ᐅ Advice on Awning Materials and Colors?

Hello everyone,

Summer is just around the corner, and we’re facing the issue of sunlight exposure.

We have a large window wall (southwest-facing) measuring nearly 8m by 2.5m (26 ft by 8 ft), and now we want to install some kind of sunshade.

An awning is currently our choice: what should we consider here? Which color is most suitable? I wanted a solid red, but apparently that color has the most problems with fading outdoors. Anthracite? Would that be too dark, and does it fade a lot?

What about dirt and stains — does it get warmer under a gray awning compared to, for example, a yellow one? Should we go for a full cassette or a half cassette awning? The half cassette seems to have the advantage that I can retract it just enough to stop at bird droppings and then wipe them off easily.

We have already arranged the electrical setup. The requirement is that it must protect the terrace and living room from the sun. We would also like to be able to sit under the awning during light rain. Does a rain and storm sensor make sense? Would you recommend having a light installed in the awning?

The windows will be replaced — the frames will be anthracite and fitted with external venetian blinds (is that the correct term for those slatted blinds?). But this will take a while and is quite expensive.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions. I don’t want to have the friendly salespeople come to the house unprepared.

Best regards,
Claudia

Lamellas, not lammen naturally

We had one from Weinor with a wind sensor but without additional lighting. For us, the terrace lighting was sufficient. It had yellow and blue-black stripes.
Light rain was fine, but it needed to be dried afterwards; otherwise, the fabric would develop mold.
Regarding the fabric, you should ask the seller directly. UV protection properties vary depending on the manufacturer.

Here is a picture of the fabric

There are not just red and anthracite colors, and it’s also a matter of personal taste. For me, red would be too striking; I don’t want to be surrounded by such a bright color all the time. We also have anthracite-colored windows and chose a lighter gray. We took some color samples outside into the sun and held them above us to see how they looked. We once had a yellow parasol, and I felt like it attracted a lot of insects.

Best regards,
Sabine

Yellow does attract insects, that's true!

Sitting under an awning in light rain, I don’t think that’s a good idea. It was already mentioned: risk of mold.
The best experience I had was sitting under an awning from the 1980s in the western sun: orange-brown-beige striped with both thin and thick stripes. You all know this ugly thing.
But there was a really great ambient light underneath it. I’ve never had anything like that with more modern colors. So orange is definitely the color!
You’re all a bit retro...