You love apartment living but the thought of not having a garden makes you sad at times. Perhaps, you’re obsessed with gardening and can’t resist the urge to have a small space that could be transformed into a garden.
But did you know that you have that space already?
It’s your balcony!
Nothing beats the pleasure of sitting in a lush green balcony that doesn’t only offer a mesmerizing view, the sun, and the fresh air but also refreshes your mood. Besides beautifying it with flower pots, there are tons of ways to create a relaxing balcony that deserves praise.
Wondering how?
It takes some creativity to revamp the look of your apartment balcony so it doesn’t look less attractive than the celebrity home patios. Implement any of the following garden decorating ideas and enjoy the transformation!
1. Add A Hammock
If you’ve always wanted a hammock near the garden pots, your balcony is the perfect place to fulfill this dream! Tie a hammock between any two posts and swing until all your worries are smoothed away.
2. Design The Entrance
You may choose to draw inspiration from the Gaudi balconies of Spain. Embellish the sides of whatever doors or windows open into the balcony with pretty climbing plants and see the difference!
3. Make Use Of The Balcony Spa
If you’re fond of doing manicure and pedicures at home, you can have a tiny permanent setup in your balcony! You can make a tiny water pond (check Aquatic Ponds), grow skin-beautifying flowers such as chamomile, hibiscus, and lavender in the balcony. Sit there soaking your tired feet in the sunshine and feel like a million bucks!
4. Get Some Hanging Plates
Here’s another unique and absolutely gorgeous inspiration from Spain. Hanging colorful, vintage plates on walls is quite trendy these days. Instead of just limiting them to your living room, why not secure them outside on the balcony wall where you can enjoy them in the natural light?
5. Introduce An Art Station To Little Ones
Your kids may prefer drawing indoors to playing outside. Get them fresh air and natural light by placing a blackboard easel, some colored chalks, and other art supplies in a tiny balcony nook of their very own!
6. Give a Plant-Friendly Touch to the Balcony Railing
If you’ve got petunia seeds, you’ll love the idea of growing petunias on the balcony. Plus, if the balcony garden receives ample sunlight, you don’t need to move the plants at all because they’re already placed in a sunny location. And that’s your own balcony. But when it’s time to give them the sun protection, all you have to do is cover the balcony railing.
So, why not cover the railing with a striped fabric that adds a splash of colors to the balcony garden? This striking shade will not only protect the plants from excessive sun exposure, it will also help you add some privacy.
Another option is to drop a curtain throughout the balcony railing. To get the look, you’ll need to install a curtain rod.
7. Set Up A Home Office
Remote working is growing by leaps and bounds. Fully enhance the convenience and comfort of working at home by working on your balcony as much as possible. You can soak up the Vitamin D while earning your livelihood.
8. Set Up An Easel
You may not have an art studio in Paris, but who’s to say you can’t have one at home in your balcony? Set up an easel and use it to display your works even when you’re not working on anything.
9. Install Plant Shelves on the Wall
You must have heard about floating shelves to enhance the décor of the living rooms, home offices, and even kids’ rooms. But not in a balcony. However, these eye-catching shelves installed on a balcony wall seem like a garden décor concept worth adapting.
And why not?
Filled with kitchen plants, this may be the focal point of your balcony garden. Grow coriander, mint, parsley, aloe vera, and some of your favorite herbs in colorfully-painted pots and place all these pots on the plant shelves.
You never know when the strong breeze may push one of the pots so hard that it gets off the ground and breaks. To avoid this situation, fix the pots within the shelves by following the instructions of how to make plant shelves on your own.
10. Recycle The Vases
You don’t have to throw away those beloved vases or mugs cluttering up your indoor space. Find a new home for them on your balcony, and you may be pleasantly surprised with the repurposing! A few fresh flowers may be just the right touch.
11. Coordinate With Neighbors
A little teamwork and effort among friendly neighbors can help you raise the effect of the whole building or neighborhood. Consider convincing everyone to paint their trim in the same color or have a similar kind of balcony plants for decoration. An incredibly inexpensive and neat effect!
12. Turn Your Balcony Into A Patio
Love showing off your balcony décor skills to friends? Do this by inviting them over to your balcony garden. Instead of receiving compliments about your creativity while standing, why not enjoy the moment over a cup of coffee by sitting on comfy chairs?
That said, coming up with a sitting area in the balcony does matter. This doesn’t have to be huge, of course. If much of the balcony space is occupied by the plant pots, you can still place two small chairs and a tiny coffee table on the balcony.
You don’t want to let the environmental stressors ruin your furniture. Therefore, a wise decision is to choose foldable chairs so you can take them inside whenever you feel like.If you’ve chosen a pair of chairs that aren’t foldable, you can buy a heavy tarpaulin to increase the longevity of the seats.
13. Transform Your Balcony Into A Reading Nook
If you’re a reading freak, a cozy little nook could be eked out in your balcony. Spread a rug, some throw cushions, a little table, and you can curl up any time of the day in your own private heaven with the latest spellbinder.
