July is the month that tests your patio. By midday, a west- or south-facing deck can reach surface temperatures that send everyone indoors. The outdoor furniture sits empty. The kids stay inside. The space you planned to use all summer becomes a viewing area you pass on the way to somewhere cooler.

July is the time when PA homeowners require UV ray and heat protection the most. With custom shade solutions — built and installed to fit your specific space — you can achieve that and change what your patio can do altogether.

At Designer Awnings, we’ve spent over 25 years helping homeowners across Allentown, Bethlehem, and the greater Lehigh Valley get more out of their outdoor spaces. What follows is an honest look at why summer shade matters, what your options are, and how to choose what’s right for your home.

Why July Is the Harshest Month for Your Patio

UV radiation from the sun follows a predictable pattern throughout the year. It peaks in June and July, when the sun’s angle is most direct and daytime hours are longest. On a clear July afternoon in the Lehigh Valley, the UV index regularly hits levels rated “Very High” by the EPA — the kind of exposure that can cause sunburn in as little as 15 minutes for fair-skinned individuals.

For families spending time on a patio or deck, that’s not a number to take lightly. Children’s skin is more sensitive to UV damage than adults’, and repeated exposure during peak months adds up over time. Dermatologists consistently list shade as one of the most effective forms of UV protection — more reliable than sunscreen alone because it doesn’t need to be reapplied, and it covers everyone in the area without any effort.

Heat compounds the problem. A patio with direct afternoon sun exposure can feel 15 degrees warmer than a shaded one. For older family members, pets, or anyone trying to enjoy a meal outside without sweating through it, that difference is the line between using your outdoor space and avoiding it.

A patio umbrella can help with a single chair. It can’t protect a 12-foot dining table, a set of outdoor furniture, or the deck surface itself from fading under steady UV exposure. If your outdoor space is worth using, it’s worth protecting properly.

The Real Costs of Unprotected UV Exposure

Most people think about sunscreen and shade when they’re at the beach or a pool. Fewer think about it during a backyard lunch or an afternoon with the kids outside. But UV exposure is cumulative — it adds up across all outdoor time, not just the obvious sun-heavy activities.

The World Health Organization estimates that up to 80% of a person’s lifetime UV exposure occurs during ordinary daily activities, not at the beach. Shade at home, where families spend a significant portion of their outdoor time, is one of the more practical and overlooked forms of UV protection.

Beyond the health case, UV exposure does measurable damage to your outdoor investment. Acrylic fabrics on patio furniture typically fade within two to three seasons under direct summer sun. Composite decking discolors and softens. Hardwood furniture grays faster. Shade slows all of these processes, which means your outdoor investment lasts longer.

A custom retractable awning addresses both concerns at once: it reduces UV exposure for the people using the space and protects the furnishings, decking, and flooring underneath it. For homes where the patio gets daily use in summer, that kind of coverage is practical — not a luxury add-on.

Retractable Awnings: The Custom Shade Solution Built for Summer

Not all shade is created equal, and not all awnings are built the same way. For homeowners who want a system that fits their space exactly, performs reliably through a Lehigh Valley summer, and holds up year after year, The Sunesta stands apart.

The Sunesta

Available exclusively through authorized dealers like Designer Awnings, is engineered specifically for residential outdoor living. It can be sized up to 40 feet wide with a projection of up to 14 feet 8 inches — coverage that handles even large patios, decks, and rear terraces without requiring multiple systems. Wall mount, soffit mount, and roof mount configurations mean it can be installed on nearly any home regardless of architecture.

The engineering credentials are worth knowing. The Sunesta is TÜV Rheinland tested and certified, which means an independent third-party lab has verified the product against internationally recognized performance standards. It also carries Miami-Dade County Approval for wind resistance — a certification originally developed for hurricane-prone areas, and which speaks to how the product was designed to perform under stress.

Every order is produced to specification. With over 150 acrylic fabric options — including premium selections from Staler and Sunbrella — you choose the coverage level, color, and fabric performance characteristics that suit your home. The frames come in white, clay, beige, black, or brown to match your exterior. When your order enters production, Sunesta’s SmartCode system assigns it a unique identification number that tracks it from manufacturing through delivery.

The motor carries a five-year warranty. The fabric carries a ten-year warranty. The frame is backed for the lifetime of the product. Those are Sunesta’s commitments, put in writing.

When You Need Shade and Fresh Air: Retractable Patio Screens

An awning handles the sun overhead. But peak summer brings other challenges: insects, driving glare from the side, and occasional wind that makes outdoor dining less comfortable than it should be. For those situations, a retractable patio screen [/screens/] offers a different kind of coverage.

Two products serve this purpose, each with a distinct design.

The Sentry

This high performing retractable screen uses a captured edge rail system that keeps the screen fabric taut across the full panel from top to bottom. This creates a stable barrier effective against insects and strong enough to resist light wind. The Sentry can be installed up to 18 feet wide and 12 feet tall, and comes in five frame finishes: white, beige, clay, brown, and bronze.

The Sunroll

Reaching wider spans using a free-hanging or rod-and-cable tension system, and up to 20 feet wide and 12 feet tall. With over 190 colorfast acrylic fabric options, it’s the more customizable choice for homeowners with specific aesthetic goals. The Sunroll works well in applications where the goal is glare reduction, privacy, or wind buffering more than complete insect exclusion.

Both screens retract fully when not in use. Homeowners can deploy them only when needed — during an evening meal, during peak afternoon glare, or when mosquitoes are active — and retract them to maintain the open feel of the patio the rest of the time. That kind of flexibility is one reason retractable screens work better than fixed screens for most residential outdoor spaces.

In homes where families use the patio across a range of situations — morning coffee, afternoon play, evening entertaining — combining an overhead awning with retractable side screens gives the most complete custom shade coverage for summer.

Choosing the Right Shade for Your Space

The right shade setup depends on how you use your patio, which direction it faces, and how your home is built. A few questions help narrow it down.

What’s your primary concern? If it’s direct overhead sun and heat, an awning is the starting point.
If you’re also dealing with late-afternoon glare, insects, or wind, screens address what an awning alone can’t.

How is your patio oriented? South- and west-facing patios take the most direct summer sun. A retractable awning with a wide projection makes the biggest difference in these situations. East-facing patios are more comfortable in the afternoon but may benefit from screens that filter morning light.

What’s the size of the space? Custom sizing is one of the advantages of the Sunesta line — you’re not limited to standard widths. For large patios and wide deck spans, that flexibility matters.

What are your mounting options? Homes with a suitable wall surface or soffit above the patio are straightforward to work with. Roof-mounted configurations are available for situations where wall or soffit mounting isn’t practical.

These are questions our team works through in person during the free estimate. We come to your home, measure the space, review the mounting options, and walk you through fabric and color selection on-site. Most homeowners find the in-home visit useful — it’s easier to visualize coverage and projection in the actual space than on a screen.

What to Expect When You Request an Estimate

The process at Designer Awnings is direct. You contact us for a free in-home estimate, we schedule a visit at a time that works for you, and our team comes out to measure and consult. There’s no pressure and no obligation.

If you decide to move forward, your order is placed and built to your specifications. Sunesta’s SmartCode system keeps your order tracked from production through delivery. Most customers receive their new awning in just weeks.

We’ve been doing this for over 25 years. We know the Lehigh Valley, we know these homes, and we know which setups perform well in a Pennsylvania summer. If your patio isn’t working for your family the way it should be this July, that’s worth a conversation.