Decorating and furnishing your balcony “Pinterest style”

I left home when I was 16 years old, to pursue my studies. During that time, I lived in a dorm room for too long 6 years. Then I found my first apartment way too quickly and I never realized that there was no balcony #fail. Then we moved to Vancouver, where we just bought our first home, a condo.

For the first time in ten years, I finally have a balcony. My neighbor probably thinks I am a crazy balcony lady, as I am a.l.w.a.y.s on it. We have installed a little garden, a cute table where I spend way too much time, a couple flower pots and of course some artificial turf, why not? 😉 #crazylady !

I have been trying to transform my balcony into a backyard. Let’s say I have been quite happy with the result. I want to share my ideas to inspire you to turn your balcony around and create a super cozy space. There is nothing better than decorating your space up to your standards. It will make you want to spend so much more time outside and enjoy your summer to the max!

The size of the balcony

First, you should take quick measurements of your patio. This will help you picture the space and push you to make the most of it. If your balcony is really small, I highly recommend having one element of each, listed below. By doing so, you will enhance your balcony without going overboard.

The furniture

It’s very important to choose furniture that will fit your space. As per example, if you want to have a table with 4 chairs, make sure you have enough room to move around when all the chairs are pulled out. Otherwise, it would be a good idea to opt for 2 chairs and a bench or even opt for a couple of folding chairs, which you can remove or add easily.

On my balcony, we had to have a BBQ. There are so many shapes and sizes you can pick from. Always keep in mind the size of your balcony when buying a BBQ. For the smaller space, you can also look into the portable BBQ. They can be folded and put away very easily, which will save a lot of space.

Small garden of fruits and vegetables

Adding green plants to your balcony will give it more of an intimate feeling. Then, you still will have to evaluate the space you have. As an example, if your balcony is on the small side you can opt for small pots of fine herbs to add green to your space. On the other hand, if your balcony is bigger you can add vegetable or fruit plants.

It’s very important to keep in mind that these plants will be growing during the summer. This way choosing a baby tomato plant would be a better choice than opting for a large tomato plant. I am saying this from experience as I made the mistake of buying a large tomato plant and a part of my balcony as now turned into a tomato forest #LiveAndLearn ;). Another vegetable that grows very well in a small pot is the boston lettuce. You can easily leave it on your table and eat the lettuce as it grows.

The flowers

It’s now time to add life and happiness to your balcony! I really like adding flowers as it brightened up the small spaces. You can easily add flower baskets to your railing or even hang flower baskets from the ceiling. If you opt for the last option, make sure you pick a flowering plant with small branches as you don’t want to visually fill the space. Choosing an overbearing flower plant would be the best option as it will bloom many times during the summer. Do not hesitate to ask a question at the garden center as they will certainly give you great advice.

The floor

Adding something onto your floor will give your space an overall warmer feeling. You can buy floor decking for a couple bucks at Ikea or at any hardware store. You can also add an outdoor rug under your patio table to add color. Or you can also add artificial turf.

I went for the last option. I found it very funny to buy 2 meters of artificial turf at the hardware store, but I must admit that it totally refreshed the look. For a very small fee, my balcony now feels cozier.

Decoration

The final touch: summer decorations.

Adding decorative pillow will allow your guest to feel more comfortable when sitting down while giving your space a cozy feeling. I also added a string light for the summer nights. There are many types of string lights. Make sure you buy the one that connects to a power outlet. It is a little bit more expensive to buy at first, but you will be saving a lot on batteries in the long run.

Mosquito repelling candle is also a must for your balcony. Even though we live in the city, the mosquitoes come out as soon as the sun is down. Having only one mosquito repelling candle will save you from many mosquito bites!

As you can see, you can easily decorate you small balcony for a couple bucks. These little tweaks will make you want to spend more time on your balcony.

Personally, I really liked shopping for balcony decoration at HomeSense. I found everything I wanted for a third of the price. I also like to look at the second-hand option or even dig through garage sales, sometimes you can find great stuff.

Voilà, you have all my tips and tricks to turn your small balcony into a cool Pinterest like space.

And you, what did you add to your balcony to make it feel cozier?