ᐅ Sunshade Design Concepts – Bay Window Challenge

Good morning everyone,

We built a new house two years ago and are now planning some sun protection for our terrace. This isn’t so straightforward because we have a bay window in the middle of the house, which makes it difficult to attach anything securely.

We are generally open to options but would prefer something flexible. For that reason, a large fixed parasol, an awning, or even a shade sail appeal to us more than a permanent roof. Since the lawn area in front of the terrace on this side is quite narrow, it would be ideal if we didn’t have to set posts or similar supports in concrete there – something freestanding would be preferable (though we understand that not everything can be done exactly as we wish).

The main goal is to be able to retreat into the shade sometimes, but we would also like to have at least some protection from light rain. With the weather in Germany during summer, you never really know…

So far, we’ve been recommended a 4x5 meter (13x16 feet) parasol, while others suggest concreting a beam on the right side to extend the awning all the way to the terrace’s end for continuous coverage.

Of course, that wouldn’t provide coverage in front of the garage; I’d also like to have something there to shelter the grill, but that’s secondary for now since there are ready-made BBQ canopies available.

Maybe someone here has a great idea.

Wishing you all a wonderful Easter holiday!

A nice canopy is a good and flexible solution that largely meets your desire for "pillar-free" design.

The German engineering solution would be to install a fixed patio roof with a sun sail in the corner, measuring 4000mm (13 feet). The pragmatic solution is to go to Ikea and buy the large umbrella along with the heavy concrete base that has handles. Good quality, good price, clear thinking. K.

You can also have sailcloth custom-sewn to your desired shape. Then set a post in the rock garden and secure the sailcloth with carabiners. This creates a nice, large, rain- and wind-resistant canopy.

In our current terraced house, we had an IKEA parasol in the first few years, approximately 2.5 x 2.5 m (8 x 8 ft), blue and made of wood. It was great and cozy. Then we took down an awning from my parents’ house and installed it at ours. It serves its purpose well (described in another thread). The parasol was more comfortable.

A awning is not really recommended for him because of the angle. I’m not a fan of sun sails either. Here, they tend to get damaged too often by the wind.