Outdoor Living
Exterior shades that keep your lanai comfortable in July.
Salt-air rated sun-blocking roller shades engineered for Florida lanais, screened porches, pergolas, and outdoor kitchens from Pensacola to Panama City Beach. We size, motorize, and install them the same way we do our interior treatments — direct from the manufacturer, no showroom markup, installed by our crew, warranted by us.
The Florida Panhandle exterior shade cornerstone
Outdoor shades, built for the salt air.
Exterior shades are sun-blocking roller, screen, and track systems that mount outside the home — on the lanai beam, the pergola, the screened porch header, or the outdoor kitchen overhang — to cut heat, glare, and UV before they ever hit your seating. On the FL Panhandle the spec changes from the inland equivalent in one important way: every piece of hardware has to survive salt air. We use marine-grade stainless fasteners, powder-coated aluminum housings, and UV-stabilized fabrics from Sunbrella, Phifer, and Ferrari rated for coastal exposure. Hardware lifespan on a coastal install is 7 to 10 years vs 2 to 3 for standard inland-spec parts pulled from a big-box catalog.
We install across the entire Panhandle and South Alabama footprint: Pensacola, Gulf Breeze, Navarre, Fort Walton Beach, Destin, Panama City Beach, plus Mobile, Daphne, Fairhope, Foley, and the Gulf Shores corridor. A lanai under a 5% openness shade runs 10°F to 15°F cooler in afternoon Gulf sun, extends usable outdoor season by roughly six weeks per year, and cuts UV fading on outdoor furniture by 90% or more. The standard motorized install includes a wind sensor that auto-retracts the fabric at a threshold you set — typically 25 mph — well before high winds arrive. They are weather-rated, not impact-rated, and they retract cleanly so they do not become projectiles.
If you are pricing exterior shades for a Gulf Coast home, the in-home measure is the only honest way to spec the system. Book the free in-home consult.
What we install
Five outdoor systems we put on Panhandle lanais.
Manual Roller Shades
Crank-operated, no-power install. The right call for screened porches and lanais where you do not want a motor and you do not want to run a circuit. Sized to the opening, mounted to the beam or fascia, operated by a removable crank handle.
Motorized Roller Shades
Somfy or Lutron tube motors with RF remote and app control. The standard answer for second-floor balconies, beachfront lanais, and outdoor kitchens you would rather operate from your phone than walk over to. 6 to 7 year motor warranty. Marine-grade stainless mounting hardware standard on coastal installs.
Power-Screen Shades
Insect-mesh and sun-block in one fabric, motorized as a default. The right call for FL screened porches where the existing screen is failing salt corrosion and you want a true upgrade — bug protection plus heat reduction in one drop.
Pergola Track Shades
Full enclosure of a pergola opening on side-mount tracks. Lets you close in three or four sides of a pergola for a true room-feel without permanent walls. Common ask in Destin and 30A where the pergola sits between the house and the Gulf.
Drop-Arm Awnings
For openings where a roller does not fit the geometry — angled headers, archways, or shallow eaves common on older Pensacola bungalows. The arm drops the fabric out at an angle rather than straight down.
Smart-Home Integration
All motorized exterior shades pair with Somfy myLink, Lutron Caseta, Alexa, Google Home, and Apple HomeKit. Set a scene that drops the lanai shade at 2pm in summer, retracts at sunset, and auto-retracts in 25 mph wind. We program at install — you do not need to bring an integrator.
Fabric options
Six openness levels and a blackout — all salt-air rated.
1% Openness
Deep-shade. Blocks 99% of light and UV. The right fabric for a west-facing outdoor kitchen where you need to read the grill thermometer at 5pm in August. View is heavily diffused.
3% Openness
The workhorse. Significant glare reduction with some retained view. Most ordered when the goal is to make the lanai usable, not to seal off the Gulf view.
5% Openness
The most-installed option on the Panhandle. Preserves view, cuts heat 10°F to 15°F, and keeps furniture comfortable. Default recommendation for beachfront and bay-side lanais.
