The end of summer in Missouri can be lovely as the temperature begins to drop and we all try to eke out those last moments of summer outdoors with friends and family. Summer evenings melt into cozy fall nights with loved ones on the porch over drinks or a great meal.

Patio shades—also called outdoor shades, exterior shades, and sometimes even the less-refined ‘bug screens’—can help you enjoy temperate weather longer. Patio shades not only extend your summer but also the perimeter of your home. These exterior shades are an easy and convenient way to make outdoor spaces more comfortable, intimate, and livable. 

To execute exterior shades properly, you need the help of a professional. Our shades specialists at Integration Controls can easily execute your patio shade installation for your St. Louis home (and beyond), even integrating it into your smart home automation system. We live for this stuff and the joy we feel when we see our clients loving their homes more thanks to the simple installation of exterior shading!

Not convinced smart outdoor shading is for you? Allow us to sway you with some of the  advantages of this type of home automation. First, let’s talk about the sun. There’s no bigger buzzkill than enjoying your patio in the morning with a nice cup of coffee, maybe catching up on some emails, only to find that come noon you can’t even see your computer screen. The glare is bouncing off your glass outdoor coffee table with reckless abandon, and you’re breaking a sweat. Outdoor solar shades cut the sun glare, heat, UV rays (which can damage your skin and your outdoor furniture), and even protect your space from errant golf balls if you happen to live on the course. While our shades block out these unwanted elements, they don’t block your view! As an added bonus, you can select patio shades in a variety of colors and varying degrees of transparency. We can help you—or work with your interior or landscape designer—to make great choices for your lifestyle and home.

Recently, we used Insolroll shades on a project, where four-sided seals around the shade’s perimeter keep the bugs out, allowing outdoor enjoyment even during the height of Missouri mosquito season (minus the bug spray and citronella).  These shades can raise or lower with the press of a button, an app from your phone, through a voice command—all from the comfort of your deck chair. 

 

                           

 

Outdoor shades also offer privacy. They do what every window treatment does: shield your home from the outside world. Only with ‘smart’ shades, you get the additional benefits of automation, allowing the ultimate marriage of privacy and convenience.

Insolroll and Lutron now have a technical alliance to bring Oasis Patio Shades to the luxury home market where Lutron control systems exist.  Inside the roller tube of an Oasis Patio shade that is “Driven by Lutron” is a Lutron motor, or “drive.” That Lutron drive allows Insolroll Oasis Patio shades to operate seamlessly as part of the Lutron  system. Imagine tying your outdoor shades into your outdoor lighting system. Suddenly you have the capability to create scenes—customized settings available at the touch of a button for certain activities or times of day. Maybe you have a ‘Relax’ scene that sets indoor house lights at 40%, outdoor bar lighting at 60%, plays your favorite background jazz over the sound system, turns the outdoor fireplace on, and puts the patio shades down. This kind of scene is convenient, impressive to friends and neighbors, and just plain fun!

The possibilities with patio shades are endless because by enclosing a previously unenclosed space, you create more desirable conditions that open up your imagination to new ideas for your space. An outdoor kitchen, for example, becomes more feasible because you are no longer worrying about flies flocking to your freshly prepared meal. Outdoor fireplaces can now become the center of your newly enclosed space rather than feeling like a random afterthought of a structure floating in the middle of your porch. You can even add an outdoor TV with more confidence because glare is dramatically reduced. 

Life al fresco is a beautiful thing, but hot sun, UV rays, glare, golf balls, and insects can put a damper on things. Contact Integration Controls today to specify your patio shades so we can install them before summer is over, making autumn more enjoyable, and your outdoor living area, perfected, for years and years to come.