When Sarah and Mike were first building their lakefront home in South Florida, their thoughts turned to outdoor living opportunities. They thought about adding a screened-in area to the back of the house but quickly ruled it out as an option.
“We decided against that because we really loved the view of the lake that we have back here,” says Mike. “And especially during the summer months, the sunset is amazing, and we did not want to lose that.”
So, instead, the couple installed a covered patio without the screens so they could have a backyard space to enjoy their lake views and family time with their kids.
It didn’t take them long to realize their error.
“It’s very, very warm, and we have a lot of weather, and we have a lot of bugs,” says Sarah. “We didn’t have any sort of barrier between us and the outside. The space was basically unusable because it was so hot and the bugs were so bad.”
Determined to make their patio area a useful outdoor living and entertaining space, they began researching possible solutions to the problem. They wanted a solution that would keep out the bugs, glare, and extreme heat, but disappear when they didn’t need it.
“It was obvious from the start that only an outdoor roller shade solution could provide the mix of weather and insect barrier with the desire to still enjoy the lake and their natural surroundings,” says Draper At Home director of residential markets Clint Childress. “The FlexShade ZIP family of products fit the bill exactly. The ZIP feature keeps the fabric in the side channels, giving them the protection they wanted from glare, wind, rain, and those pesky insects.”
Two things first impressed Sarah and Mike about the FlexShade ZIP. First, it is manufactured in the United States, in the Draper facility in Spiceland, Ind. The other was that the ZIP product family had been wind tunnel tested.
“We do have quite a few storms that come through here,” says Sarah. “Whether it’s tropical storms or even just a summer storm they can get really intense. So, we knew that they would stand up to the elements. And they also have a beautiful design. That’s something that was very important to us that it was going to look nice with our house.”
In this particular instance, the FlexShade ZIP XL was required for the extra-wide size. The ZIP XL incorporates an integrated cradle support system into a 5-inch headbox, so even wider shades up to 25 feet look great, and don’t have wrinkles from roller deflection. The fabric chosen was Mermet E Screen 3% Charcoal/Grey.
“Since we had our ZIP shades installed, it’s made a complete difference out here,” says Mike. “We can come out here and sit and relax and not get attacked by all the bugs that we have here in Florida. We can really enjoy the outdoor space so much more than we ever did previously.”
“It’s like we have a whole new room in our house where we can entertain and we can be comfortable and it’s just such a great usable space,” says Sarah. “And it’s outdoors in Florida — it’s great.”
For more information, visit www.draperathome.com.
