Connecting Your Home’s Indoor and Outdoor Spaces
Your outdoor space is just as important as your indoor space. Seamlessly blending the two can significantly expand your living space and flood your home with natural light, which can prove beneficial to your mental and emotional wellbeing. If you’re looking for a way to double your floor space and see more of your beautiful outdoor views from the inside, connecting indoor and outdoor spaces is a great way to start.
Let the natural light in
You can never go wrong with flooding your indoor space with natural light. You may want to consider building large windows or installing glass doors that divide the two spaces. This will make room for the sunlight to come in freely. If privacy is a concern, you may opt for modern window coverings such as remote window blinds. This way, you can easily control the sunlight you want to let in and open and close your blinds with just a press of a button.
Keep your living area near your outdoor living space
One of the easiest ways to connect your indoor and outdoor living areas is to have them side by side. Some homeowners have their patio detached from their home but having them next to each other creates an illusion that your space is bigger. Best of all, it’s an excellent way to bring nature views and outdoor freshness into the home.
Style your outdoor space
Styling your outdoor living space will make the room feel as cosy and inviting as your indoor family room. There are plenty of ways you can design your outdoor space to make it more warm and comfortable. For example, you could ground the space with a rug, match comfortable sofas with comfy pillows, or provide umbrellas and retractable shade roofs for protection from the sun and rain.
Coordinate the design
When styling, it’s important to create a seamless flow between the two spaces. Whether that’s matching the accessories such as throws and cushions or furniture such as chairs and tables, you need to blend the décor of the two areas together. It may also be as simple as placing greenery in both spaces or using the same flooring material. You can also match the rustic wooden elements from your home interior to emphasise the crossover effect to the outdoors. Choosing indoor shutters or timber shutters for your window coverings can make the transition look seamless and effortless.
Create a seamless flow with the help of Weathermaster Auckland
Enhance your indoor and outdoor living spaces and create a seamless flow between the two with Weathermaster Auckland. We have the indoor window coverings and outdoor shading solutions you need for your interiors and outdoor spaces. Our products can help you create and implement a design that supports both indoor and outdoor lifestyles. From shutters and awnings down to pergola shades and blinds, we have the solution for you to make the most out of your property. To book a consultation, contact us today.
Tips for Creating an Outdoor Space | Weathermaster Auckland
Tips for Creating an Outdoor Space
While the main goal is to have an open area where your family and friends can hang out, it’s important to ensure that these exposed living spaces are protected from the elements, especially during extremely bright sunny days and wet, inclement weather.
Below, we’ll cover some tips and tricks for creating an ideal, functional, and comfortable outdoor living space for socialising and entertaining. We’ll look at décor, lighting, and also how installing window shutters is a great way to expand your indoor spaces and connect them to the outdoors, focusing on the benefits of window shutters when aiming to design a great exterior living space.
Creating the Ideal Outdoor Living Space
In designing spaces, balancing function and design is important. You must establish a clear vision of how you want the space to look, and how you want the atmosphere to feel.
Choosing natural materials
An outdoor living space should be an extension of your interior: safe, comfortable, and welcoming. However, it should also be able to connect to nature. One way to blend the indoor and outdoor vibes is to choose natural materials: custom woodwork, natural stone masonry or brickwork, and the addition of plants can all help create a good indoor-outdoor transition.
Amplify ambiance when choosing your palette
Amplify warmth with earth-tones or natural palettes so you can create an environment meant for relaxation. If you prefer more vibrant colours, try balancing it our minimalist styling and furniture, as well as adding other natural details.
Add soft textures and warm lighting that are easy on the eyes
Since it’s a living space where you want to enjoy a fun and relaxing time with the people you love, make sure that it’s comfortable. Add soft textures and choose textiles that make you and your guests feel at home. Using warm lighting as well as patterns and designs that are easy on the eyes can help amplify comfort.
Install outdoor storage spaces for clean and easy organization
For any area where people gather and hang out, storage spaces are always a must-have. They will help with organisation and keeping the area clean. Keep separate storage for cleaning, extra pillows, and any other things you’ll need.
Bring life into your new space by adding greens
A horizontal garden not only adds that touch of nature to your space, but it also provides fresh and comfortable natural details that your guests will love. Hanging plants is a space-saving option, and indoor plants can be a good addition to your table setting.
Install functional and stylish exterior window shutters
What are the benefits of window shutters? Why do you need exterior window shutters for your outdoor living space? Isn’t an “outdoor” area meant to be completely open to the outside environment? The idea of having a totally open space outside can be appealing, but remember that for it to be comfortable all year round, you must be able to control that space.
