Add lighting and heating to your awning for year round use

Although the leaves have been turning brown for a least a month now, this week marks the official arrival of autumn. But that doesn’t mean we have to say goodbye to our gardens until next spring!

Follow our guide to choosing an awning for the outside of your home and you’ll be able to maximise your outdoor living time, for weeks or even months to come!

1. Get the experts in

We’re not just the No 1 for made-to-measure blinds in the UK. We also sell more made-to-measure awnings to UK homeowners than anyone else! Our specialist advisors will offer all the advice you need to ensure you get the right size awning for your home and garden. Generally speaking, bigger is better to ensure adequate coverage on even the sunniest day of the year. 

2. Choose a style to suit your home

Awnings aren’t just for seaside home and shops! We’ve a super-stylish range of fabrics to suit all tastes. From classic stripes that are perfect for a more traditional feel to simple plains ideal if you prefer something more contemporary, you’ll be surprised at the impact an awning can have on your home and garden.

3. Accessories ensure year-round use

An awning on its own is perfect for providing protection and shelter from the harmful rays of the sun. However add lighting and heating and you can transform your awning into the perfect place for a relaxing meal outdoors well into the autumn months. Thinking even further forward and you’ll have a cosy place to watch the fireworks from or even an unusual setting for a Christmas party!

So there you have it. With just a little imagination and a lovely awning from Hillarys, you really will be able to get the most out of your garden all year round.

It will come as a shock to no-one that plenty of mums and dads will be thinking of spending some time at home with their children while they are off school.

But unless your youngster has plenty to keep them entertained, this could potentially be a recipe for disaster and make the six-week break feel like an age.

With that in mind, it's certainly worth looking at the features around your home and seeing if there is enough to stimulate the minds of your sons and daughters.

Now that the sun has finally put in an appearance for the summer, you might fancy playing outside in the back garden with your children.

What can be better than heading outdoors and having a kickabout or splash in the paddling pool?

However, you'll be wanting to avoid letting the kids spend too much time in the sun, as you don't want them getting sunburn.

As a result, a set of awnings could be a handy addition to the home. They provide the perfect protection from the sun's harmful rays in summer, while ensuring children can continue to get plenty of fresh air.

And even if the temperature cools down, which wouldn't exactly be a surprise in the UK, you can still enjoy your patio and awnings by putting on a radiant heater.

This can be equally useful after the kids have gone to bed and there's a bit of a chill in the evening air, as you can sit outside in the garden and wile away the late hours in comfort.
 

At the Royal Horticultural Society's Hampton Court Palace Flower Show earlier this month, we displayed a number of high-quality products with a green-fingered twist.

The event is the largest flower show in the world, so what better place to show off beautiful blinds, awesome awnings and scintillating shutters?

Jenny Crookes managed the Hillarys stand at the show and later revealed just how much planning went into ensuring the day was a success.

She admitted presenting to gardening fans was a "very different" proposition to attending the numerous home exhibitions we tend to be present at.

First, members of our team had to prepare various items that would result in a "live in" feel to the stand, while paint colours were chosen to match with the plants.

"Only then could we plan which blinds and awning would finish the stand of perfectly," Jenny explained.

A yellow awning is one product that was erected at the show – "we thought this would be an eye-catching contrast to the more subtle tones used elsewhere on the stand," she added – while white and cream blinds showed the class and sophistication that can be gained from designing a home with an outdoors feel.

"Whites and creams are always popular and versatile enough to fit into all kinds of homes. We have plain and patterned designs to look at as well as a variety of blind types, including Romans, rollers, wood venetians, venetians and pleated," Jenny added.

You can attempt to create a similar style in your home simply by investing in the right blinds and awnings for your home and combining them with a natural, pure design.

We know how much Britons love their gardens and we are sure this look can go down a storm in any home this summer. 

Of course, it's not advisable to spend too long out in the heat – after all, no one wants to start the summer off with heatstroke and sunburn – so investing in some awnings could be a great idea, providing you with some cool respite should the sun get that bit too much for you.

Here at Hillarys, we're offering our customers a free sun and wind sensor when they buy any motorised awning from our collection, available until July 31st. Why, you ask? Well, the sun sensor means that your awning is always ready and waiting whenever the sun shines down on your garden. And the wind sensor is perfect because it helps extend the life of your awning as and when wind levels become so strong that your product could potentially be damaged.

What's more, all our awnings come with a five-year Peace of Mind guarantee, so you know that you'll always be prepared come rain or shine this summer. With this cover, should you experience any problems with the product within the first year, one of our trusty advisers will visit you and either arrange for a replacement to be sent out or fix the problem there and then.

Throughout the rest of the five-year period, if there are any problems that need resolving, we will visit you to find a solution, subject to a standard call-out charge.

So, what awnings should you choose? Our made-to-measure products come in five projection sizes and can be any width from 63cm to seven meters, while you have nearly 100 choices of fabrics to pick and choose over. Whether you prefer stripes or plain material, we suggest that you opt for a colour that contrasts with the external appearance of your home – grey is a key trend for interiors right now, so a grey awning could be perfect and tie in with the inside of your home as well. 

