At Creative Shades, all of our sails are commercial grade and the fabric we use offers the highest UV and wind ratings available on the market. Our commercial-grade shade cloths are designed to withstand a maximum wind load of 90mph or more if the specification requires.  In most cases, if shade sails have been maintained correctly and the winds are below 90mph your commercial grade shade sails should withstand heavy wind and rain.

However, in the event of a strong hurricane where winds can reach over 100 mph like Hurricane Irma, it’s important that you take precautions to mitigate damage to your commercial shade sails. Unfortunately, Florida is more prone to hurricanes than any other US State and the damaged caused can be devasting. Continue reading “Preparing Commercial Shade Sails for Storms and Hurricanes”

Whether you are shading a playground at a local park, school or church protecting play areas are critical for the safety of the children and commercial shade structures are an affordable way to provide protection from harmful UV-rays.

There are many different structures and creative ways to use shade to keep the playground and seating areas cool. You can protect your outdoor play environment from the sun by integrating shade structures into any portion of active use zones. Take a look at our schools & playground projects for ideas. Continue reading “What Types of Playground Shades are Right for Your Playground?”

At Creative Shades, we take pride in our work and quality for all our commercial sails and structures. Our structures are used by schools, park and recreation departments, car washes, resorts, parking lots and more.

We are a leader in commercial and custom outdoor shade structure, design and fabrication and felt it was important to let you know what makes us different and why Creative Shades Solutions may be a great fit for your next project.

No Middleman  

Our commercial shade sails are built to last and made right here in Tarpon Springs Florida.  When you work with Creative Shades you are working with a one-stop-shop for design, fabrication and installation. When you work with us there is no middleman and you buy factory direct and any warranty claim is directly through us, not a third-party vendor.

We also install our commercial structures, so you literally deal with one person throughout the entire process.

Commercial 95 Shade Cloth  

At Creative Shades, we only use the best shade cloth, Commercial 95 Architectural Shade Fabric for our commercial-grade shade sails.  Commercial 95 fabric is a knitted high-quality material that provides great protection and blocks up to 98.8% of harmful UV rays. This durable fabric is breathable and allows cool air to pass through.

We use Commercial 95 Shade Cloth because when durability and strength are a priority, Commercial 95 cannot be matched as far as fabric materials. Here are some additional benefits of our commercial-grade sails and the fabric we use:

• 10 – year warranty
• The construction on the sails is 10x stronger and more durable
• The corners are reinforced for 90 mph winds
• The thread is 10 years min thread
• We use stabilizer headboards on every corner
• 1/4″ steel cable all around the sail
• Better UV and fire rating

Best Price Guarantee & Made in the USA

Our shade sails are made in Florida and used all over the USA and Canada. As we are a one-stop-shop and there is no middleman you also save when buying from Creative Shade Solutions. We can beat any written price, just fax your proposal to us and we will beat it.

Commercial Shade Sail Project

Commercial shade structures can provide protection from the elements, protect property, lower energy cost and create striking visual appeal to your property. We hope you will choose us for your next commercial shade project.

If you need any information, please contact us. If you already have a quote or an existing proposal, fax it to us and we will beat the price.

We are now serving Florida and Georgia, so give us a call or request a quote now.

 

Planning your custom shade project can be somewhat of a difficult undertaking. At Creative Shade Solutions, we are a one-stop-shop for design, fabrications and installation for our commercial projects. Our goal is to help make your shade sail project as easy as possible. Here are a few things you should know when planning a custom shade project. Continue reading “Planning Custom Shade Sail Project”

What does your business say about you? Whether you’re the CEO of a corporate office or own a local pizza place in town, your exterior says a lot about your business. In fact, since it’s the first things people see, setting the tone for customer experience is a must.

Installing a custom-made shade structure is a creative way to bring in new customers. Of course, designing a custom shade structure is sometimes easier said than done.

Continue reading to learn a few tips on designing a custom-made shade structure for your business.

Purpose and Function

First and foremost, you need to figure out what the purpose is the custom-made shade structure will fulfill. For instance, maybe you need to block out the Florida summer sun when your customers are eating lunch, or possibly you want to create a certain vibe when people arrive at your office. In either case, choosing shades that meet your overall aesthetic goals is important.

Image

Once you understand your purpose, it’s time to focus on the image, specifically your brand. Every business has its own set of values as well as a message they wish to convey to the public. As such, you need to want a shade structure that both make a statement about your brand. This includes everything from your choice of color to what is printed on the shade. Depending on the type of business you have, you can print your company’s logo on the shade in your brand’s color scheme.

Architectural Design

The shade structure you design should blend in with the architectural design as well. While it’s important to make your custom shade structure stand out, it’s also important that you make sure that it’s not standing out for all the wrong reasons.

If a shade structure contradicts the overall look of the building, it’ll become more of an eyesore than anything else. It doesn’t bode well for any business if the design of the building puts them off. Take time to choose patterns and colors that won’t clash with the building and boost your brand’s appeal.

