Every spring, homeowners across Calgary start to think about their next big summer project. Often, these projects revolve around landscaping the yard or adding to the outside furniture to encourage everyone to spend more time outdoors. However, one of the most overlooked opportunities for renovation is your patio. However, in the middle of summer, your patio can become an overwhelming heat trap meaning that you’re less likely to fully utilize this unique space. This is where investing in a patio cover is the key to elevating your Calgary home this summer.
What Is A Patio Cover?
Put simply, a patio cover is exactly what it sounds like – a cover that stretches out to provide some much needed shade and protection over your patio. However, once you start looking into patio cover design ideas, you’ll find that there’s a whole range of patio covers available to you. To start with, you’ll need to decide if you want a free standing patio cover or one that will attach to the outside walls of your home. Then you’ll need to decide if you want one that provides full coverage across your whole patio or just covers up part of it to provide a seamless transition from inside to out. Finally, you’ll then need to think about whether you want a solid patio cover, a lattice design or a hybrid combination of both.
Innovation Patio Cover Designs
The world is your oyster when it comes to patio cover designs, so here are a few to get your creative juices flowing:
- Classic Italian lattice – when people start looking at patio covers, the first thing that comes to mind is a design similar to an Italian pergola. These lattice designs allow for a combination of light and shade on your patio as well as providing space for good air circulation. You’ll want to grow some climbing plants up each of the posts and over the beams to give your new patio cover the classic look.
- Sleek modern lines – on the other end of the spectrum, you can go for a sleek modern look with a combination of aluminium and vinyl. Modernistic patio cover designs often look best without an supporting beams, so they will attach to your house and stretch out over your patio. Use the solid roof design to create some sleek lines to draw attention to your patio, as well as providing a natural slope for the inevitable debris from the Calgary wind.
- Solar powered design – finally, you can double up on your patio cover design by constructing a cover that is strong enough to hold some solar panels. Your patio should be in a perfect sun spot on your property, so you can give yourself some protection from the sun as well as the chance to reduce your energy bill. You’ll need to talk with your patio cover contractor about weight loads and building permissions to maximize the number of solar panels you can put on your new patio cover.
