Outdoor Living Guides & Tips

Eastern Awning Systems has been building lateral-arm retractable awnings in Watertown, Connecticut since 1961. They make exactly two residential lines — the Sunflexx® and the SunScape® — and almost every buyer who finds the brand ends up asking the same question: what is actually different, and does the more expensive one matter?

We are Eastern's national master dealer, so we sell both and have no reason to push you toward one. Here is the honest breakdown.

The short answer

Buy the Sunflexx if your patio is exposed to wind, or if you need to reach past 11 feet 6 inches. Everything that costs more on the Sunflexx is spent on those two problems.

Buy the SunScape if your patio is sheltered, or if you need to cover an unusually wide run. It is the same factory, the same fabric, the same fabric-wrapped front bar, for roughly $400 less at entry.

The specs, side by side

What the shoulder joint actually does

This is the part worth understanding, because it is the one genuine engineering difference and it is invisible in photos.

On a standard lateral-arm awning, the arm bolts to a rigid aluminum casting at the shoulder. When a gust lifts the fabric, that upward force has nowhere to go except into the casting and the wall bracket. Repeat that a few hundred times over a few seasons and you get elongated bolt holes, a sagging arm, or a cracked casting.

Eastern's founder Stephen Lukos patented a urethane compression shoulder joint — a urethane element at the shoulder that compresses as load increases, letting the arm flex a few degrees in either direction and then return. It is a shock absorber for the awning frame. It is one of five U.S. patents the company holds, and it is why the Sunflexx carries certified engineered wind load ratings and a 15-year frame warranty while most of the market warrants five.

If your awning lives on a sheltered courtyard wall, you will likely never load the joint hard enough to care. If it lives on a lakefront deck, a coastal patio, or the windward side of a house on an open lot, it is the reason to buy the Sunflexx.

Reach vs. width — they are different problems

People conflate these. Projection is how far the awning comes out from the wall; width is how much of the wall it covers.

The SunScape wins on width: it goes to 80 feet, which covers a restaurant patio or a long rear elevation in one unit. The Sunflexx wins on projection: 14 feet standard, further on custom, versus the SunScape's 11’6” ceiling.

Why projection matters more than people expect: a retractable awning shades based on sun angle, not footprint. At 2 p.m. in July a 10-foot projection puts usable shade on maybe 7 feet of patio. If you have a deep deck with a table set 12 feet from the house, an 11’6” awning leaves your guests in the sun. Measure from the wall to the far edge of the furniture you actually want covered, then add two feet. If that number is over 11’6”, the decision is made for you.

Where the two lines are identical

It is worth being clear about what you are not giving up with the SunScape:

• Both frames are 100% American manufactured in the same Watertown plant.
• Both use stainless steel fasteners and arm cables — the components that rust out first on imported awnings.
• Both use powder-coated aluminum castings, so no seasonal repainting.
• Both offer the same solution-dyed acrylic fabrics — color locked into the yarn, hundreds of solids and stripes.
• Both wrap the fabric around the front bar. No exposed metal rail. This sounds cosmetic until you look at a five-year-old competitor awning where the painted front bar has chalked to a different shade than the fabric.
• Both can be manual-crank or Somfy motorized, with hoods, remotes and sensors.

What to add, and what to skip

Add the hood. On either line. A hood with end covers seals the rolled fabric and the roller tube against UV, rain and nesting insects when the awning is in. It is the single upgrade that most extends fabric life, and it runs $356–$433.

Add motorization if the awning is over about 14 feet wide. Cranking a 20-foot awning in and out is a chore you will stop doing by August, and an awning that never retracts is an awning that dies early.

Add the Wind & Rain Package if you travel (Sunflexx). Sensors retract the awning automatically when weather arrives. The failure mode it prevents — awning left extended through a storm while nobody is home — is the most common way these units are destroyed.

Consider the drop valance if you face east or west. A horizontal awning cannot stop low-angle morning or evening sun. The Sunflexx drop valance is a screen that drops from the front bar to block it.

How they compare to what else is out there

Both Eastern lines sit above the imported lateral-arm awnings sold through big-box retailers and TV brands, which typically pair a 5-year frame warranty with non-stainless hardware and an exposed painted front bar. We put numbers to that in Eastern Awning Systems vs. SunPro, SunSetter, Aleko and Awntech, and broke down the whole category in what a retractable awning really costs in 2026.

Ready to spec one?

Send us your opening width, the distance from the wall to the furniture you want covered, and which direction the wall faces. We will tell you which Eastern line fits and price it factory-direct — free shipping to all 48 contiguous states, 2 to 3 week build time.

Configure a Sunflexx →  ·  Configure a SunScape →  ·  Call 1-800-296-4647

1800Awnings.com is the national master dealer for Eastern Awning Systems. Sunflexx® and SunScape® are registered trademarks of Eastern Awning Systems, Inc.