Environmental Factors

Last but not least, you need to think about where you want to install your shade structure. For example, if you live somewhere that gets a lot of rain during the summer, you need a shade that can handle adverse weather conditions. In this case, choosing a shade that is water resistant and can withstand rain, wind and even hail makes perfect sense. On the other hand, if your business in an area that gets very little precipitation, you need a shade that can withstand heat and UV rays. A strong fabric or even metal shade structure works extremely well and can withstand high temperatures.

Running a business is never easy but when done right, it’s definitely worth it. To ensure your business provides the best customer experience, consider adding a custom shade structure.

 

Creative Shade Solutions is a leader in commercial custom outdoor shade structure, design and fabrication. Our quality, in-house shade structures and tensile sails will provide lasting sun protection for any outdoor areas. Our structures and sails are used all over the USA and Canada to protect and shade.

There are numerous shade structures available for many different purposes. Some people look to buy a shade structure to provide shelter from the sun and its elements. Others want a shade structure to enhance the look of their property.

The great thing about a shade structure is it can do both. Provide shade that will keep customers protected from the sun and enhance the looks of their business or property. Here are a few things you should know about before considering your shade structure purpose.

There are basically three shade types available that you can use to compliment any structure or area.

Focal Point Shades

When you first approach a business like an apartment complex, a restaurant, recreation center, or any kind of shop, the first thing you might notice is the color, size, pattern, or shape of the shade surrounding the area. For instance, if a building that is designed just like any other ordinary building with evenly spaced square windows and grey, flat walls has a bright yellow contemporary styled shade hanging over it, then it’s likely that the owners of the building may have chosen to draw attention to the building or just wanted to liven things up a bit with this particular shade.

Blending/Functional Shades

While visiting an outdoor restaurant or coffee shop and trying to choose the best place to sit, you may not even notice that the seating area is covered with shade. That’s because the shades provided, blend in with the space or architecture of the area where shade is needed. These shades are usually placed along the top of the building, mainly along the outer window tops next to the seating area. They are basically modest in size, conventional in shape, and blend in with the colors of the surroundings.

Complementary Shades

Have you ever admired the cohesive and symmetry of a visually attesting, large building? This may have been due to a combination of things. What may have caught your eye were complementary colors, materials, shapes, scale, and other components. There are many ways that shades can complement an area, using a colorful, bright shade that reflects a structure with similar components, is one of them.

Most Suitable Spots for Focal-Point Shades

If your location attracts visitors who take photos or just enjoys the outdoor experience, you may want to consider getting a focal-point shade structure for the area.

Moreover, tension-shade structures are well suited for public areas where people of every age play, walk around, take pictures, or film videos.

• Tourist attractions: Visually striking shade structures can be used as a backdrop for those looking to take selfies or group photos at a popular vacation destination. For example, the Dallas Zoo added bright blue shade structures with butterflies that not only provides protection from the sun, but also adds an artistic touch to areas where visitors like to take vacation photos.

• Storefronts with Colorful Visuals: Stores featuring products that are brightly colored, have squiggly odd shapes, or wild patterns would benefit by having a unique shade over the door that is consistent with the store’s theme and would reflect the exterior’s visuals.

Whether you sell colorful candy, wacky toys, fun gizmos, or quirky antiques adding a colorful shade would make a fun and cool addition to the look and feel.

• Restaurants: Restaurants are prime locations for shade structures since many people enjoy eating outdoors, but not with the sun in their eyes. Implementing a shade structure can make the dining experience more pleasant and comfortable while also expanding the seating area for more guests.

In addition, restaurant shade structures enhance a building’s aesthetics with customized fabric that can be made to reflect the restaurant’s theme, allowing for a memorable dining experience that customers will want to come back to.

Whether your business offers an outdoor experience or indoor activity, it is a good idea to install shade structures around the area to provide your visitors with protection from the sun, eye-catching visuals, and more pleasant experience so they will want to come back for more.

 

Shade structures are a growing trend found on outdoor playgrounds and are designed to protect and provide shade from the sun. They also serve many other beneficial purposes for outdoor playgrounds.

Here are 5 reasons why your playground needs a shade structure.

Shade structures help protect from harmful UV rays and protect children from heat-related dangers.

The sun can be both beneficial and harmful to the body. The sun’s ultraviolet B rays helps our bodies produce Vitamin D which is essential to children’s health, but the sun’s ultraviolet A rays can cause harmful damage to the skin.

A sunburn isn’t necessarily the sun burning you. A sunburn is actually caused by the body’s natural reaction to protect against the sun’s harmful rays. Prolonged sun exposure in children can increase the risks of developing cancer at a young age or even later on in life.

With melanoma cancer being one of the most common cancers found in children, it is important for schools to help take action in limiting sun exposure at school. Shade structures offer a significant amount of protection from the sun, which can help in the mission of protecting our children against the risk of cancer. At the same time, children can feel free to play outside without the worry or risk of being in direct sunlight.

Active children are very susceptible to overheating. Overheating can easily happen when a child overexerts themselves in hot weather. If dehydration is also a factor, overheating could be a life-threatening situation. It is important for your staff to be aware of the signs of overheating so that they can recognize if a child is in danger.