However, one great way of ensuring you spend maximum amount of time out in your charming English garden and not cooped up inside this summer is to invest in an awning, such as the kind we sell here at Hillarys. By installing an awning onto the side of your house, you can create a lovely al fresco retreat perfect for those summery barbecues – and you'll have great protection from the sun's harmful rays, as well as pesky drops of rain that often threaten to ruin people's good times.

At Hillarys, there is a wide range of fabrics to choose from, so people can match their awning to the style and design of their individual homes, while heating, lighting, sensors and timers can all be purchased as well, making sure each investment is the right one.

Each awning is made to measure, with widths ranging from 63cm to seven metres, while they all come with detachable valances to provide that extra bit of shade if necessary. So, if you can't wait to have a few parties in your garden this summer – or simply want to relax outside in the sun with a good book – then an awning is surely the perfect choice for you and your home this year.

However, given that the Met Office is forecasting above-average rainfall in parts of the north-west of the UK for the middle two weeks of July, these products may become more of a necessity than anything else if people want to spend some time outdoors without finding themselves soaked to the skin.

The best way to do this is on a comfortable chair underneath your very own awning. There are many benefits to investing in one. To begin with, the British weather, even in the summer time, can be unpredictable to say the least. By having an awning in place, a sudden summer shower will not force you to go back inside.

Instead, homeowners can sit back and let the rain pass ready for the sun to come out again. What's more, should couples decide they want to spend time tending to their garden while the weather is good, an awning provides a place for five minutes rest, shielding them from the sun.

As well as making your house look nice, awnings can complement the colours in the garden as well. They can be customised, meaning homeowners can open it up and enhance the beauty of their garden even more.

Awnings do not just protect people from the shade, as they will keep the sun's rays off the decking and patio furniture, so they will not fade and lose their lustre.

In addition, an awning provides the perfect place for families to entertain guests. Throughout the summer, homeowners can sit with friends and family and enjoy a spot of alfresco dining and savour the warm weather.

Awnings do more than enhance the beauty of a house, they add to the overall appeal of the garden and as a nation of green-fingered enthusiasts, such items are well worth the investment.
 

However, there is one solution they may not have considered, outside of sun cream, kaftans and big floppy hats – the awning. According to Angie Hicks – founder of ratings service Angie's List, writing for the Indy Star – some awnings have actually been endorsed by The Skin Cancer Foundation as a recommended protector against ultraviolet rays.

In fact, Fred Gray of Green Way Supply in Indianapolis, US, told the writer that he has had customers come through his door who said they asked their doctors for a prescription to install awnings in their properties, when homeowners' associations have said they are not allowed.

Another benefit of installing awnings in time for the warm summer months is that they can help reduce temperatures and provide people with some cool respite from the hot sun, where they can sit and relax while eating their lunch before they head back out into the garden once again.

"It's hot [on the deck] but the awning [lowers] the temperature ten to 15 degrees, even more in some cases," Mr Gray remarked.

Ms Hicks went on to recommend homeowners do a bit of market research before committing to an awnings purchase, to find out about the different varieties on offer and which would be best suited to their particular property.

Of course, with the great British weather being somewhat temperamental, there are other reasons to invest in awnings – they provide excellent cover when the heavens decide to open unexpectedly as well.

The Herald Scotland recently promoted Gardening Scotland, a celebration of the country's best exterior designers that will feature a range of exhibitions to provide inspiration for householders.

If you find yourself stuck for ideas on the best fixtures to complement your new awnings then its wide variety of tips could be of use.

A show garden is set to be created at the event, which aims to show green-fingered enthusiasts what they can accomplish in an urban environment.

"[It] will demonstrate that even an unpromising gap site can be cherished by local people as much as the fanciest suburban garden with its herbaceous borders and smooth lawns," said the publication.

Those seeking design tips in Scotland have been well catered-for this month, as the Ideal Home Show Scotland recently came to a close.
 

If you're at a loss for how to improve your exterior decor, then why not consider adding new plants and features to your back yard?

A recent Ideal Home guide to the issue suggests that householders should survey their garden before undertaking an upgrade.

However, it warned that it's easy to get carried away and urged budding renovators not to "overwhelm" small areas.

A bigger impact can be created through the use of a few big features, the guide stated – adding that linked eye-catching fixtures can be a good option.

"Think of the garden in sections or ‘rooms', each with its own theme and its own major feature," it advised.

Budding gardeners may want to utilise the My Deco Sales Alerts facility to help them save money on garden furniture.

This online service allows users to create a wish list of products and then receive notification when they go on sale.
 

Those searching for tips on how to prepare their gardens for guests this summer were pointed to outdoor wall art from Graham & Brown by Ideal Home magazine.

In a recent article, it noted that the firm has launched a new range of items, specially designed to liven up exterior decor.

The publication hailed the products as a "great way of brightening up a dreary area" and explained that the new collection features four floral designs, set on waterproof and lightfast canvases.

Describing the products as "pretty", it noted that prices begin at £35 and gave householders some idea of what the fixtures would look like by posting a picture of Graham & Brown's Poppy Field canvas offering.

Richard Gianfrancesco, head of research for Which? Gardening, recently warned budding renovators that there is a limit to the amount they can accomplish in the garden during arid conditions.