Wrap-around charcoal louvre roof over a Durbanville garden.

The brief

A Durbanville family wanted to cover the patio that runs along the back of the house and push the shade out over the lawn, so the indoor-outdoor flow worked in all weather.

The build

A charcoal aluminium louvre roof, charcoal frame and blades, fixed along the rear wall and carried on slim columns, with the roof line cantilevering slightly past the columns to throw shade further over the garden. Manually adjustable blades, pitched to drain to the rear.

The result

The patio and a strip of garden are now usable year-round. Open blades keep the kitchen and living rooms bright; closed, they keep the patio dry. The charcoal finish frames the lawn and planting cleanly.

Cantilevered shade over the Durbanville garden

The cantilever is the detail this family notices most. With the roof line carried past the columns, shade falls on the lawn itself rather than stopping at the paving, a cool strip of grass in high summer with no extra posts standing in the garden.

Because the roof runs the full back of the house, every room along that wall opens onto covered space. Blades open in winter to keep the kitchen and living areas bright on grey days; pitched and closed, they send the rain to the rear and the doors can stay open while it pours. Durbanville summers are hot and still this far inland, and the adjustable blades mean the back of the house no longer bakes through the afternoon.