Patio umbrellas are an ideal way to keep the sun away when enjoying the outdoors. They combine function and decoration, providing shade and coming in a wide variety of materials, colors, shapes and styles. Umbrellas bring a classic essence to any patio set and are also a good and easy way to give your patio a fashion makeover. They also add value to any home, not forgetting the outdoor shade you’ll enjoy for years to follow.

Patio umbrellas can feature pulley, crank, button or collar tilting mechanisms that are perfect for shading any outdoor furniture. Even on the sunniest day, one can enjoy outdoor living spaces and stay in the shade of your umbrella. Home owners can always find a style that will fit their backyard decor or outdoor furniture. There are cantilever and offset patio umbrellas that are designed with the pole on the side and the umbrella shade overhanging from the side. This is an added advantage if one does not have a patio table with a hole in the middle.

One should also consider the material the patio shade is made from. The frames are mostly made of wood, fiberglass, aluminum, or  other metals. Most umbrellas are made of vinyl or canvas. They can also come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Umbrellas can be oval, rectangular, round or even square and can fit small and large tables.

When it comes to prices, there are a lot of variables that should be considered. Size and shape are factors which determine the pricing of patio umbrellas. The materials used will also influence the pricing. Quality is also an issue that should be considered before purchasing an new umbrella for your patio

One can get a variety of outdoor furniture umbrellas from online stores such as Amazon.com, which offers a wide array including these models:

TropiShade 9-Foot Market Umbrella

This is an excellent quality 9 foot umbrella at a price that’s hard to beat. The fiberglass ribbing used in its construction will last longer than most other types of material that could be used for this purpose. It also has an added advantage of making the TropiShade Market Umbrella extremely lightweight and portable. Moving it from the backyard and into or out of storage is no hassle at all.

It features a smoothly functioning crank to tilt the shade into the desired position, while a stop mechanism prevents it from extending too far, which could damage the pulley mechanism located internally. the umbrella has adequately sized wind vents. These help to prevent it from getting knocked over by a sudden strong gust of wind that might blow over a more poorly designed patio shade.

Several different colors are available from TropiShade, but the beige color shown in the photo here might be one of the most popular due to it’s ability to match so many other colors.

Ace Evert Offset Umbrella

The Ace Evert Offset Umbrella is perfect for any place you want to create some shade without placing a pole right in the middle of the way. Many dining sets include a hole in the center of the table to place an umbrella pole in. But if you’re using a bar cabinet you might not have the luxury of a central location to place the support pole for some shade. In that case, an offset umbrella really makes a ton of sense.

This umbrella is 10 feet in diameter and requires almost no assembly. Just by looking at the picture, this umbrella may not seem so incredibly huge, but if you take a tape measure and extend it to 10 feet you’ll be able to get a much better idea of just how much shade this umbrella will provide.

The offset design of this umbrella really makes it one of the better options for most outdoor bars. You can also probably find a color to suit your personal taste and one that matches your backyard furnishings. Besides the Terra Cotta color shown in the picture here, other colors are available, including Cocoa and Beige

Castle Creek 9 foot Market Umbrella

The Castle Creek 9 foot Market Umbrella is a very affordable backyard umbrella for any sized budget. It comes in 3 possible colors: Hunter Green, Navy Blue or Khaki. This is one of the best values you can find for an outdoor furniture umbrella.

You’ll be glad that you got an umbrella of at least 9 feet in diameter once you have it set up and see just how much shade it provides. This of course assumes that you have at least nine feet of space to put it in, but if you don’t have at least 9 feet in your backyard, then you really have much bigger problems than which patio accessories to pick out.

But in all seriousness, this is a great quality umbrella for a modest price. A majority of customers rate this purchase as a perfect 5 out of 5 stars.

Even when the sun is blazing down, you’ll be protected from overexposure of the sun with one of these umbrellas for your outdoor bar or dining area.