Choosing & Hanging Outdoor Draperies in Raleigh
Welcome to Made In The Shade Raleigh, located in Central North Carolina, home to a variety of colleges & universities. Residents of Raleigh enjoy their outdoor spaces most all year round because of the beautiful weather we have. Why not dress up your outdoor spaces to be as comforting as the inside of your home?
What Are Outdoor Draperies?
Custom exterior draperies are made to your exact specifications to fit your outdoor spaces, usually around a covered patio or deck next to your home. They can also be put on a cabaña, a gazebo, or any other structure to give you some shade without cutting out the breeze entirely. Outdoor draperies are also called cabaña curtains and outdoor curtains.
Outdoor draperies are made from specialized fabrics that are resilient and solution-dyed, so they are sun-resistant and soil-resistant as well. The fabrics are also designed to block harmful UVA and UVB sun rays for your protection from sunburn. They are treated with products to keep their vibrant colors longer so they won’t fade in the bright sunlight. You have a wide variety of fabric colors to choose from in solid colors, stripes, and patterns, so you will find the perfect fit to match your home and outdoor spaces.
How To Choose a Fabric?
You have a lot of choices in your fabric selection; however, it’s usually a rule of thumb to choose a neutral color that matches your outside decor. Popular colors are tans, off-white, green, and blue in solid colors. Outdoor curtains with dark colors can add drama to your outdoor spaces if that is what you are going for. You may choose geometric patterns or stripes or a monochromatic or multi-colored print for your drapes. Floral and nature-themed outdoor draperies are also popular with bold and colorful styles or in styles that are more subdued with neutral colors. If your area doesn’t get much sunlight, you may decide to go with sheer outdoor curtains to let ample amounts of light into your space.
How Are Outdoor Draperies Hung?
There are several different ways outdoor draperies are usually hung, and perhaps the most popular is by a drapery rod. Just as you can use drapery rods inside your home for your window coverings, you can do the same for your outdoor draperies. This method works well with tab top and grommet-style outdoor fabric panels. The drapery rods are fed through the tab tops or the grommets. This will work just fine as long as you have a strong wood area to mount the drapery rods in your outdoor space.
If you choose to go with lightweight and sheer exterior fabrics, you can use a tension rod between two posts supporting the roof on your patio, deck, or porch.
If your area of choice outside doesn’t have a heavy wood structure to mount drapery rods on, you can choose to use a heavy gauge exterior steel wire rope to hang your draperies on. These attach with eyehooks and wall anchors on each end of the rope to a nearby structure of a beam, post, or the exterior walls of your outdoor spaces.
How Do You Keep The Exterior Draperies From Blowing in the Wind?
When you aren’t using the drapes and they are closed, you can attach tiebacks to a support post. When the drapes are closed and the wind is blowing, you can place little plastic clips used for sliding draperies to hold each panel to the next one and attach ends to your beams on the porch or patio. This will give you one big continuous drapery panel that won’t blow as much in the wind.
Our local weather in Raleigh makes us want to spend more time outside, and adding exterior drapes will help you make more use of your outdoor space. Exterior drapes can also be made with valances, side panels, upholstered cornices, and even exterior pillows can be covered in coordinating fabrics to tie in all of your outdoor elements.
