Shady Businesss

My sliding glass doors have been my nemesis ever since we moved into this house. It gets full sun from noon until sunset. It faces West, so it's hot sun. When we had shutters put in, the shutter guy did not have anything to offer us. Then, Dennis read you could put aluminum foil up to stop the heat. Needless to say, I did not want to use aluminum foil, it's expensive! I started looking at awnings but they were at least $1,000. I just did not want to spend that much money.

When I was at Big Lots last Friday, I saw these matchstick shades (or is it call broom stick shades, I can't ever remember.) They were the perfect size, so I bought 2 sets for $5 each. The one on the main door worked like a charm. The other side was more of a problem. I could not leave the hardware and bamboo sticks on the non-movable side. So, I took off all the hardware and begin to think how I could attach it to the glass. (Dennis, being funny, suggested that since I was from the South to just use Duct tape! Very funny Dear! He's a city boy and doesn't know any better.) Then, the idea came to me to use velcro. I hot glue the edges to make it the right size to fit the glass. I attached the shade with velcro circles to the glass at the top and the bottom. This will make it easy to remove should we wish to do that. I think it turned out very nicely. My friend, Tammy, suggested I use a table umbrella on the patio to stop the sun in the afternoons. It works like a charm. Now we will have a nice cool kitchen thanks to shades, an umbrella, and thinking outside the box.

Dennis and I are really fond of our new shades in the kitchen. I think it makes all the difference in the world.