10% Openness
Light filter. For north-facing porches that just need bug and dust control without much heat reduction. Strongest view retention of any sun-block weave.
Blackout Vinyl
Full privacy plus total dark. The fabric for outdoor projector setups, hot tub privacy, or any opening where you want to fully close the room down.
Sunbrella, Phifer, Ferrari — salt-air rated
Every fabric we spec on the Panhandle is UV-stabilized, mildew-resistant, and explicitly rated for salt-air exposure. We will hand you swatches at the consult so you can see how the weave reads against your siding and trim in actual daylight.
Why outdoor shades pay back on the Gulf Coast
Five reasons most Panhandle homes install one.
A lanai under a 5% shade runs 10°F to 15°F cooler in afternoon Gulf sun. The usable outdoor season extends roughly six weeks per year on the Panhandle — you reclaim late March and late October as lanai-usable months even when the wind is up. UV fading on outdoor furniture drops by 90% or more, which matters double on the coast where salt-air and UV gang up. Coastal salt-air-rated hardware lasts 7 to 10 years vs 2 to 3 for standard parts. And the install carries our lifetime workmanship warranty on top of the 6 to 7 year motor warranty.
Manual rollers for a typical 8-foot lanai opening run $800 to $1,500 installed. Motorized adds $400 to $800 per opening depending on motor and remote. Pergola track systems start at $3,500 for a small opening because of the templating step. Book the free in-home measure for the final number on your opening.
Final price comes from in-home measure. No obligation. 50% deposit, balance install day.
A few photos from the field
What Panhandle exterior installs look like.
Detail: lanai beam mount
Side-channel guides keep the fabric flat in a 25 mph Gulf gust without flapping.
Motorized: app and remote
Somfy or Lutron tube motor pre-paired to the app, the remote, and a wind sensor.
Install: our crew, our warranty
We do not subcontract. Our installer is on your lanai start to finish.
Before / after
5% openness drops afternoon Gulf glare without darkening the lanai.
Fabric swatches
Sunbrella, Phifer, and Ferrari salt-air rated weaves, in actual coastal daylight.
Lifestyle: the why
The point of the install is that the lanai gets used June through September.
Fabric & Motor Partners
The brands we trust on the outside of your house.
Sunbrella
Phifer
Ferrari
Where we install exterior shades
Florida Panhandle and South Alabama.
Common questions
What buyers actually ask.
How long until my exterior shades are installed?
Standard lead times are 5 to 6 weeks for manual roller shades, 6 to 7 weeks for motorized. Pergola track systems take 8 to 10 weeks because they require a templating step similar to plantation shutters.
Can I operate motorized exterior shades from my phone?
Yes. Somfy myLink or Lutron Caseta apps both let you operate from your phone and integrate with Alexa, Google Home, and Apple HomeKit. We pre-pair the remotes and the app at install, you do not have to read a manual.
Will exterior shades hold up to a thunderstorm?
Standard exterior shades retract before high wind. Most installs include a wind sensor that auto-retracts at the threshold you set (typically 25 mph). For permanent storm protection consider impact-rated windows — exterior shades are weather-rated but not impact-rated.
Do they block bugs?
Insect-mesh power-screens block bugs while reducing heat. Standard sun-block roller shades do not block insects. We will ask which problem you are solving and quote the right product.
What does an average exterior shade cost?
Manual roller shades for a typical 8-foot patio opening run 800 to 1,500 dollars installed. Motorized adds 400 to 800 dollars per opening depending on motor and remote. Pergola track systems start at 3,500 dollars for a small opening. Free quote on the spot — call (770) 949-9020 for GA, (850) 889-7772 for FL.
Begin here
Reclaim your Gulf-side lanai.
Tell us where you live on the Gulf Coast and what you are covering. We will respond within one hour.
Somfy and Lutron certified installer. Salt-air rated hardware. 50% deposit, balance install day.