The weather is good, your patio umbrella is beckoning. All you need is a little shadow to make your outdoor room more enjoyable. Therefore, you are looking for the perfect umbrella to add your space. It’s not difficult to find the patio lifestyle that suits you, the area you want to shade, and your aesthetics. Here, we use some tips to make it easy for you to complete the whole process.
Choosing the right umbrella for your patio starts with how you will use the space you want to shade. Is it a dining area where the crew can sit around a table and eat together? Or is it a leisure space where you enjoy long conversations and relax? The answer will point you to one of two basic umbrella styles — market or cantilever. Each has its own characteristics, making it the best choice for whatever your plan includes.
Market Umbrella
The market umbrella has an upright pole that goes through the hole in the center of many outdoor tables and is fixed to the base below, making it the perfect shade for a restaurant or bistro on the terrace. Anyway, the market Umbrella opens with a crank, and once opened, you can angle the canopy left or right using one of three tilting mechanisms (button, auto tilting or collar).
If your umbrella is shading a small table, you might choose the push-button option. This style allows anyone to easily reach up and adjust the angle of the canopy using a button located at a pivot point high on the pole. Or if the table’s width makes it challenging to reach a push button, you might choose an auto-tilt mechanism instead. With this style, the same crank that opens the canopy also tilts it left or right as you continue to crank. Another tilt option utilizes an easy-turn and inconspicuous collar located around the pole at the level of the table.
Cantilever Umbrella
When time on the patio means chatting with close friends, the umbrella pole between you can seem obtrusive. In this case, a cantilever umbrella is a good choice. In this style, the canopy hangs over the seating area, while the base is located outside.
The cantilever umbrella opens with a crank, tilts left and right, and swings 360 degrees around the base of the pole. This allows the canopy to move in a large circle and provide shade for different areas without having to move a heavy base. This is a welcome feature for large terraces with multiple sitting areas. Some bases have wheels that make movement easier, too. If you’re sure you never need to move your umbrella, you can also mount a cantilevered umbrella in a sleeve on a permanent floor or deck.
Size and shape
Once you’ve chosen the style of umbrella, it’s time to consider the shade area. As you might expect, the wider the crown, the greater the area it protects from sunlight. For example, a 9-foot octagonal market umbrella provides nearly 60 square feet of shade, enough for a small table and four chairs. If you have a larger table and six chairs, an 11-foot umbrella would be more appropriate. A seemingly small addition to a 13-foot canopy increases shading to nearly 130 square feet, enough to accommodate an entire patio room with sofas, a love seat or two, and a fire pit.
As for shape, square or octagonal canopies are a matter of personal preference.
Color of patio umbrella
Now for the fun part — it’s time to talk about color. When choosing a color, you might do it one of two ways. One option is to use your umbrella to match the theme of your space.
Or if you want the flexibility to change your color theme each season or each year, you might choose a neutral color for your umbrella – one that reflects the color of your patio furniture, hardscaping, or your home. We recommend choosing a color slightly lighter, slightly darker, or with a textured weave to give a little contrast in the space.
A beautiful and well-appointed patio umbrella is an important piece for completing your outdoor space and creating a more enjoyable patio experience. Whether you are adding a new umbrella in existing outdoor room, or start preparations for customization entire terrace. We all hope to help you realize your vision.