Windows & Openings
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Outdoor Motorized Shades & Awnings
Make the Outdoors More Comfortable to Live In
A great outside space isn’t so great when you fight the afternoon sun and heat, or the incessent bugs drive everyone back inside.
We provide custom motorized outdoor shades and awnings that make patios, porches, decks, pergolas, and outdoor living spaces more comfortable with the push of a button.
Use a remote, wall control, phone, voice assistant, or smart-home system to adjust the space as conditions change.
Your patio or deck has so much promise
Outdoor shades help you use more of the space you already have.
Because the shades can be motorized and even plugged into your existing smart home, you can change the space without wrestling with cords, cranks, or large manual shades.
- Block harsh afternoon sun
- Reduce heat and glare
- Add privacy from neighbors
- Cut down on wind and blowing debris
- Keep insects out of covered patios
- Shade a very large opening
- Make an outdoor dining or sitting area more comfortable
Motorized Outdoor Comfort
This is where outdoor shades become especially useful.
Lower them when the sun moves onto the patio. Raise them when you want the view completely open again.
Depending on the system, your shades can be controlled with:
- A handheld wireless remote
- A wall-mounted control
- A wired switch
- Your phone
- Voice control
- Your existing smart-home system
- A light sensor
They can also be programmed to work together, operate on schedules, or respond automatically to changing conditions.
You can keep the system very simple or integrate it into a more advanced smart home.
Patios, Porches, and Decks
Retractable outdoor shades let your patio change with the day.
When the afternoon sun becomes uncomfortable, lower the shades from a remote or phone. When the sun moves or you want an unobstructed view, raise them again.
Depending on the application, we can use traditional exterior roller shades or tracked systems that hold the fabric more securely along the sides.
Motorized operation is available across many of these systems.
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Have a Really Big Opening? That’s Okay.
Large porches, covered patios, pool areas, and outdoor kitchens are often too wide for ordinary residential shades or shading companies. A large opening doesn’t have to mean a complicated solution.
Polar Shades’ Mega Shade can span openings up to 24 feet wide.
That can mean one clean motorized shade across a very large opening instead of dividing the space into several smaller shades, ruining the aesthetic.
With us, oversized shades can be raised or lowered easily from a remote, wall control, phone, or integrated home-control system.
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Automation
You don’t always have to remember to adjust them yourself.
Depending on the controls you choose, outdoor shades and awnings can respond to schedules, sunlight, or changing weather.
For example:
The morning sun hits your eyes
Your shades lower and you have your coffee in peace.
The afternoon sun arrives.
Your shades lower and relaxing after work is more enjoyable.
You’re ready to entertain.
A preset adjusts several shades at once. Your guests ooh and ahh.
You want everything open.
One command raises the shades again.
You may also integrate motorization with popular smart-home platforms and automation systems.
Bugs, Wind, & Privacy
If the problem is more than sunlight, tracked exterior shades create a more protected space.
The Polar Vortex uses enclosed side channels to help reduce insects, wind, and blowing debris while still letting you open the space when you want to.
This can be especially useful for:
- Screened or covered porches
- Outdoor kitchens
- Dining areas
- Poolside spaces
- Patios you want to enjoy later into the evening
Add motorization and the enclosure can change in seconds.
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Pergolas and Hard To Shade Areas
Tension Shades Can Open Horizontally
Some outdoor spaces need shade overhead or across an angled opening.
Tensioned systems are used on pergolas, patio covers, skylight-style openings, and other areas where ordinary vertical shades won’t solve the problem.
Motorized tension systems let you add or remove overhead shade as the sun moves without permanently covering the space.
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Awnings Have Structure and Style
Sometimes the problem isn’t the side of the patio. It’s overhead and a tension shade isn’t the right fit.
Retractable awnings add shade to decks and patios that don’t have a permanent roof or cover.
Extend the awning when you want protection from the sun and retract it when you want the open sky back.
Motorized awnings can be operated by remote, wall control, smart-home automation, or sensors.
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How We Work
Tell us how you use the outdoor space and what keeps you from enjoying it.
- Maybe it’s the western sun at dinner.
- Maybe neighbors look directly at you when you want privacy.
- Maybe mosquitoes take over every evening.
- Maybe you have a 20+-foot opening.
Or maybe you simply want to press one button and make the whole space more comfortable.
We’ll look at the space with you, identify reasonable options, and give you clear recommendations.
Then we handle final measurements, ordering, motorization, programming, and professional installation. We can even provide ongoing service if you like.
What’s Keeping You Off the Patio?
Sun? Heat? Glare? Bugs? Privacy?
Tell us what isn’t working and how you’d like the space to feel.
We’ll find your perfect blend of shade, motorization, and controls.