The summer starts for real next week at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show (22 to 26 May) and Appeal will be there as usual to revel in our favourite season. It’s an even more special time for us this year, because we’re also celebrating our 30th birthday – and our 30th appearance at the Royal Horticultural Gardens in London. We hope you’ll join us at our stand, but if you can’t, don’t worry… Because we’re in a celebratory mood, we’re extending our Flower Show offer – 10% off all orders to everyone who reads this email (please quote ‘Chelsea Email’ when placing orders.)

Get the most out of your garden this summer

The main theme of the 2018 RHS Chelsea show is “The Power of Plants”.The show gardens have explored the important role plants and open-air spaces have on health and wellbeing – be it on a global or personal scale. It’s something Appeal understands deeply. Our three decades of experience have given us an insight into how important the relationship between the indoor and outdoor aspects of our customers’ homes – when it works well, it brings people so much happiness.

Appeal started as – and remains – an innovative provider of the highest-quality conservatory blinds – offering the ideal indoor-outdoor flow. However, we have expanded to meet the needs of our many returning customers who need the same level of technical excellence, aesthetic beauty and professional service for indoor and outdoor shading.

On show at the Appeal stand is our wide range of products to help you make the most of the good weather – and offer protection when the conditions are harsh…

Creating a year-round space

One of the subjects explored under RHS Chelsea’s “Power of Plants” theme is the positive effect of urban and suburban gardens on the environment. This is a cause dear to Appeal: our first ever product – launched in 1990, before the green movement really took hold – was  Original French Pinoleum bespoke conservatory blinds made from selected wood reeds, from a sustainable source, hand-woven into a beautiful fabric by expert craftsmen.

These are still available today, now as powered blinds controlled by a remote control. As ever, their effect is to transform the sometimes harsh glare of the sun into a soft, dappled light, providing shade and protection with a view of the blue sky – protecting plants from excessive temperatures and furniture from bleaching by UV rays. They turn an overheating sun room into a pleasant space connecting the garden and the house.

Enjoy summer evenings outdoors

Another way of creating that ideal indoor-outdoor space is with a superb, state-of-the-art Haus awning. With options from 16.5 sq metres to 26.5 sq metres, Hausawnings provide shade for terraces large or small, and are ideal for al fresco dining without the annoyance of your salads wilting and your rosé getting warm! And, by opting for fitted weather sensors, you can leave the furling or unfurling to the German engineering – the Haus awning will extend in bright sunshine to offer UV protection to garden furniture, but retract in high winds.

One of the exciting features of the Chelsea Flower Show this year is the new Chelsea Late Event on Friday 25 May, with bands, food and drink and access to the Artisan Gardens at twilight. It promises to be a magical evening, as it is always special to enjoy the garden even after the sun’s gone down. Haus awnings are available with optional LED lights and infra-red heaters, so you don’t get forced inside by the gathering darkness of a summer evening.

New launch: Pergola by Haus

From our beginnings 30 year ago, Appeal has regularly introduced ground-breaking, new home shading products. And at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show next week, we are launching our latest: the Haus pergola. With all the benefits of Haus awnings (including optional heating and lighting), with additional support provided by telescopic legs.

The result is to provide a huge 30 sq metre shade footprint and a comfortable outdoor living space you can use in all weather conditions. The angle of the pergola’s awning can be adjusted to provide a flat sun shade or to allow rainwater to run off. And it has been tested to withstand winds up to force six on the Beaufort scale. Like so many Appeal products, it is available in a huge choice of fabric colours (over 300), and with over 50 frame colours.

And for bi-fold doors?

Over Appeal’s 30 years, we have kept pace – and sometimes set the pace – of change in home improvement trends … some come and go… some come back… others stick around. Bi-fold doors, linking kitchens or other rooms to your outdoor space, are definitely one of the latter. And two of our most cutting-edge technologies are ideal for use with them. Ultra Smart bifold door blinds are powered by a rechargeable battery and motor hidden behind the discreet headrail, which also completely contains the blind fabric when they are opened. So they are completely out of the way when you open your bi-fold doors.

Now, Appeal’s new ULTRA Plus technology means that you can control the lowering and raising of your blinds from your mobile device – wherever you are in the world. Prepare your perfect roomscape on your way home. Protect your furnishings from UV light while you’re at work. Or increase security with randomly timed raising and lowering of blinds while you’re abroad. So you can relax and enjoy the summer, whether you’re at home or away.