Window shutters or blinds for outdoor living can help you control and soften the natural light that enters the space, and during bad weather, window shutters can keep the moisture out. Shutters and blinds will also give you privacy for a more intimate gathering when you want it.
Operable window shutters, such as motorised shutters, are convenient because you can easily open or close them with click of a button using a remote. Modern motorised window shutters can also be connected to your smartphone and controlled through a mobile app.
Design Your Perfect Space with Weathermaster’s Window Shutters
Weathermaster has a range of manual window shutters and motorised shutters that can transform your outdoor spaces into modern, sophisticated haven of fun, relaxation, and entertainment. We offer top quality, custom-made timber shutters and durable, custom-made Eclipse polyresin shutters that can easily blend in with your existing or new outdoor designs.
Talk to us today and explore our fully customizable collection of indoor and outdoor products to upgrade, redefine, and transform your outdoor area!
The Best Outdoor Umbrellas on the Market Today | Weathermaster
The Best Outdoor Umbrellas on the Market Today
As alfresco dining season approaches, you may be looking to spruce up your outdoor dining area or create a nice shady space where people can park up for an evening. Whether you are looking for outdoor shading options for your home or your business, we can help. Below, we’re going through our list of the best outdoor umbrellas available today.
Cafe & Market Umbrella 2
If you are looking for an umbrella that is strong enough to handle the unpredictable NZ weather, the café and market umbrella 2 is a great choice. The CMU2 combines a heavy-duty double pulley system featuring commercial grade pulley rope, with eight full strength strut arms. The Café & Market umbrella is easy to open and close, perfect for when you need to set up and pack down quickly.
Weathermaster Umbrella 3
The Weathermaster umbrella 3 is the perfect shade solution for a smaller inner-city section, like an urban café or a small residential patio. This wall mounted umbrella extends out without using up the floorspace typically needed for a traditional umbrella base. With a study aluminium bracket and telescopic arm, the WMU3 is an elegant addition to any urban environment.
Rotating Cantilever Umbrella 4
Specially engineered to withstand high winds with the flexibility of a 360˚ canopy, the RCU4 provides shade and shielding exactly where you need it. Made with marine grade aluminium and stainless-steel hardware, this model is especially useful as a patio umbrella on beach front properties.
Commercial Canopy Umbrella 10
Built to give you years of trouble-free use thanks to a commercial grade aluminium frame, the CCU10’s sleek and modern design is an asset to any outdoor setting. Stainless steel hardware makes for longevity in any conditions. This model comes in both square and octagon options, with a large 5 metre diameter.
Serenity Cantilever Umbrella
Serenity Cantilever Umbrella’s Patent-pending technology gives you years of trouble-free use thanks to expert engineering and advanced umbrella deployment systems. These umbrellas have built in LED lights in the central hub, controlled with an optional rechargeable smart battery and phone app.
Unity™ Cantilever Umbrella
With our cutting edge Shadowlock, Shadowlift and Shadowglide technology, this umbrella is smooth, quick, and easy to operate. With the option of four umbrellas on one mast, it allows for maximum coverage, perfect for when you are expecting large groups of people. The fabric is UV and fade resistant and has the Skin Cancer Foundations seal of approval.
Weathermaseter has you covered
If you’re looking for the best outdoor umbrella options on the market today, we can help. All our outdoor umbrellas are manufactured for New Zealand weather conditions, and we offer a range of options available depending on your needs, not to mention our products are all competitively priced.
If you’re buying for your business, we can custom colour the canopy colour as well as provide the umbrellas branded with your logo. All umbrellas are manufactured in New Zealand, they are easy enough for you to install alone, or our experienced installation team can handle it for you. Get in touch with us to learn more about our range!
Venetian Blinds
Why Are Venetian Blinds So Popular?
Only one blind choice seems to stay in vogue, no matter the current interior trends: Venetian blinds.
Venetian blinds have been a popular window treatment for decades and remain a classic option. What is it that makes Venetian blinds such a popular choice? Read on to learn the benefits of these blinds and why they remain so popular in New Zealand homes.
Privacy without sacrificing natural light
Venetian blinds offer high levels of privacy control. They effectively block out light when closed and have a durable construction. You can even get motorised wooden venetians for added convenience. You can keep them completely closed when you need privacy or to keep light out. By keeping your windows open and your venetian blinds closed, you can enjoy the breeze flowing through the slats. You can even keep the slats partially open at any angle you prefer depending on the amount of light you want to let in. Or you can even open the blinds completely!
