Charcoal-framed louvre roof with white blades in Claremont.

The brief

A Claremont home in the Southern Suburbs wanted to make its patio usable through both the summer heat and the winter rain.

The build

A charcoal-framed aluminium louvre roof with white blades over the patio. Blades open for dappled light through the leafy Claremont setting and close completely for rain cover, with concealed drainage.

The result

An adjustable, low-maintenance cover that suits the established Southern Suburbs home. Bright when you want it, sealed when you don't.

Dappled light on a Claremont patio

Claremont's trees do half the shading already, which changes how you set up a louvre roof. Instead of blocking sun outright, the blades here spend most of the summer partly open, filtering what comes through the canopy into softer, dappled light on the patio. Fully open is for winter mornings when the garden is cold and the sun is worth catching.

Winter is where the concealed drainage earns its keep. Southern Suburbs rainfall is heavier than most of Cape Town because of the mountain, and when the blades close, the water has to go somewhere tidy; here it runs off through the structure with no visible guttering. The charcoal frame suits the established garden, and white blades stop the covered patio going dim under all that green.