DIY Garden Sun Shade

This is simply brilliant, isn’t it? One trip to Ikea’s curtain department and you’re done: you got yourself a magnificent, removable DIY sun shade.

What an Ikea hack is that!

What you’ll need for this sun shade project is:

• a set of roman blinds to cover all or just parts of your deck or patio.
• a set of metal Ikea curtain wires, hung across your patio.
• a set of rings to attached on each of the blind’s sections so they can go around the curtain wires.
• a tool box (with drill?) to get those hooks into the wall.  The wall fixtures are part of the Ikea curtain wire set, but depending on the type of wall it is, you may need additional plugs that go into the wall to secure the fixtures. The wire, hooks and rings are here: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60075295/ (not an affiliate link).

That’s all you’ll need.

Ho to Install Your DIY Sun shade

• Attach one side of the metal wires onto the wall, as is shows.
• String the curtain panels onto the Ikea metal wires.
• Measure the exact length you need of the wires and attach the other side of the wires onto another wall or posts.

How to Use Your DIY Sun shade

• Roll the roman blinds back and forth to create as much or as little shade as you wish.

Tips & Hints for your DIY Sun shade

• (because I live in the UK now….   but it’s useful for my Seattle and Portland friends as well): the sun shade can also be used as a rain cover…
• Sun shade can also be used to give some shade over your vegetable patch (in very sunny parts of the world)
• Remove the sun shade during winter to get more use out of your curtains. 
• If you want to create really durable outdoor curtains, you should look into sail cloth. At your local yacht club or craigslist you might be able to pick up a used sail. You should cut that up into panels to create your own DIY sun shade.  Actually, now that I think of it, this would of course make a WAYYYYY COOOLER DIY sun shade than using IKEA curtains.  
• If you’d opt for new sail cloth or equivalent, realize that such fabric is usually rather expensive.

Other outdoor DIY sun shade ideas….