[AnneMiles]

We just had awnings installed over several sections of our birdcage by Sunshine Awnings to provide greater shade in some areas. We met with a salesman who showed us a number of fabrics to choose from. We chose a fabric designed to match our overall lanai decor. I'm not unhappy with this company's product ... I'm unhappy with the color selection process. Here's my warning... the color you choose is the color you will see from OUTSIDE the house. It looks nothing like the color you see from INSIDE the birdcage. If you know that ahead of time, or aren't picky about color, you'll be fine. To be fair, the salesman did warn us that the birdcage screen would distort the color--but did NOT say that the color would be totally different. In my case, I chose a light tweedy color to go with lanai decor. What I got is an awning that appears to be a dark rusty color. Perhaps the salesperson could bring a screen sample to demonstrate the true color inside the birdcage? Or show some pictures? After installation and in response to my deep distress, the installer came by to calm me down and mentioned that he has heard this complaint a number of times in the past. Despite those past complaints, no attempt appears to have been made to make customers, like me, more aware of the actual color they will see from inside the birdcage. I was further dismayed by the fact that the shades were installed while we on vacation! There was no attempt call ahead to make sure we would be home. In the long term... we expect to be pleased with the awnings in terms of the shade they provide and durability, but I remain dismayed by what I think was a misrepresentation of the facts by the salesperson and dismayed with myself for making the purchase. I should have done more homework. Hopefully this post will help others who are considering an awnings purchase.

[Gpsma]

Paragrphs are your friend..and you can have more then one.
Sorry it didnt work out for you..but the salsman did warn you.

[Stu from NYC]

When the salesman told you the color would not be the same on both sides, why didnt you ask to see a sample so you could judge for yourself?

The company should have suggested this so guess there is fault on both sides

[AnneMiles]

I admit to not doing enough homework.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

tldr

We purchased similar sunshades, and they came out fine. . since we don't look at the lanai from the outside very often, we don't worry about differences. . . the neighbors eyes might hurt from the colors, but that's on them. .

however, its a good lesson to remember that you are responsible for the ultimate decision, and looking from all angles, your angle, your cat's angle, the dog angle, the gecko angle and they don't get a big vote, the neighbor's angle. . asking what is the down side, what am i missing? to all transactions.

That being said, we had two quotes, and one sales man was very unenthusiastic, and the other sales woman was very thorough and spend plenty of time with us. . second rep got the sale. .

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by CoachKandSportsguy

tldr

We purchased similar sunshades, and they came out fine. . since we don't look at the lanai from the outside very often, we don't worry about differences. . . the neighbors eyes might hurt from the colors, but that's on them. .

however, its a good lesson to remember that you are responsible for the ultimate decision, and looking from all angles, your angle, your cat's angle, the dog angle, the gecko angle and they don't get a big vote, the neighbor's angle. . asking what is the down side, what am i missing? to all transactions.

That being said, we had two quotes, and one sales man was very unenthusiastic, and the other sales woman was very thorough and spend plenty of time with us. . second rep got the sale. .

From your response, it sure seems like you read the post...

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Originally Posted by JMintzer

From your response, it sure seems like you read the post...

um, I typed tldr

keep up with the modern 'brevs

[Topgun 1776]

Originally Posted by Gpsma

Paragrphs are your friend..and you can have more then one.
Sorry it didnt work out for you..but the salsman did warn you.

So is spell-check. Geez!

[Worldseries27]

Originally Posted by annemiles

we just had awnings installed over several sections of our birdcage by sunshine awnings to provide greater shade in some areas. We met with a salesman who showed us a number of fabrics to choose from. We chose a fabric designed to match our overall lanai decor. I'm not unhappy with this company's product ... I'm unhappy with the color selection process. Here's my warning... The color you choose is the color you will see from outside the house. It looks nothing like the color you see from inside the birdcage. If you know that ahead of time, or aren't picky about color, you'll be fine. To be fair, the salesman did warn us that the birdcage screen would distort the color--but did not say that the color would be totally different. In my case, i chose a light tweedy color to go with lanai decor. What i got is an awning that appears to be a dark rusty color. Perhaps the salesperson could bring a screen sample to demonstrate the true color inside the birdcage? Or show some pictures? After installation and in response to my deep distress, the installer came by to calm me down and mentioned that he has heard this complaint a number of times in the past. Despite those past complaints, no attempt appears to have been made to make customers, like me, more aware of the actual color they will see from inside the birdcage. I was further dismayed by the fact that the shades were installed while we on vacation! There was no attempt call ahead to make sure we would be home. In the long term... We expect to be pleased with the awnings in terms of the shade they provide and durability, but i remain dismayed by what i think was a misrepresentation of the facts by the salesperson and dismayed with myself for making the purchase. I should have done more homework. Hopefully this post will help others who are considering an awnings purchase.

thanks for the heads up. Im sure you spared some totv user from a similar experience.

[Rderspamer]

We are very pleased with Sunshine Awnings. Great service. Great looking. Great price.

[Tommyc6]

Thank you.

[Packer Fan]

Life lesson 101. Always match color under the light you will see it under normally. The problem is not the fabric, you should have looked at it under the light it would be under in use. Could even be Metamerism if you were comparing it to Lanai furniture of similar color.

Metamerism is a phenomenon that occurs when two colors appear to match under one lighting condition, but not when the light changes. Metameric matches are quite common, especially in near neutral colors like grays, whites, and dark colors like these.

[jparsoneau@aol.com]

We had R K Shades do ours. Rick , the owner came out, personally told us about the product showed us the colors and was quite informative. Was highly recommended by multiple neighbors, which is why we chose them to begin with. As far as colors goes anytime you put something behind something like an additional gray screen. A.k.a. birdcage is going to look different. Colors also look different than sunlight and shade.
But hopefully, you got these to block out the sun not to enhance the beauty of the outside of your house, so the color shouldn’t be that big of a deal versus the purpose of them. But yes, we all want them to look perfect. But Rick from R K Shades was wonderful And highly recommended

[Barborv]

First off, when someone posts something, stop shaming them with their grammar. I know a lot of math teachers who can't spell!
You would hope that when a salesperson comes, they know their products. The fact that the salesman said that others have complained about the same thing, well in my opinion, he wasn't being forthright when trying to sell you their product.
We having a birdcage installed in the back and also in our front area. I got the 20/20. I told the salesman, (who is a doll) that I want the most transparent screen in the front. The purpose of the front enclosure was because of my dogs. Well, after it was installed with the 20/20 in the front, I hated it. It looked like a big black blob especially when the sun hit it. So, I called asking if we can change the screening to the 14/18 but was shown there was very little difference. I was at the point where we were just going to take it down and eat the cost of what we originally paid and what we would incur taking down and patching all the holes. SO... I did my research and found a screen that's very transparent. I called my salesperson and that was the company that they use. The screen is called ultraVue2. So, with a cost to replace, we had it done and now are happy. The salesman also said they would try to use the original screen in the back and deduct from the initial price. Plus, now the salesperson is aware for future customers. And as I said, we really like him and are very happy with the workmanship of our front screen.

[JWGifford]

Thank you for sharing your experience.