the house.
- Pergola awning: A type of wall-mounted awning that has a fixed frame that stays in place even when the fabric is retracted. It is considered to offer extra stability and can be a good option for areas affected by heavy rain or strong winds.
Step 2: Decide which material best suits your needs
No matter how you intend to use your awning, you’ll want to make sure it’s made from the most durable materials so that it can withstand all weather conditions.
The highest quality awnings are always made from UV-resistant, water-repellent, and easy-to-clean fabric, just like our popular Markilux MX3 awnings and MX 6000 awnings.
If your awning is likely to be frequently exposed to water or other corrosive materials, it might also be a good idea to choose one that has a powder-coated frame. Powder coating is an advanced finish that provides extra protection from the elements and can increase the longevity of your awning.
All Open Space Concepts awnings are completely weather-resistant and suitable for year-round use – please get in touch if you have any queries about a specific model.
Step 3: Select the most appropriate awning cassette
If you opt for a classic patio awning, the cassette is the casing that your awning will retract into when it’s not in use. It helps to protect the awning from weather damage and dirt build-up.
There are three main types of awning cassettes, with each one offering a different level of protection.
Best pick for maximum protection: Full cassette
A full cassette will fully enclose the awning when it’s retracted. Therefore, it provides the highest level of protection from the elements.
For a good level of protection: Semi cassette
This type of cassette encloses the awning from above and from the sides, leaving only the underside exposed.
For the minimum level of protection: Open awning
Open awnings have no cassette. Therefore, they are most suited to awnings that will be protected by overhanging parts of the property that already serve as a shield, protecting the awning from damage.
Most of our contemporary awnings feature a sleek, full cassette to neatly enclose the awning for an attractive appearance and ultimate protection from the elements.
Step 4: Choose a colour and pattern that match your aesthetic
Once you’ve decided on the type of awning you want, it’s time for the fun part. The colour and pattern you choose for your awning are what will make it uniquely your own, allowing you to show off your personality and individuality.
At Open Space Concepts, we offer more than 200 different fabric options, so you’ll certainly be spoiled for choice when it comes to deciding how your awning will look.
Each awning is completely bespoke to meet your requirements. We can easily match the fabric to the existing aesthetic of your outdoor space if that’s what you prefer!
Need some inspiration? Check out our incredible case studies, which include beautiful projects such as this striped cassette awning in Sheffield.
Step 5: Pick out any additional features
One of the best things about our bespoke modern awnings is how customisable they are. You’ll find a number of additional features available to make the installation truly feel like an extension of your home.
Wind sensors can be added too, which detect strong wind speeds and automatically draw the awning back into the cassette to prevent any damage. We can even add remote-controlled infra-red heating and LED spotlights to the inside of some of our awning styles, providing you with ultimate comfort even long after the sun has set.
Whatever bespoke additional features you require, we’ll always do our best to accommodate them. Send us your requirements today for an accurate quote.
Create the perfect awning for your home with Open Space Concepts
If you’re ready to create your dream awning, Open Space Concepts has you covered. We’re the UK’s leading outdoor living company, trusted by customers up and down the country to deliver outstanding outdoor structures that perfectly combine comfort, style, and practicality.
Our sleek and sophisticated awnings are made completely bespoke to meet your requirements – no project is too big or small for our team of outdoor living experts. With over 25 years of experience in the industry, we’re perfectly primed to deliver the right product to you.
Pay a visit to our outdoor living showroom in Stoke-on-Trent if you need some awning inspiration, or fill out our online contact form to make an enquiry.
