How to Buy a Patio Umbrella

Tap to Read ➤ Mrunal Belvalkar

All it takes is presence of mind, and you can pick the perfect patio umbrella for yourself! Here are a few points you can consider before buying a patio umbrella.

If anyone asks me which is my most favorite place in the house, pat I would reply, "The garden!" Indeed, it is not technically 'in the house', but the garden is my most favorite place in the house. You think of lazy summer afternoons, and immediately you can picture yourself in a colorful garden, full of butterflies and birds and trees and flowers!

However, the summer sun can get a little too harsh once in a while, so you may wish to have a bit of shade in the garden. A patio umbrella can give you just that.

Patio umbrellas can greatly change the look of a garden and can highly embellish it too! However, the task of buying the perfect umbrella for patio may seem daunting! There are so many things that can go wrong, so many places you can falter! How do you pick the perfect umbrella for your patio? Well, here are a few pointers...

Tips to Buy a Patio Umbrella

A patio umbrella is an essential part of patio furniture. Before we actually take a look at the tips, here is Tip Number 0: select the place in your garden where you want to hoist your patio umbrella. Depending on the place, the size and shape of the umbrella you choose may differ.

It is not essential for you to be sure about where you are going to place your patio umbrella. You can actually buy one and then see where it looks the best. However, if you already have a place in mind, measure the amount of floor space available for the umbrella.

This will make sure the umbrella is a snug fit in the desired place! Having said that, here are five pointers to buy patio umbrellas.

Size

If your patio umbrella is going to go in the center of a table, it should be big enough to cover the table and the people sitting at the table;

Otherwise the food is going to be in the shade while you boil in the sun! Measure the ground surface area that you want to come under the umbrella. Use this as a guide to pick the right size.

Shape

Patio umbrellas are mostly round or square. The square ones offer more shade as they cover a larger area.

Round patio umbrella of comparable size offers less shade. However, you can always go for a bigger round umbrella if you do not want to buy a square one. The choice is (almost) strictly esthetic!

Color

The choice of color is not entirely esthetic as it may seem to be! If stark sunlight hits your garden for a major part of the day, then the color of the umbrella may fade.

Also a dark-colored umbrella will trap more heat and make sitting under it feel like getting baked! Go for pale or neutral colors like white, cream, beige, etc.

Pole

A typical patio umbrella has a central pole that can be inserted through tables built to accommodate umbrellas.

However, this can obstruct the view of the people sitting at the table. An offset patio umbrella would be a better idea. The pole of the umbrella is designed in such a way that the umbrella in fact "hangs" overhead, like a lampshade. These are a lot convenient to use.

Material

The material of the umbrella should be tough and durable. It should withstand the climatic conditions in your city. Also it's preferable to get an umbrella that can be easily cleaned and requires as minimum maintenance as possible.

These are some basic pointers to remember while buying a patio umbrella. Finally, I want to add: make sure the style of the patio umbrella you select coordinates well with the rest of your garden furniture and blends in to create one harmonious picture. Hope you pick the best umbrella for your patio!