A small sky corner is enough to open wider views for your home or business. We are clearly referring to the outdoors, a resource as unique as it is versatile, that in the last few years has distanced itself from the traditional pair of “sun and relaxation”, thus becoming the most loved and sought-after place all year round– in the city too.
Creating an outdoor area – whether big or small – is indeed an opportunity to shape creativity and to reinvent the space limitless, by using the big potential offered by the most advanced systems for the outdoors. A space where imaging your peaceful oasis, useful extensions of the covered surface and, why not, new business opportunities.
However, having an outdoor space is just the first step. Indeed, to fully enhance it, it’s very important to define its functions, use, design and style, in order to identify the best design solutions and the furniture recommended to create a customised and impeccable outdoor area.
1. Outdoor dehors. The top trends
Wide landscapes, natural light, pure air and the best climate comfort, held in places of absolute well-being that blend the outdoors and the indoors, and vice versa. Calling them trends would be reductive, since the outdoor spaces are a true revolution in imaging the rhythms and the life spaces everywhere.
Thanks to the new bioclimatic technologies that characterise the cutting-edge pergolas, the outdoor area becomes a place to live every day, in all seasons and without fearing the vagaries of the weather. An advantage for those who live or work in the warmest areas, where the sunshade systems allow you to stay outside even when the sun heat becomes more intense, by taking advantage of the coverings with sunshade blades creating a pleasant shade and ventilation.
Nevertheless, those who enjoy the new open air spaces the most are the Nordic countries, since they are characterised by few sunlight hours and quite cold climates that make it difficult to stay outside for a long time. In this particular case, the bioclimatic pergolas guarantee the comfort of a space projected to the landscape and always cosy, since it’s sheltered by perimeter glass closures – such as those of the Glass Series by Pratic – that are water, wind, dust and noise resistant.
A natural wellbeing to enjoy all year round, at home and anywhere. The awnings and pergolas are indeed conceived to enhance any outdoor space, increasing the usable surface and making it even more functional.
At home, the outdoor space equipped with a retractable awning may become a relaxing corner, cool and shaded, to be used according to your own wishes. On the other hand, installing a pergola equipped with sliding glass walls and Led lighting, potential become unlimited: the new trends propose versatile spaces, that range from the outdoor living to the dining room, up to the gym or the open-air office.
When instead we talk about places designed for hospitality – such as hotels, bars and restaurants – the outdoor spaces are the most efficient solution to increase very quickly the number of covers and make them usable anytime, thus offering the customers a unique and immersive experience.
In both cases, the key for a refined and efficient result is the customised design. For this reason, Pratic awnings and pergolas are tailor-made, by always considering needs, features and style of the outdoor space, that is conceived to fully integrate into the landscape and the existing architecture with the top comfort, beauty and ease of use.
But what are the best solutions and trends to follow?
2. Outdoor lounges for bars
A coffee to take wrapped in the warmth of sunrays, or a drink at sunset, with a view on a wonderful city skyline. The outdoor area for bar is a true resource in terms of usable space and distinctive design, able to create new opportunities even for the smallest businesses.
Among the new trends, the outdoor shop window used as an extension of the counter stands out, and this one is protected from sunlight or light rains through a refined folding arm awning made of waterproof fabrics. The well-finished and essential design is guaranteed, for Pratic models, by the aluminium box, hiding the fabric and the arms once closed. A detail making the outdoor lounge for bar even more versatile, since the box can be equipped with Led strips, that light up the space under the awning and give more visibility to the business.
When the surfaces to shade are wider, instead, the pergolas with retractable PVC cover offer the perfect solution: its minimalist design that can adapt to any place, together with the best home automation technology, create the perfect comfortable set in the outdoor lounge for bar, protecting against sunrays and light rains.
3. Outdoor terraces for restaurants
Extended spaces, increased number of seats and an even more charming location. Increasingly sought after by restaurant owners and customers, the restaurant terraces open up new opportunities to develop your own business and add value to the premises.
The main solution for bars and restaurants are bioclimatic pergolas, aluminium structures with sunshade blades – adjustable or retractable from zero up to 140 degrees – allowing for lighting, ventilation and temperature to be regulated in a natural way, also acting as a shelter against bad weather once fully closed. Rainwater can then be carried along gutters integrated into the posts whereas fixed or sliding glass doors on the perimeter provide for a cosy and protected environment.
Self-supporting or wall-mounted, such pergolas can be placed side by side to create a composition of several modules – also of different dimensions – in order to make the most of your outdoor area. Moreover, by integrating the modular Set platform, Pratic pergolas can be installed almost everywhere. Indeed the compensation system integrated into the structure solves any slope or unevenness of the ground, thus creating a perfectly flat surface on which to build your restaurant terrace.
Besides installation convenience, Pratic offers also an easy operation. By means of home automation systems manageable per remote control, app, voice controls and weather sensors, the operation of one or multiple coverings at the same time becomes easy and intuitive. Customers can therefore enjoy an always-optimal comfort and coverings can be protected against potential damages caused by bad weather.
4. Outdoor dehors for gardens
Bringing the pleasantness of outdoor living inside your own home is nowadays a must when designing a house, allowing not only to enhance the functionality of spaces but also to have a positive effect on the psychophysical wellbeing of those living there. In this scenario, having a dehor in the garden offers many chances for enjoying the everyday life even more in the open air.
The main solution for extending the house towards the garden is represented by wall-mounted pergolas proving for a natural extension of the indoors, thus giving space to verandas, winter gardens and additional rooms. Perfectly blending in with the building’s architecture, these are conceived to improve energy efficiency too: as a screen for glazed walls or wide windows, pergolas help prevent their overheating, thereby benefiting from greater thermal comfort and savings on energy consumption.
Not only. This configuration of the outdoor area in the garden allows you to imagine practical and original uses, of which relaxation areas, gyms and home offices are just a few examples.
Yet what about privacy? This is ensured by Connect, the first pergola of Pratic with mirrored glass walls reflecting the surrounding landscape and preventing those outside from viewing inside. A unique technology ensuring a privacy never experienced before by means of a highly spectacular design.
Lastly, when it comes to outdoor areas in the garden featuring great dimensions, self-supporting pergolas can be transformed into cosy outbuildings where to immerse yourself in the greenery or create elegant leisure spaces nearby pools. Thanks to modern outdoor furnishing and functional accessories such as vertical awnings, Led lighting and sockets integrated onto the posts of the structure, the pergola becomes an extraordinary second home where to welcome guests and set up entire living rooms, equipped with kitchen, dining and sitting room, completely in the open air.
5. Dehors: permits and authorizations
Depending on the selected covering and the installation site, the realization of an outdoor area may require specific permits and authorizations.
In residential sector and in lack of architectural constraints, it is only necessary to submit the Declaration of Commencement of Activity to the municipal offices in charge and give neighbours notice of construction works. However, if awnings and pergolas are installed on the façade of a building, an additional step is to make sure that building regulations accept the presence of the outdoor covering and, if so, which aesthetical conditions are to be followed.
Permits and authorizations for the outdoor area are especially required when the installation of a solar shading involves public land or in case of landscape and architectural constraints whose regulations differ from one municipality to another.
For that reason, Pratic dealers provide a proper advice and custom-made projects to meet any construction and aesthetical requirement by providing structures of essential design, customizable in any desired colour.
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