Great in Summer
Venetian blinds in NZ summer can bring blessed relief from the heat. Summer heat can not only make you sleepy and cause your concentration to waver; it can also make your computer and devices overheat! Venetian blinds can be easily tilted to prevent heat from accumulating and stagnating in the room, allowing the breeze to waft through without heating the room at the same time.
Style
Venetian blinds add a modern, minimal feel to a room while remaining practical. As an option with timeless appeal and unquestionable sophistication, wooden venetians are the blinds of choice for Auckland households. They are much more than a functional option, serving as a prominent design feature in the room. Wooden Venetian blinds can transform any room instantly, turning your window into a stand-out feature of the room. Our customised wooden Venetian blinds in Auckland feature a contemporary design and make for an elegant window treatment.
Practical and easy to maintain
These blinds are an extremely practical option, thanks in part to how easy they are to clean. Some blinds need particular cleaning agents while curtains require vacuuming and washing to keep them fresh and stain free. With Venetian blinds, a simple wiping down with a damp cloth or microfiber cloth keeps them looking their best.
They are also easy to repair if they are damaged. This is because individual slats can be easily replaced, rather than having to replace the whole unit. Being easy to clean is a key reason that venetian blinds are a great choice for any room in the house. If you are looking for kitchen blinds or bathrooms blinds, aluminium venetian blinds are a great option. Not only can you wipe them clean—ideal for rooms where spillages and splashes are a certainty—they’ll also last for years in environments with lots of steam and humidity.
Weathermaster Auckland have all your Venetian blind needs covered
We offer made to measure Venetian blinds to suit the size of your windows and are delivered and installed all over the greater Auckland area. All our blinds are manufactured in New Zealand. What’s more, since you are buying directly from the manufacturer, you are assured of the best price. Our blinds are priced competitively and some of the best in Auckland. No matter the season, you can always buy blinds and Venetian blinds mounting brackets at fair prices from Weathermaster Auckland. Get in touch with us to learn more.
Helpful Shutter Maintenance Tips for Your Home
Interior window shutters are popular with homeowners throughout New Zealand because of their sophisticated look and high functionality. They make it easy to control the amount of light and heat that enters your home, keeping your home cool on hot sunny days while still letting in air. But if you want to expand their lifespan, it is important to keep them regularly maintained. Follow our shutter maintenance tips to keep your indoor shutters looking their best for years to come.
Tool Selection
The first thing you need to consider when caring for your shutters is what material they are made of. Different shutter materials require different cleaning tools and methods of maintenance. The most common shutter materials are timber and polyresin — both materials are easy to clean with a soft cloth but have varying reactions to certain liquids. For example, polyresin can be cleaned with water and detergent, but water can damage wood, causing warping and discolouration. Furniture polish or lemon oil can work well for cleaning wooden shutters. Don’t forget to get right into all the nooks and crannies to ensure your shutters are in top condition.
Dusting
Weekly dusting will do wonders to keep your shutters looking clean and bright and in perfect working order. Rotate the shutters to dust both sides, either with a microfibre cloth or a clean sock on your hand. A paintbrush can help to reach dust in small corners. If you want to prevent more dust from settling on the shutters, rubbing an anti-static dryer sheet over each shutter can stop further dust from sticking.
Stain Removal
If you are noticing small spots or stains on your indoor shutters, it can be tricky to figure out how to get rid of them. Harsh chemicals and rough scrubbing can damage shutters. A small amount of white vinegar on a soft cloth can work wonders for removing stains, but you’ll need to completely dry your shutters when you are done to avoid further spots.
Hinge polishing
It is important to polish your shutters’ hinges a few times a year to keep things in working order. A few drops of oil will prevent the shutters from becoming stiff when opened and closed. If your shutters feel a little loose, it is quick and easy to tighten up loose screws with a screwdriver.
Find Quality Shutters at Weathermaster Auckland
As you can see, interior shutters are super easy to clean and maintain – which is a huge part of their appeal. A quick clean every week will keep your shutters looking amazing, and a bit of oil here and there can keep things running smoothly. If you are looking for quality blinds that are designed to fit and made to last, contact Weathermaster Auckland today. We custom manufacture our shutters to ensure the perfect fit for your home. Whether you’re looking for a Mediterranean, plantation, or modern look, we can help you find what you need.