Home Décor for your outdoor patio or balcony made easy. 

Literally, your social oasis can be steps away from your kitchen…or couch…or whatever indoor benchmark you want to use. Keep on reading…

Signs you're a victim of small balcony paralysis:

• Your balcony is holding your bike and collecting dust
• You don't remember what fresh air from your apartment is anymore because you haven't stepped out onto your balcony in a year
• You've bought a $50 bistro set from IKEA, which is great if you're entertaining one other tiny person

OK, so what are the 5 great tips?

 

1. Add some green to your space

If you're anything like me, my green thumb simply doesn’t exist. Adding low maintenance plants (a.k.a., plants that don't die when you forget to water them) will instantly give your space a more relaxed feel.  Try bamboo, ferns, snake plants... these babies will give you a run for your money!

Check out https://balconygardenweb.com/19-best-low-maintenance-houseplants/ for more low maintenance plants!

Tip: Mix in a few fake plants with some real ones….no one will ever know the difference!

 

2. Add a Balcony Bar to your space

Turn your balcony into a bar in 5 minutes with a (you guessed it) balcony bar! You can DIY, or purchase one from VIEWS balcony bar (P.S. we are a local Toronto company). Create an Instant social hangout for your next fun "night in" with friends, or that next special tinder date…we'll leave it up to you. 

 

Purchase Here: https://views-balcony-bar.myshopify.com/products/balcony-bar

3. Go Vertical!

Use the walls to lean a few shelves or ladders to showcase maybe some of those new greens you just put out… or some other cool decoration.

Tip: Make sure you check how windy your balcony gets and ensure your fixtures are weighted enough.

 

4. All of the Lights (as Kanye sang it)

String lights are an instant winner on your balcony. Even better, Amazon can probably deliver these before you're done eating dinner. Try mixing and matching different lights, for example, a few lanterns with candles to add more ambiance.

Tip: Try to get solar outdoor lights to save energy (yay mother earth), these are also less hassle than finding a plug. Get yourself some 3M decorating clips to help hang these up seamlessly. When looking for candles, I like to mix in a few battery-powered candles (these last long and you don't have to worry about blowing them out)

 

Purchase from Amazon

5. Hit the floor

No, not literally…but we are suggesting these quick snapping wooden tiles or fake grass. Better believe it, this is the only grass you'll ever have to "cut" once ;). We were immediately happy with the way our balcony turned out after installing these two together.

Tip: A heavy-duty x-acto knife and a steady hand is all you need to cut fake grass (who knew!). Also, if you find old Ikea wooden tiles on Kijiji or Craigslist, you can buy the stain from Ikea for under $10, and they look brand new!

 

https://www.ikea.com/ca/en/cat/outdoor-flooring-21957/

 

Spending some extra time on your balcony to relax, unwind, or have some wine is the mental break everyone needs from the busy city hustle. Try a few if not all of these easy tips and you'll love your balcony as much as we do!