If you have already started browsing through the large collection of garden parasols that are available today, you will have noticed they come in various colours as well as sizes.
It’s worth spending some time thinking about the colour you want your parasol to be before you actually buy it. For example, you could go for a really light and natural colour like cream. Alternatively you could go completely in the other direction and buy a black one. The only disadvantage there would be that black really soaks up the heat. Think about how uncomfortable you feel when you are wearing black clothing in the heat of summer. Would that be the ideal choice for a garden parasol?
You do need to think about matching the colour in with any other furniture you might have as well. Do you have a garden table and chairs? Assuming you do, you should take a look at the colour of the chair seats. If you have something in blue then a nice blue parasol would blend in very well. You do need to bear in mind that unless the parasol is designed to match a specific set, it won’t match up exactly. In this case it can be better to buy something contrasting, rather than getting a ‘close but not quite’ effect!
Consider the space you have available too. Do your table and chairs fit into a small space which is surrounded on three sides – perhaps you have a small terrace outside your back door for example? If this is the case a dark coloured parasol will make it seem even smaller and more enclosed than it actually is. A lighter one will keep the area as bright as possible while still protecting you from the sun.
Green works well in many situations because it so naturally fits in with the garden. So if you want something in between the two extremes, green can work rather well.
Another point to consider is that the natural and lighter colours will look grubby more quickly. You need to be realistic about the requirement to look after your parasol. Make sure you take it down and bring in inside or store it in a shed before the weather turns bad. It doesn’t take long to do this, and it will prolong the life and quality of your garden parasol.
You can see that there is a lot more work involved in choosing a colour than you might originally have thought. Personal taste has a lot to do with it, but so does positioning and the kind of effect you want to create.
Finally, whatever colour you choose make sure you opt for the best quality parasol you can. The more you pay for it, the better the material is likely to be. Ideally it should protect against UV rays coming through, whatever colour you have chosen.
If you follow these tips you should find yourself sitting underneath the perfect garden parasol for your needs.