Bronze-framed louvre roof with white blades in Hermanus.

The brief

A double-storey Hermanus home in warm terracotta render wanted a patio cover that picked up the house colours rather than defaulting to black or white, and that could handle the salt air off the Overberg coast.

The build

An aluminium louvre roof with a bronze powder-coated frame and white blades, wall-attached over the ground-floor patio and carried on bronze columns. The bronze tone was chosen to sit with the home's render and trim; the white blades keep the underside bright. Coastal-grade finishes throughout for the Hermanus sea air.

The result

A patio cover that looks original to the house. Open, the white blades keep the space light; closed, they shed rain off the patio. The bronze frame is a warmer, less expected alternative to the usual charcoal or white, and ties the whole elevation together.

Bronze to match Hermanus terracotta

Most of the louvre roofs we fit are charcoal or white, so bronze is the outlier here. Against this Hermanus home's terracotta render it earns its keep: the warm metal picks up the wall colour instead of fighting it, and the bronze columns carry that tone down to the paving, so the whole elevation hangs together.

White blades stop the warm palette turning the patio gloomy. They bounce daylight into the space when open and shed the Overberg rain when closed. Hermanus sits right on the sea, and salt air off the bay works on coatings all year, so the finishes are coastal-grade throughout. That is not optional this close to the water.