Is there such a thing as outside blinds? Ideas?

[JTK]

Chris, there's all kinds of choices for "outside blinds". A few weeks back I installed a set from Lowes on my mom's patio cover. They are kind of bamboo looking with a rope system to roll them up/adjust them. They look something like this, but thinner slats. Around $50 iirc. I believe they were 6ft.

 

[CT8]

We use the roll down things they sell at Home Depot that you can roll down in the summer to keep the sun off of the window they work great. like in the above posts.

 

[BRZED]

That's the kind of exterior rolling shutter I like. The shutter may be be lowered partially or all the way. When it is lowered all the way, the louvers become interlocking slats that block all light and protect the window. They come in manual and motorized versions. I prefer manual, because a power outage won't affect me. To clean them, you just hose them down every couple mothns and let them dry before retracting them.