The weather is beautiful, your patio is calling, and all you need is a little shade to make your outdoor room even more enjoyable. So you’re looking for the perfect umbrella to add to your space. Finding the one that fits your patio lifestyle, the area you want to shade, and your aesthetic doesn’t have to be hard. Here we make it easy with a few tips to guide you through the process.
Getting Started
Choosing the right umbrella for your patio starts with how you’ll use the space you want to shade. Is it a dining area where the whole crew can gather around the table to enjoy a meal together? Or is it a space for lounging as you enjoy long talks and relaxation? The answer will point you to one of two basic umbrella styles – market or cantilever – each with its own features that make it the best choice for whatever your plans include.
For Dining – A Market Umbrella
A market umbrella has a straight, upright pole that fits through the hole in the center of many outdoor tables and anchors to a base underneath, making it the perfect choice to shade a dining or bistro set on your patio. Market umbrellas open with a crank, and once opened, you can adjust the angle of the canopy left or right using one of four tilt mechanisms – push-button, auto-tilt, glide-tilt, or collar.
If your umbrella is shading a small table, you might choose the push-button option. This style allows anyone to easily reach up and adjust the angle of the canopy using a button located at a pivot point high on the pole. Or if the table’s width makes it challenging to reach a push button, you might choose an auto-tilt mechanism instead. With this style, the same crank that opens the canopy also tilts it left or right as you continue to crank. Another tilt option utilizes an easy-turn and inconspicuous collar located around the pole at the level of the table.
For Conversation – A Cantilever Umbrella
When time on the patio means chatting with close friends, an umbrella pole between you can feel obtrusive. In this case, a cantilever umbrella is a great choice. With this style, the canopy suspends above the seating area, while the base is located outside of the seating area.
Like market umbrellas, cantilever umbrellas open with a crank and can tilt from side to side, but they can also swing 360 degrees around the base of the pole. This allows the canopy to travel in a wide circle and provide shade to different areas without having to move the heavy base. This is a welcome feature for large patios with multiple sitting areas. Some bases come with wheels that make moving easier too. If you’re sure you’ll never need to move your umbrella, cantilever styles can also be mounted in a permanent ground- or deck-based sleeve that eliminates the need for a large, sand-filled base.
Size + Shape
Once you’ve chosen the basic style of your umbrella, it’s time to think about the size of the area you want to shade. As you might expect, the wider the canopy, the larger the area it protects from the sun. So for example, a 9-foot octagonal market umbrella provides nearly 60 square feet of shade – enough for a small table and four chairs. If you have a larger table and six chairs, then an 11-foot umbrella canopy is a better fit. And a seemingly small increase to a 13-foot canopy increases the shade area to almost 130 square feet – enough for an entire patio room complete with a sofa, a loveseat or two, and a firepit.
As for shape, deciding between a square or an octagon canopy is mostly a matter of personal preference, but for a rectangular table, our market umbrella measuring 8 feet by 10 feet is another option too.
Fabric
When it comes to the material of your canopy, it’s important to choose a solution-dyed fabric. This means that the dye penetrates completely into the thread of the fabric – creating fade-resistance that’s guaranteed to last for years. If you visit our collection, you’ll see that we’ve made it easy for you by offering only the most trusted fabrics from Sunbrella, O’Bravia, and Solefin.
Color
Now for the fun part – it’s time to talk color. When it comes to choosing your color, you might take one of two approaches. One option is to use your umbrella as an accent to match the theme of your space – maybe repeating a color that’s found in your pillows or other accent pieces.
Or if you want the flexibility to change your color theme each season or each year, you might choose a neutral color for your umbrella – one that reflects the color of your patio furniture, hardscaping, or your home. We recommend choosing a color slightly lighter, slightly darker, or with a textured weave to give a little contrast in the space.
When you stop in, be sure to bring photos of your patio or other inspiration. Our team of patio specialists can walk you through our custom color and pattern options too, and we’d love to help you find the perfect match for your space.
It’s Time to Live Outside
A beautiful and well-appointed patio umbrella is an important piece for completing your outdoor space and creating a more enjoyable patio experience. In our showroom collection, you’ll find over forty styles of patio umbrellas with the function, versatility, and quality you need to create a patio experience you’ll love for years to come.
Whether you’re adding a new umbrella to an existing outdoor room or starting new with an entire custom collection, our team of patio experts is here to guide you through the process and help bring your vision to life.
