There are many great benefits to owning an apartment.
Often, apartments help you to stay closer to the action than standard houses, because they’re located near to the city centre. Additionally, many apartment buildings come with access to fantastic amenities like laundry rooms, pools, and gyms, located just outside your front door.
However, as wonderful as your apartment can be, it also means giving up on one thing: a yard or garden. Fortunately, if you have a balcony, you can still create an outdoor oasis for your home, no matter how small your space might be. Here are just some of the best tips to follow when enhancing and decorating your balcony.
Prioritise Proportions
One of the best ways to decorate your balcony, is to add furniture to it. However, the chances are that your balcony won’t be as large as a typical room, so you’ll need to make sure that you get the size of your chairs, tables and other items right if you don’t want the space to look overcrowded.
Thinner items of furniture tend to work best when you don’t have a lot of square footage to work with. Additionally, it helps to use items of furniture that can double up as two things. For instance, can you buy a chair that also works as a storage chest and a foot stool? If you’re particularly limited in space, try swapping out your balcony table for a shelf that you can fix to the railing instead. It may not give you much room for dining, but there should be plenty of space for some afternoon drinks in the sun.
Use the Vertical Space
When you’re decorating a small area like a balcony, you need to think about all of the surfaces available to you – including the walls. Fill plant pots with fresh greenery and hang them from your walls to add a touch of extra colour to your outdoor area. Try hanging plants off your balcony too or attaching lights to the “ceiling” above you (the floor of the next balcony up) to mimic the stars in the night sky.
Another way to make the most of your space is with layering. For instance, try adding an outdoor rug and some throw-pillows to the space to make it feel a little cosier. You can even get wood-effect tiling for the outdoors so that your balcony begins to feel more like an outdoor room.
Add Your Own Distinct Sense of Style
Remember, the great thing about your apartment balcony is that you’re free to be as creative as you like with it. Maybe you want to add shelves to the wall where you can display a selection of stunning succulents? Perhaps you like the idea of wrapping fairy lights around your railing so that your balcony can twinkle and sparkle on an evening?
Whatever your sense of style might include, remember that balconies don’t always have to be about deck-chairs and fold-away tables. Even a pair of durable bean-bags and a cosy blanket can help you to transform your outdoor space into your own personal sanctuary.