A DIY Awning Is the Low-Tech Secret to Cooling Your Home | Apartment TherapyApartment TherapyApartment Therapy taglineApartment TherapyApartment TherapyKitchnCubbyDorm TherapyApartment Therapy Media

In summer, you can divide most everyone into two camps: AC people and no-AC people. My family falls in the latter category, but we still want to keep our home comfortably cool — especially because my elderly grandmother lives in our multigenerational home. One area of our house that can get too toasty is the sunroom, where direct light can easily raise the temperature to the upper 70s. We wanted to help cool that space down, but window and tabletop fans didn’t really help much. Finally, my dad had the idea to install an awning over the sliding glass door to help cut down on sun and heat (something he saw online). Here’s how he did the project, and how the awning helped keep our sunroom cool without AC.

How We Chose Our Awning

The black-and-white awning we chose is a fixed fabric design from a company called Awntech. They specialize in a vast variety of awnings, including fixed, retractable, metal, roller shades, and accessories. You can customize the size of your awning, and the company can accommodate everything from 3 feet long to 20 feet long (ours, installed above the sliding glass door, is 6 feet long).

We went back and forth on the color, considering combos of beige and white and green and white before ultimately choosing a black and white striped pattern. There’s just something timeless about the color scheme. The weatherproof fabric is made by Sunbrella, and is made to resist fading and damage from the elements.

There are lots of awning shapes and styles to choose from, but we fell in love with the Nantucket awning. It has a crescent shape and scalloped hem that adds just the right amount of coastal charm. Combined with the timeless stripes, it gives the whole space a hint of European café vibes.

Beyond aesthetics, the slight slope of the Nantucket awning helps shield both the patio door and the attached sunroom from those intense summer afternoons. Because the sunroom is almost all windows, it can easily heat up to the high 70s indoors. The awning provides some much-needed relief — especially because there’s not much natural shade back there. As a bonus, it also helps keep the rain off the sliding door, so we can leave it open (with the screen in place) even when there’s light to moderate rainfall to help cool the area down even more.

How We Installed Our Awning

Depending on the size you order, the awning comes in about 15 to 20 pieces (not including screws). It also includes easy instructions for both assembly and mounting. Just a heads-up: The kit doesn’t come with the tools or specific mounting hardware, as that depends on your home’s exterior material.

My dad is pretty handy and was able to assemble and install the entire thing himself in the span of an afternoon. Most of his time was spent putting the awning together piece by piece; actually mounting the awning to our house was the fastest part of the process. While my dad was able to do it alone, he did mention that having an extra set of hands when mounting it would’ve been helpful — something to keep in mind if you’re doing this project yourself.

How the Awning Helps Cool Our Space

With the awning cutting back on direct sunlight in the sunroom, the space is noticeably cooler, going from the upper 70s to the lower 70s without any AC involved. We loved the effect so much that we’ve since installed a smaller one on the window above our kitchen sink, too!Beyond the functionality, this awning created super-chic cafe vibes that I love. Now every time I slide open that patio door I’m greeted not just by sunshine, but also by a whole Parisian vibe.

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