Shade structures help keep children from overheating by providing proper shade from the sun. On extremely hot days, it is especially important to make sure children have water available when they are playing outside.

Shade structures keep playground equipment cool and help it last longer.

Playground equipment that is in direct contact with the sun can quickly heat up to dangerous temperatures. On an extremely hot day, it is possible for children to get 2nd degree burns.

Shade structures offer an effective solution to keep playground equipment shaded and out of the sun, so that the children can play safely on equipment.

Sun exposure can also cause playground equipment to start to fade after so many years. But that’s the least of your worries when it comes to the outdoor elements. Rain can cause playground equipment to rust and, depending on the size, hail can even cause significant damage to your playground equipment.

Protect your expensive playground investment by installing a shade structure. Shade structures can help protect your playground equipment from sun, rain, and hail around the clock.

Financial incentives may be available for installing shade structures.

Schools should not look at shade structures as an extra expense, but rather as a priority to help keep their most valuable asset, the children, safe.

The American Academy Dermatology Association offers incentives of up to $8,000 to public schools and non-profit organizations who install permanent shade structures for their outdoor playgrounds that are not protected from the sun.

A shade structure over your playground can help protect your students from the sun. If you have an outdoor area that could benefit from a shade structure, then we would be happy to discuss the different shade options that we have available.

 

Cantilever shades come in different sizes, forms and designs depending on where and how you want them to be useful. Let’s go through some specific areas where cantilever shades are useful.

Patio

Patios are great a place to relax and unwind during weekends and holidays. Umbrella cantilevers can make open patios hospitable even when the weather is not favorable. Here are some of the benefits of patio cantilever umbrellas:

• Can be installed where you like – They come in many specs and can even be modified to fit your needs. Additionally, they are easy to remove or move if need be.

• Multi-directional protection – There are designs that can be rotated to offer protection from different angles. You will still be protected as the position of the sun continues to change.

• Furniture protection – Different weather conditions have detrimental effects on furniture. Fabric can fade because of the sun, and the rain can corrode and weaken wooden structures. With a patio cantilever shade structure, you will not have to worry about outdoor furniture.

Parking Lots

When designed for parking lots, cantilevers take up less space as they have fewer support poles. The added space can be used to increase the number of parking spots. Fewer support pillars make parking easier and quicker as there are fewer obstacles to navigate through. This also reduces the chances of parking lot accidents.

Sports Facilities

Though people love supporting their favorite team, watching the games under the sun may not be ideal. These shades are perfect for protecting fans during matches and in turn attracting more people to attend. Multiple structures can be used to cover the length of the pitch without blocking the fans from the action going on in the pitch.

Malls, Shopping Complexes and Restaurants

For businesses, the bigger the crowd, the merrier. Roof cantilevers are a good way for enterprises to increase their usable floor space and client capacity. For malls, cantilevers can be used as relaxing spots and shaded parking lots.

Restaurants can use these structures to extend their services to verandas and sidewalks. This can bring a different and dynamic setting for the dining experience they offer. It might also help to attract customers who like to enjoy a meal in open places.

Big hotels and companies that operate from large buildings can use cantilevers to shade their entrances and long walkways from the parking lot.

School Playgrounds

We all know how playing is important to the natural development of children. The challenge, however, is the risks kids are exposed to while having fun in the sun. Cantilever shading can be used on playgrounds to protect children and play equipment.

Benefits of Cantilever Shade Structures

• They only take up a little ground space

They are designed to remain balanced and strong with minimal support structures. This means that fewer poles or pillars will be needed to erect a cantilever shade thus leaving more usable space under the shade.

• Versatility

The nature of the structures is not restrictive. They can be used in multiple settings and even customized to blend into the design of any space. Cantilevers are suitable in many applications ranging from patios to fields and swimming pools.

Cantilever shades are the perfect way to protect people and property from the heat of the sun and they take up minimal space. Canti Levered structures have many uses for businesses, water and amusement parks or any recreational area that needs shade.

If you have any questions about Cantilever shade structures or our pricing, please contact us.  We have a best price guarantee and all of our shades are made in the USA.

 

Choosing a color for your shade sail can be difficult when you are in the planning or purchasing phase.  Your choice may come down to what appeals to you, but some will argue there are some functional reasons to choose a light or dark color. Hopefully, the information provided in this article will help you narrow your options and finally select the color best for your situation.   Continue reading “Shade Sails – Does Shade Fabric Color Really Matter?”

Dog parks are great fun for both the owners and the dogs.  But many dog parks lack the shade needed to protect the animals from the heat.  July is the hottest month in Florida with temperatures average over 80 degrees and the humidity makes the heat that much more unbearable.  Dogs, although they love to outside need shade and fresh water to beat the heat, especially in the summer months. Dog parks and outdoor facilities for animals can use shade structures to help keep the dogs cool and safe from the heat. Continue reading “Dog Park Shade – Sun Protection Is Critical at Dog Parks”