DIY Gazebo Sun Shade

Updated June 4, 2020
DIY Gazebo Sun Shade

We love eating dinner out on our patio... but it isn't very fun with the sun blazing in your eyes...
I have been wracking my brain for the best and cheapest solution!  We only need the top half covered for shade.  It would be nice to have the lower half open for breezes to blow through.

Gazebo before without sun shade

I happen to find sun shades that were made for my gazebo.  I thought they would be perfect.  I ordered 2 of them for $29.99 each.  If I had realized what I was going to end up doing, I could have purchased fabric instead and probably for a lot cheaper... Oh well, hopefully this will help you out!

Anyways... when they arrived, I realized they had to be tied to the poles...😒   That was NOT the look I was going for and what a pain it would be to "roll" them up and tie them.

Looks like Arwen, wanted to check them out. 😻

Gazebo sun shade with ties laid out

So, these curtains ended up sitting in the garage for awhile til one day it hit me!!!

I have the mosquito curtains that came with the gazebo (we never used them).  This might sound weird, but what if I sort of gave the curtains sunglasses?  I knew it would work!

I laid the curtain out on the table and measured the area to be covered.  I'm only covering the top half for shade.

mosquito curtains laid out on the table

I realized I could get the shade we needed with only one of the sun shades. Yes!💪   Of course, I took the other one back!

I cut the sun shade into quarters.

sun shade cut into a quarter

Next, I laid the sun shade onto the curtains and pinned where the netting started. Then cut the excess off.

cutting and pinning sun shade to gazebo curtains

Once it was all cut, I folded the edge under and pinned it.  Now, I'm ready to sew it up.

gazebo sun shade pinned to curtain

It was a bit awkward to sew.  It was a ton of curtain to maneuver.  But it looks so good and works so well!!

Inside gazebo with curtains zipped

Fast forward to 2020... Amazingly enough, this gazebo is still standing! And the sun shade curtains are still working!  They are a bit faded, but that doesn't matter. 👍

The mosquito netting, just seemed to get in the way.  It was always blowing in on us, so I just cut it all off.  They work even better now! Here are the shade curtains zipped up.

Gazebo sun shade zipped up

When not in use, I just keep them tied to the poles.

Gazebo with sun shades tied to poles

We love them!!

DIY Gazebo Sun Shade

Blessings!

18 comments

  1. Great idea, Lori! That was such a creative solution to your sun problem. That looks like a lot a material to have to get over to your sewing machine... you have a lot of perserverance. I love the way it looks when you don't need the "sunglasses"...almost invisible. I saw the weather forcast for this coming weekend...I think you are going to need those sunglasses with the high heat.

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    1. Miss Kitty! Thank you so much! You are always so encouraging!! High heat? I'll be staying inside or in the pool!

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  2. This is so clever! I will have to give it a try for my mother's gazebo.

    http://ramencouture.blogspot.com/

    xox,
    Sabrina

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    1. Thank you, Sabrina! I hope it works out just a easy for your mom!

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  3. What a fantastic idea, Lori! It looks great. Megan

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    1. Hi Megan! Thanks! Most of my projects lately seem to be out of necessity.... But it works!!

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  4. This is awesome! Brilliant idea and I think curtains outdoors are so elegant. I want to come over and have coffee with you...wish we lived closer!!!

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    1. Thanks, Janis! You are the best! I wish you could come over for coffee too!!

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  5. Wow! That was a lot of work, but it looks great! New follower! I have a blog too, please check it out!
    www.thebiblechef.blogspot.com

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    1. Oh, it really wasn't that much work. It was just a big piece of stuff to work with... hahaha! Thanks for stopping by and for following!! :D

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    1. Thanks, Mary! I love them! We just had a wicked storm go through and it literally shredded my gazebo top! I'll be ordering another from Target... :/

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  7. how do you like your gazebo from target? i'm having a hard time finding a nice one that doesn't cost HUNDREDS of dollars!

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    1. Hi! Yes, I do really like it. I've had it for about 5 years or so... Now we've been through a couple of tops for it. The storms here are crazy, but it's held up pretty well! Thanks for stopping by!

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  8. What a great idea..I have a gazebo in my yard that I can not find a replacement canopy for..tried EVERYTHING..I was told it was discontinued..sorry..I don't have the money to replace the whole thing (only 3 years old and it cost us $800. I was looking to hang curtains or something from it to atleast make it look nice for this summer..ANY ideas?? I could use some help

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    1. Well, I think hanging curtains would be a great idea. I'm struggling with my canopy also. It seems to keep ripping every year, and I really don't want to keep replacing it. We are actually looking at installing something more permanent. But I still want curtains to block out the sun. Wish I could be more help.

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  9. Love this idea! We do not have a gazebo, but I have been trying to come up with something to hang either on my deck or around our table umbrella to keep out the sun. Any suggestions?? Thank you!

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  10. Thank you! Hmmm... I was trying to think of what would I do? We just build a privacy screen on our gazebo... I don't know if something like that would work. Here's the link to that. https://www.thestonybrookhouse.com/2020/06/how-to-build-privacy-screen.html

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Comments are awesome! Let me know what you think!

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