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WindowsDesign DilemmaExterior
j_mathew34

Modern aesthetic awning recommendations for street facing windows

J Matthew
last month

Hi, first thank you for reading my post and offering any suggestions/thoughts!!


I’m hoping to find some help in selecting a design, style, mounting location, etc. to place awnings above these set of windows at the front of my house. The reason I want to do this is because my house faces west and the sun really heats up the living areas where these windows are. The below pictures are the front of my house (i added red dots to the windows I'm trying to put awnings over)

. I live in Oklahoma City, if that helps.


I would really appreciate any pictures of anything you would suggest as I don’t have really have great vision for things. Also, if there are places you suggest I look at for purchase---I would really appreciate that too!


Preferred awning design styles: Modern, Mid-Century Modern, open to other styles so long as its cohesive


Material preference: Metal or wood (I’m not necessarily opposed to fabric…I just haven’t seen anything that I like)


Mounting/functional preference: The more angled and the more it covers the windows, the better. I think the lower that I can mount it, the better it would be. There’s a lot of sun that comes through these windows and it is definitely heating up the house in spring/summer, even with the curtains/shades closed.


Color preference: I’m open to any matching color


Window measurements: Three large windows span 105” long and 80 inches tall. The two windows span 80” long and 80” inches tall


Notes:

-I’ve tried other things, e.g., tinting the windows and that did not look good and made the heat worse and nearly damaged my windows

-I have curtains up and cellular shades, but while they improve the heat…it’s still pretty hot.

-I’m in the process of selecting trees and planting them for the front of my house, but it probably won’t get planted until the fall and I’m certain it will take 5 to 10 years before they provide sufficient shade.

Featured Answer
  • Jilly
    last month
    last modified: last month

    ^^ In Canada.

    J, have you searched ’modern awnings for windows’ or similar terms? I did; quite a few came up that might work with your house (great-looking house, btw).

    Or maybe have a pro come look and give you ideas?

    I did see this retractable type that might work, and you could retract it in cool months:





    I’m in D/FW and have found wood blinds to help better than solar shades with heat … and we get weeks upon weeks of triple digits and scorching sun. Plus, you can control better how much light comes in.

    ETA: A Crape Myrtle that gets to tree size might be worth considering on the right hand side. They grow fast.

    Comments (10)

    • apple_pie_order
      last month

      Have you looked at exterior solar shades?

      J Matthew thanked apple_pie_order
    • K Laurence
      last month
      last modified: last month

      We have window tint on all of our window at our Palm Springs home, helps tremendously with heat during the HOT summer months. i haven’t seen any affects on the glass. Who installed yours? BTW we have interior solar shades on a wide expanse (approx 20+’ ) west facing floor to ceiling glass doors, we lower them in the afternoon. Works great. Exterior solar shade for our glass entry door, exterior solar shades very common in our area.

      J Matthew thanked K Laurence
    • J Matthew
      Original Author
      last month

      apple_pie_order, i have thought about exterior solar shades and that may be another option, if the awning doesn't work. I just don't know if we like the looks of the ones we've seen. Are there exterior solar shades you've liked? If you have any links or especially any pictures of them installed in an aesthetically pleasing way I would love to see those.

    • PRO
      Sabrina Alfin Interiors
      last month
      last modified: last month

      Honestly, I don't think awnings will work with the façade of your house. I'd look into solar film for your windows and keeping the interior shades down in the afternoon. Interior solar shades also come in various screen percentages, so that when they are down you can still see outside. If you want to get fancy, you can get motorized shades put on timers so they will go down/go up automatically at certain times of the day.

      J Matthew thanked Sabrina Alfin Interiors
    • J Matthew
      Original Author
      last month

      K Laurence, yes, we had 3M ceramic window tint installed (it was by a 3M authorized dealer/installer). It would get so hot that i couldn't touch the glass. We ended up removing it. I believe we selected the kind that was recommended for double pane windows too, but it was still getting too hot.


      We have tried interior solar shades, but it didn't seem to make a significant difference in the heat. Cellular shades seemed to work better, but I think once the heat got into the house it just seemed to inevitably warm up those areas. This is why I'm more interested in trying exterior shading options.

    • Mary Elizabeth
      last month

      Was the 3M film on the interior or exterior?

      How does it compare to this one?


      UltraCool-S20-OSW Outside Weatherable Heat Rejection Film: Decorative Films, LLC.

      J Matthew thanked Mary Elizabeth
    • Sigrid
      last month

      A tree in the lawn would help the right three windows.

      J Matthew thanked Sigrid
    • PRO
      HALLETT & Co.
      last month

      I know you had bad luck with tinting but we tinted all our west facing windows and it transformed our house.

      J Matthew thanked HALLETT & Co.
    • PRO
      Patricia Colwell Consulting
      last month

      You install solar shades inside to control the heat and UV they work really well , they let you keep the view and more important do not screw up the exterior look of the house . I do not like tinted windows since I often roll my solar shades up on a cloudy day .. I think maybe you just got the wrong solar shades I have never found them not to work. If you have single paned windows my suggestion would be change those too. I ise 10% dark colored solar shades so either bronze or charcoal depending on your color scheme and where ever I have put them the temp inside the space drops dramatically .

      J Matthew thanked Patricia Colwell Consulting
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