Well, summer is upon us and if your backyard could use a freshening up you are not the only one. The winter months can be hard on our patio furniture and if you don’t have a lot of extra money lying around there are a few simple ways to renew your patio. One of the most familiar outdoor accessories is the patio umbrella. Nowadays, a person is limited to a green or beige outdoor umbrella for your backyard. Outdoor umbrellas come in many shapes, sizes and colors which can really make a statement. From modern to traditional you can find a great match to your existing outdoor d

Many people only think about purchasing their next outdoor patio umbrella or patio set when summer is underway. This can create a few concerns, because if you are searching for a specific style of furniture or color you may not be able to find what you need in stock. While you can find outdoor umbrellas that ship rather quickly online, you may be surprised to discover that the patio furniture set that you adore can take weeks to arrive. This can take weeks out of your precious summer fun and, if delays happen, you can miss out on most of your beautiful summer.

A smart idea is to commence shopping for your patio umbrellas and other patio furnishings during the off-season. The number one motivation to look for these products during the off-season is that you can discover some amazing deals. A lot of online stores offer large savings in the fall and winter months to help keep inventory moving. Also, a lot of online stores have a big inventory of items like outdoor umbrellas, all-year-long, unlike your local retailers that only carry the products when they are in season. Not only will you discover merchandise online during the wintertime, you will even see that the options are much better than what is available in the retail stores.

Another good thing about shopping for your outdoor umbrella in the off-season is that you are not forced to just order “something”. You can take your time and even order items that are custom made. This gives you greater flexibility to match d

If you are hoping to find a painless way to update the look of your patio it can be easily achieved with the purchase of a beautiful patio umbrella. You will be very surprised at the difference a vibrant colored patio umbrella can make to a dull yard, or how finding just the right match for your existing d

Well, summer has arrived and if your backyard could use a freshening up you are not by yourself. The winter months can be harsh to our patio furniture and if you don’t have money growing on trees in your yard there are several simple ways to update your yard. One of the most familiar outdoor accessories is the patio umbrella. Nowadays, you are not limited to a green or beige outdoor patio umbrella for your backyard. Outdoor umbrellas come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors which can make a bold statement. From modern to traditional you can find a perfect match to your existing outdoor d

Many people question how to select the correct sized patio umbrella for their backyard. They may think they only need a 6 foot patio umbrella, just to discover that it really doesn’t offer the total amount of shade that they truly require. The right way to select the correct size patio umbrella is to measure the space to decide on the size of shade you will need to keep things comfortable. You can generally assume that if the sun is directly above, patio umbrellas will shade about half of their overall size to each side of the center pole. For example, a nine foot outdoor umbrella will shade an area of about four and a half feet from the center.

To start measuring for the total of shade you would want your outdoor umbrellas to cover, start the center of the place you want shaded. Start with a measuring tape at the center of the place you want to shade and expand it out to half the distance of the umbrella size you think you would like to buy. If you think you want a 9 foot outdoor umbrella, you must measure out a space of a little over 4 feet. Now you will walk around the center of the area 360 degrees to determine what particular space will be shaded when the sun is at its highest point during the day. Also, think about the route of the sun. As the sun goes lower in the horizon throughout the day, the size and shape of shade will change. Now, here is something important to note: most manufactures determine their umbrella size by measuring the actual rib arm length and double it. However, the majority of outdoor umbrellas are not true to their size in width, because the rib arms are not usually completely extended straight out to the side so you will typically lose a few inches in shade proportionally. Also, you’ll want to think about that if you are buying your outdoor umbrella for a bar table, you will need to make sure it has a bar height crank so you can maneuver the umbrella while placed in your bar table. This is typically a feature that is offered with most patio umbrellas, but you can always ask about it if it is not featured with the product.

When you are thinking about shading an outdoor dining area you can use the following guidelines for your wood or aluminum outdoor patio umbrellas: a 6 foot canopy will shade a caf