Making the right design choices at the start is crucial to the aesthetic appeal of your shade sails. There are no real rules for colour because it’s purely based on subjective opinion. The fabric will dictate the performance more than the colour though and we can certainly give you some things to think about as well as some pointers on how to make the right choice of colour and fabric.
Choosing Shade Sails is a Balance of Form and Function
Choosing is a balance of two main elements, the practicality of your shade sails and also their aesthetics. When choosing the fabric you may be impacting the sail’s performance as different fabrics can perform quite differently and have many different properties.
Choosing Shade Sail Colours
Here at Shade Extreme, we offer 3 different types of cloth from leading manufacturers:
- Gale Pacific Commercial 95 (20 Colours), Dual Shade 350 (12 Colours), Commercial Heavy (13 Colours).
- Rainbow Fabric’s Z16 (24 Colours), Extreme 32 (14 Colours) & DriZ (16 Colours)
- Polyfab Comm Shade (16 Colours) & Architec 400 (12 Colours)
All the above offer terrific performance with UV block rates from 92% to 98% with a material manufacturer’s warranty available from 10 to 15 years, so you really cannot go wrong. Each type offers different colour varieties so this may dictate your choice. There is enough variety from earthy tones to bright modern primaries. Businesses will find they can be bright and bold and mimic their corporate identity and homeowners will find a complimentary tone to blend with their home or vice versa! Take a look here for more info.
Choosing Shade Sail Fabrics
The fabric will have more of an impact on the performance than the colour. What it’s made out of will dictate many things like UV performance, strength, longevity, colourfast properties etc. From a weave point of view, the fabric will have less impact visually as the differences are more subtle, but some are woven with different treads and tapes which can allow more sunlight to filtered through. The weave and fabric finish will only be very slightly noticeable from a visual point of view, so we recommend concentrating on performance first, then choosing your colour from that. Our gallery should help give you some inspiration and ideas.
Colour Combinations and Options
Your main decision will be whether to go bold with bright and brash primary colours, neutral with more subtle blended earthy tones or mix complementary hues together from either palette. With a little imagination you will be able to achieve any vision you have.
