This post is sponsored by Blinds.com. All photos, reviews and opinions are my own.
I don't consider myself an outdoorsy person, but we spend A LOT of time outside. My kids love to play in the yard and my husband considers himself a not-so-amateur grill master. Luckily, where we live we're able to spend most of the year enjoying our outdoor living spaces, but something was missing.
A lot of people in our neighborhood have screened-in porches which is something I've always thought would be nice to have. However, with two kids and a dog, a screened-in porch seemed like a luxury that wouldn't be a good fit for our family. Recently I found the perfect solution for our family - Blinds.com Heavy Duty Outdoor Solar Shades in Cayman 5%.
CHOOSING OUR SHADES
Blinds.com has quite a few options for outdoor shades and narrowing down what we wanted seemed overwhelming. Blinds.com made the choice a lot easier by sending me fabric samples and putting me in touch with a real life design consultant to discuss our specific needs. The Design Consultant, Danielle, walked me through measuring my space including what areas to give extra consideration, and helped me choose the best hardware option for our space. She then took all that info and developed a customized solution for our patio.
I chose the color Caymen - a black shade that allows them to seamlessly blend in to our black trim when they're rolled up. This color also provides a nice contrast to our white brick when they're rolled down.
If it seems like these shades were made for our black and white house, it's because they were!
DELIVERY & INSTALL
I'm not going to lie - I was exceptionally nervous about installing these bad boys ourselves! Luckily my father-in-law was here the day the shades were delivered. My FIL is a civil engineer and thus very particular and detail-oriented. He was so impressed with the packaging and install system provided by Blinds.com.
My porch requires four very large shades, each shade was packaged separately with its own individual components. Each package came with a box of hardware, warranty and installation instructions which made it easy to organize our workspace before install.
Each shade also comes with an alignment sheet which can be taped up to ensure your hardware will be installed level. We drilled the holes, removed the sheet, and then secured the clip mechanisms directly to the beam. The shades then easily clipped in and install was done!
TROUBLESHOOTING
Blinds.com makes it very difficult for you to mess up which is great news for those of us who aren't handy! My original intention was to ceiling mount the shades under the beam running along the edge of my porch. Unsurprisingly my measurements on one side were about 1-2 inches off. Luckily these shades can be installed as either a ceiling mount OR a wall mount so we quickly decided to change our game plan so the shades could be installed behind the beam instead of up against it.
Most importantly - Blinds.com has a 100% satisfaction guarantee which, in my opinion, is the most important aspect of this entire process. Some other window treatment retailers don't offer refunds OR exchanges and I can tell you right now I will never do business with those companies. Blinds.com WANTS their customers to be happy and they will work with you from ordering to install to ensure you are.
FINAL PRODUCT
I couldn't be any happier with these outdoor shades! Not only do they block the harsh sunlight, they give our porch a layer of privacy we've never had. In a neighborhood that doesn't allow privacy fences, this is a game changer! I can also guarantee when those 100 degree temperatures hit, I'll be thrilled to block the sun from beating down on our favorite outdoor space.
As I mentioned before, these heavy duty shades are cordless. I don't have to worry about my toddler getting tangled up in cords or pulling them off the wall. The shades I chose come with a crank system that allows you to easily raise and lower them to whatever length I need. Each shade also comes with two bungy cords that you can fasten to a clip attached to your wall or pillars, keeping them in place when it's windy.
Now that school is out and summer is in full swing, I foresee a summer full of long afternoons enjoying our back patio with these solar shades keeping us cool! What are some of your must haves for at home outdoor living? Tell me in the comments!
Until next time!
Jenna