canvas awnings
Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings | Canvas Awnings, Garden Route
Custom-manufactured canvas awnings for Garden Route homes, restaurants, guest houses, and lodges. Retractable folding-arm, wedge, drop-arm, and patio shade configurations in Dickson and Tempotest marine-grade fabrics. Designed and built in the Knysna workshop, installed across the Garden Route from Mossel Bay to Plettenberg Bay.
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Canvas awnings on the Garden Route face a specific combination of forces: sustained UV intensity through long summer seasons, salt air on coastal positions, sudden gust events off the Outeniqua passes and Indian Ocean, and intermittent driving rain through autumn and winter. Standard-grade canvas fabrics fade visibly within seasons and structurally fail within 3 to 5 years on this coast. Marine-grade canvas from established suppliers is the baseline specification, not a premium upgrade.
Custom Blinds specifies Dickson and Tempotest canvas fabrics on Garden Route installations. Both are solution-dyed acrylics manufactured to withstand sustained UV exposure and marine salt deposition. Solution-dyed means the colour is locked into the fibre itself, not surface-printed, so the fabric does not fade when scratched, abraded, or weathered. Field life on Garden Route installations sits at 15 years for the canvas itself, with the underlying hardware (cassette, arms, motor) lasting significantly longer.
The Knysna workshop manufactures every canvas awning to the specific opening dimensions on each property. There is no warehouse-stock approach. Site visits include structural assessment of the mounting surface, pitch calculation for water runoff, and projection planning to clear obstructions like gutters and downpipes.
The most widely specified canvas awning on the Garden Route. Folding-arm awnings extend up to 3 metres with no vertical posts, which keeps the patio or deck open below. Suited to patios, decks, restaurant terraces, and guest-house frontages. Manual crank or Somfy motorised operation. Available in the full Dickson and Tempotest fabric ranges.
Triangular profile, suited to windows, doorways, and smaller openings where a full folding-arm awning would be oversized. Fixed-pitch construction with no retraction. Common specification on heritage-style facades and storefronts where the awning becomes a permanent architectural feature.
Vertical-drop construction for window protection. The fabric drops down at an angle to shade the window from low-angle morning or afternoon sun. Suited to west-facing and east-facing windows where horizontal coverage is not needed.
Larger-format canvas covering for substantial patio and entertainment areas. Custom-manufactured to the specific opening, often paired with vertical outdoor blinds for full weather enclosure. Common on Garden Route hospitality venues and large residential entertainment patios.
“Canvas is the longest-lifespan awning fabric on the Garden Route when you specify it correctly. Dickson and Tempotest hold colour for 15 years on this coast. The mistake is treating canvas as a budget option and going with whatever the supplier is moving. Marine-grade canvas, properly installed with the right pitch and a wind sensor on the motor, is a 20-year decision.”Duncan Kane Founder, Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings
Somfy motorisation is the standard Custom Blinds specification on canvas awnings sold from one metre wide upwards. The motor replaces the crank mechanism and adds remote control, app control, scheduled operation, and environmental sensors. The single most useful sensor on a canvas awning is the wind sensor, which retracts the awning automatically when gusts cross a threshold. Without it, canvas awnings left extended during sudden Garden Route wind events tear, bend the arms, or pull the brackets out of the wall.
Sun sensors are useful on holiday-home installations where the property is unoccupied for extended periods. The awning extends automatically when UV peaks, which protects interior finishes from sustained sunlight through the protected window or door. App control via Somfy TaHoma adds remote operation from anywhere, useful for guest-house and lodge operators managing multiple awnings across a property.
Installations across the Garden Route from Mossel Bay to Plettenberg Bay, including residential properties, restaurants, lodges, guest houses, and retail premises. Common locations include:
Commercial installations across Garden Route restaurants and hospitality venues use the same estimate-first process. Complimentary estimates from your dimensions, a written quotation, and one team from manufacture through installation.
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Select where you need shade. We will show you the right awning types for that space.
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Front Door
Entrance, porch, stoep
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Patio
Outdoor living, braai area
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Window
Facade shading, sill projection
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Entertainment Area
Covered deck, alfresco dining
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Pergola or Pool Area
Open structure, poolside shade
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Driveway or Carport
Vehicle shelter, entry shade
All awnings are designed structures. Send your opening dimensions and a few photos on WhatsApp for a complimentary estimate. If you are happy to proceed, Duncan visits your property, takes final measurements, assesses the mounting surface, and confirms the right configuration.
With Dickson or Tempotest marine-grade canvas and proper installation, the fabric holds colour and structural integrity for 15 years on Garden Route installations. The underlying hardware (cassette, arms, motor) lasts significantly longer. At the 10 to 12 year mark, the fabric can be replaced as a single panel while the hardware stays in place, which keeps the lifetime cost low.
Dickson Canvas and Tempotest fabrics. Both are solution-dyed marine-grade acrylics manufactured for sustained UV exposure and coastal salt deposition. Solution-dyed means the colour is locked into the fibre itself, not surface-printed, so the fabric does not fade when scratched, abraded, or weathered. Full colour ranges available from both suppliers.
Yes, when specified correctly and fitted with a Somfy wind sensor. The wind sensor retracts the awning automatically when gusts cross a threshold, which prevents fabric tears and arm damage during sudden Garden Route gust events. Manual canvas awnings without wind sensors are not recommended for exposed Garden Route positions. Somfy wind-sensor automation is specified for every exposed Custom Blinds canvas awning quotation.
No. Canvas awnings are Garden Route installation only because they require on-site measurement, structural assessment, and professional fitting. The opening dimensions, pitch, mounting surface capacity, and projection clearance vary on every property and cannot be specified accurately without a site visit. Indoor blinds (roller, honeycomb, venetian, no-drill) ship nationally via shop.customblinds.co.za.
Yes. Commercial canvas awning installations across Garden Route restaurants, guest houses, lodges, and retail premises. Folding-arm awnings extend covered seating for outdoor dining. Wedge awnings cover storefront windows. Patio shade awnings cover larger entertainment areas, often paired with vertical outdoor blinds for full weather enclosure. Commercial work follows the same site-visit and specification process as residential.
No. Estimates and consultations are complimentary. Send through your dimensions and a few photos on WhatsApp and we will prepare your estimate, or share your building plans for larger projects. If you are happy to proceed, we come out and do the final measurements on the Garden Route. Larger projects include a design consultation with Duncan Kane, on site anywhere on the Garden Route.
20 years of expertise, built on exceptional products, trusted partnerships and projects we’re proud to put our name to.
About Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings. Founded by Duncan Kane in 2010, Custom Blinds is the longest-standing independent blinds, awnings, shutters, shadeports, and screens specialist on the Garden Route. The Knysna workshop manufactures canvas awnings using Dickson and Tempotest marine-grade canvas fabrics. The business installs across Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, George, Sedgefield, Mossel Bay, Wilderness, and Buffalo Bay, and ships roller blinds, honeycomb blinds, venetian blinds, no-drill blinds, and screen-mesh outdoor blinds nationally via shop.customblinds.co.za. Indoor blinds use Blindquip (Hunter Douglas) systems. Outdoor blind systems use Sheerweave and Screentex mesh fabrics nationally, with Sunworker reserved for Garden Route coastal installations. Somfy-accredited installer and Motion by Coulisse partner. Thousands of installations completed. Canvas awning site visits arranged via Duncan Kane, founder, on 079 523 5407.
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Send rough sizes, a photo or two of the opening and anything you already know. We come back on fabric, system and pricing, usually within one working day.
We have what we need to start on your assessment. Expect a reply on the number you gave, usually within one working day.