Nothing pleases the eye like a sprawling backyard with a garden tucked in one corner. It’s the perfect spot for spending lazy Sunday afternoons and enjoying summer BBQ parties with your friends.
But a spacious backyard is a luxury that a handful of homeowners can afford. If you’re living in a city, chances are you’ve had to trade your dreams of a duplex in exchange for a dainty apartment.
Living in an urban apartment deprives you of the joy of walking into a neatly manicured backyard garden. But that doesn’t mean you can’t add a touch of the outdoors to your living space.
Nestled in the corner of your apartment, the balcony is your gateway to enjoying the quintessential summer breeze and sunshine. You simply have to think of it as more than an additional storage space.
If you’ve been tired of spending every weekend on the couch, it’s high time you give your balcony a quick makeover before the onset of summer.
Here are a few valuable ways to help you get started:
1. Add a Splash of Green
Summer is the perfect time to build a garden on your balcony. Even if your balcony doesn’t cover a big area, you can use container gardening tools and accessories to grow various types of foliage and flowering plants.
Once you polish your container gardening skills, you could even consider growing summer produce, such as eggplants, okra, cucumber, and salad greens. There’s nothing more rewarding than walking to your balcony and harvesting fresh veggies at the height of summer.
If your balcony is tiny, use hanging planters and wall brackets to add more plants to your garden. You could even consider building a vertical garden on one of the walls. Choose an easily accessible wall that receives ample sunlight and wind throughout the day.
If you’re getting started with container gardening, use low-maintenance plants, such as succulents and herbs, to beautify your balcony. Make sure you regularly water your plants and use organic fertilizers to enrich the soil. Also, take suitable precautionary measures to protect your plants from summer pests and insects.
2. Make Room for Seating
Who doesn’t love enjoying their morning cuppa outdoors, amidst a sprightly garden? You can take that experience up a notch by throwing in a mattress and a few cushions. Find an empty corner of your balcony that can be used to create a seating arrangement.
If you don’t have enough space to accommodate a mattress, consider getting a bean bag or hammock. Alternatively, you could get a compact coffee table set to spend relaxed afternoons on the balcony.
Irrespective of the type of furniture you select, make sure it’s resistant to adverse weather conditions, including rain, moisture, and heat. Consider the weather patterns in your area before investing in any furniture for your balcony.
Also, keep the size of your balcony in mind before going furniture shopping. The last thing you want is to end up with a mammoth coffee table that leaves little or no room for you to walk around on your balcony.
3. Set the Mood With Lighting
Fairy lights and Chinese lanterns are the most common options that’ll come to your mind when you think about lighting your balcony. These dainty lights go a long way to turn your balcony into an oasis of warmth and coziness.
But if you’re looking to make things fancier, hang a pair of pendant lights from the ceiling to illuminate the entire space and enhance warmth. Also, you can add a few wall sconces to highlight the best sections of your balcony, such as the garden or seating area. You could even place a rustic floor lamp near the seating area.
4. Don’t Forget the Accessories
From miniature fountains and artificial turf to garden gnomes – there’s a variety of accessories you can use to decorate your garden. You could even add a bird feeder to enjoy the mellow chirping of birds every morning. Or you could deck up the walls with paintings and photographs of nature.
In Conclusion
The onset of summer brings the natural urge to spend more time outdoors. Use that to your advantage by decorating your balcony with gorgeous plants, furniture, and other accessories. Use hanging pendant lights and wall sconces to create a warm and cozy ambiance that’ll invite you to spend more time on the balcony.