Shade Where There Is Nothing To Fix To
Folding arm, retractable and fixed awnings, made to measure and fitted by the third generation of a family business trading since 1978. For the courtyards, decks and west-facing windows that have no eave — through Brisbane, the Gold Coast and down to Byron Bay.
Why Lusso, Brisbane & Gold Coast
The Cheapest Awning Is The Most Expensive One
Two awnings can carry the same fabric, the same colour and the same warranty, and one of them will be sagging in three summers. The difference is in the arms and the fixings, and it is invisible on a quote unless somebody itemises it. We itemise it.
The range
Local conditions
The Wall Gets Hot Before The Window Does
Older Queensland houses were built with deep verandahs because there was no other way to keep them liveable. A lot of what has gone up since has eaves you could measure in centimetres, and shading has to be sized for the sun angle you actually get — which, on a western wall here, is low, long and straight through the glass from about three in the afternoon.
An awning is the only thing that fixes that from outside the glass, and outside matters. Stopping the heat before it reaches the window is worth far more than stopping it after, which is why an awning will outperform any internal blind on the same opening on the same afternoon.
The catch is wind. Brisbane and the Gold Coast both get sudden summer southerlies, and a folding arm awning left out in one is a large sail on a small bracket. Retract it, or specify a fixed awning and accept the smaller span. We would rather have that conversation at the quote than after.
The detail that matters
An awning is a lever, and your wall is the fulcrum
Fabric and colour are the easy part. What decides whether an awning is still square in ten years is the arm tension, the bracket spacing and what the brackets are bolted through — none of which appears on a competitor's spec sheet.
A folding arm awning cantilevers a couple of metres off a wall and then catches wind, which puts far more load into the fixings than people expect. Blockwork, brick, timber stud and rendered lightweight cladding all take that load differently, and some need a spreader plate or a through-bolt rather than a screw. We work this out at the measure, not on the day.
Fabric fades, arms stay square, and the awnings we replace early are almost always the ones left out through every storm of a summer. If you are out at work when the weather turns, be honest about that at the quote — it changes what we recommend, and it may point you toward a fixed awning or an outdoor blind instead.
Every extra metre of projection multiplies the load at the wall and the sag at the front bar. A slightly narrower awning in a heavier frame will outlast a wide one in a light frame, every time. If a quote offers you more span for less money, that is where the saving came from.
Brisbane & Gold Coast clients
Quoted It, Did It, Left
Awnings are an outdoor job on somebody's house, so the reviews that matter are the unglamorous ones about turning up when we said we would.
Very happy with the service from Lusso, turned up on time, quoted and did the job. Cheers Scott Davis
Scott
I would highly recommend lusso for all your window covering requirements. They are a truly professional group providing great customer service together with expert installers you can’t go wrong
Liz
Great service, Great product, would certainly recommended
Simon
Where they go
What we'd actually specify
A folding arm is usually the only option, because there is nothing overhead to fix a blind to. Check what is on the other side of the wall before you fall in love with the span.
QuoteIf there is a roof or a pergola already, an outdoor blind will do more for less. An awning earns its money where there is no structure at all.
QuoteA fixed straight-drop awning over the glass beats any internal blind on the same window, because it stops the heat outside. It also stops the view, so it suits bedrooms far better than living rooms.
QuoteCheck the council rules on footpath projection before anything else. It is a short conversation beforehand and an expensive one afterwards.
QuoteFixed, every time. A retractable awning depends on somebody remembering to retract it, and a guest who is leaving on Sunday has no reason to.
QuoteHow it works
Three steps, quote in 48 hours
We come to you anywhere on the Gold Coast. Detailed quote within 24 to 48 hours, valid for 30 days — no deposit to get a price.
We need the dimensions and the aspect of the room before we can quote. Aspect is not a formality — it decides the specification.
Itemised component by component, so you can see where the money actually goes. Valid for 30 days.
Nothing starts until you are 100% comfortable with the selections. We fit them and we come back if they need us.
Where we work
Brisbane and the Gold Coast
From Byron Bay to Brisbane, across the whole Gold Coast and inland to the hinterland. If you're anywhere on that stretch, we'll come to you.
Before you ask
Projection and frame quality drive the price far more than fabric does. A wide folding arm awning costs several times what a small fixed awning over a window costs, because the arms and fixings are carrying real load. We will not quote before we have seen the wall. You get an itemised quote within 24 to 48 hours of the measure, valid for 30 days.
A folding arm awning extends and retracts on articulated arms, so you choose when you have shade and you can put it away before weather. A fixed awning stays where it is, spans less, costs less and never needs to be remembered. Both are made to measure and we fit both.
No, and any supplier who says otherwise is selling you a repair. Retractable awnings should be brought in when the weather turns — a sudden summer southerly puts far more load into the arms than the fabric ever does. If you are regularly not home, say so at the quote and we will point you at a fixed awning instead.
Yes, and more than an internal blind on the same window, because it stops sunlight before it reaches the glass. Once the heat is through the window it is already in the room, and the best a blind can do is absorb it. That is the whole argument for shading from outside.
Very little. Hose the fabric down occasionally, keep leaf litter out of the front bar, and retract it when the weather turns. The arms and fixings are the parts worth having looked at if anything starts to feel loose.
We work from Byron Bay to Brisbane, covering the Gold Coast, the Tweed Coast and the Brisbane inner suburbs, and we travel nationwide for larger projects. If you are not sure whether you are in range, call us on (07) 5528 4006 and we will tell you straight away.
Get in touch
Free measure & quote, Gold Coast wide
Tell us which rooms and we'll come to you with the fabric range, measure properly, and tell you honestly which windows need side tracks and which don't.