14. Get A Folding Table
Get a table that folds right against the wall. This way, there won’t be any storage issues every time you want to free up some balcony space for the new plants. It also provides an awesome little breakfast nook and tea table!
15. Paint The Garden Pots
While garden pots may seem to be too traditional, they provide you an opportunity to revamp their look the way you want. Perhaps, you’ve bought your favorite plants and you think you’re ready to place these garden pots on your balcony floor.
But where’s the creativity?
Before you head to the enchantingly decorated balcony garden, it’s time to do some favor to the garden pots: paint each pot with a unique but attractive design.
To paint the garden pots, you’ll need acrylic paints, foam brushes, paint brushes, cotton swabs, and spray acrylic.
16. A Cozy Fireplace
No one may ever expect a proper fireplace in a balcony, so here’s your chance to surprise everyone! You could go for an electric one, but just a place for a real fire could seriously cozy things up very quickly.
17. Let The Greenery Be Visible Even At Night
Perhaps, the night time is the best time for you to relax in your balcony and share your thoughts with a loved one. While you can smell the fresh fragrance of jasmine you’ve grown in one of the garden pots, it’s hard to see all the greenery you worked so hard for. That’s when you need to create an ambiance for your balcony garden by lighting it up.
Installing light bulbs that produce too much light will make you feel as if you’re performing a role in front of the neighbors. But too dim light is also not a good idea as it will make you struggle to see the plants. Therefore, balance the lighting by hanging some string lights on the sides of the balcony walls.
Choose flowers that bloom at night. You can complete the look by planting night-scented flowers such as evening primrose, moonflower, stock, Nottingham catchfly, and nicotiana. To create a charming environment, hang the lanterns near the plants.
18. Use An Old Tire To Create A Flower Planter
Now that you’ve made use of even the smallest spaces on your balcony garden, think of something that still has not received your attention in terms of decorating the balcony garden. If you haven’t experimented anything on your wooden balcony door, it’s the right time to decorate it.
Got a spare tire?
Use it in a way that it carries the flowers while hanging on top of the balcony.
Decide the color you want to paint on the spare tire. Once done, you can go on and try out your DIY skills to convert it into a flower planter. Here are the instructions.
19. Get Practical By Placing A Garden Storage Bench
You have a balcony garden. But ever thought where should you store all the essential garden items (such as garden hose, pruners, and other tools required to maintain the plants)?
Since it’s a balcony, most of us can’t think of any other option than packing these tools and hiding them in any corner. Surprisingly, a better option does exist: a storage bench.
Instead of buying outdoor furniture for the balcony, you can simply place a garden storage bench on the balcony as this will fulfill the same purpose. To give it a cozier look, place funky pillows on the bench.
To ensure it complements with the plants and flowers, choose a color combination that not only matches with the pillows but equally enhances the look of the plants.
If you’ve decided to go for a light-colored storage bench, you can change its entire look later by painting it red or by giving it a unique pattern of colors.
20. Brighten Everything Up
Don’t be afraid of having an orange chair, a hot pink table, or a huge brass flower pot! The balcony is no place for formal neutrality; you’re free to go wild with all your impulse buys. But make sure the overall theme of the balcony garden aligns well with the colors of the flowers.
21. Have A Color Scheme
Spray paint any odds and ends that don’t match, and stick to just two or three colors for the cutest results. You do it for parties, so why not a permanent one in your balcony garden?
22. Get Some Curtains
If your balcony is simply getting too much sunlight, consider curtaining it off. When drawn, the curtains will create a nice temporary room. You can then adjust the light as and when you please.
23. Have The Balcony Garden Filled With Herbs
Balconies usually get a lot of light, so utilize that to the utmost. There’s no plant more practical than herbs; they provide uplifting greenery as well as that extra punch of flavor in your food.
24. Give It An Indoor Touch
If your balcony railing is just spoiling the view, do away with it altogether! In its place, install some floor-to-ceiling window at the very edge and get some indoor plants. Enjoy the view without any hurdle; plus, you can open up a window for fresh air and light.
25. Choose The Wooden Effect
Cover up those flaking walls with wooden planks or just vinyl strips if nothing else. You may choose to do this on adjacent walls, or go the whole hog and go for a complete wooden effect. The natural soothing will comfort you every day.
26. Prefer Minimalism For A Change
No décor is also a way of making a statement. Provide a refreshing change by painting the door or window a solid black and swapping out railings for simple, clear glass. The effect could be incredibly fancy and soothing to boot.
27. Make Use of A Counter Space
Install a counter-like narrow slab along the balcony railings. This will provide a more space-effective solution than a table and is less likely to get damaged. You can put out some bar stools for an even more unique effect!
28. Use Mirrors And Get A Reflecting Space
If you have a tiny balcony, placing a large mirror on its wall will create the effect of increased space. You will have to keep the mirror free of dirt, birds’ droppings, and outside elements, though.
29. Love The Rustic Walls
Don’t feel compelled to paint over or cover up bare bricks. The rustic effect is absolutely in these days. Just be sure to keep it clean and free of dirt. You may jazz it up with some plants.
Kim Marks