Our balcony is finished! After much preparation, gathering inspiration, creating a detailed plan for the layout, and one very fun DIY, I am pleased to finally reveal the fruits of my balcony labor.
As I previously mentioned, we were working under several constraints, one of which was budgetary. Let me tell you, balcony styling on a budget is no easy task, especially once Spring rolls around and stores are filled with adorable, high priced outdoor living finds. Thanks to my detailed planning I was ultimately able to keep my budget to just under $200 as planned. While this meant I had to make a few concessions (you’ll see one of them below in the form of Lola’s perch), I’m still really happy with how our little balcony space turned out.
First off let’s address the elephant in the room, or at least on the balcony…that heinous black netting. Commonly referred to as “Puggle Netting” in our household, this horrid eyesore is unfortunately the necessary evil required to keep Lola from making a daring leap from our third floor balcony every time she smells our neighbor grilling. While she probably couldn’t quite squeeze through the rungs of the railing I’m not willing to take any chances. Thus we installed Puggle Netting. Please try to ignore it as we continue on the tour.
From the top: chives, parsley and mint
I don’t necessarily have the greenest of thumbs and am unsure whether it’s realistic to think I’ll keep these plants alive given that fact and their lack of direct sun, but so far they are thriving and growing like crazy! I absolutely adore the way my DIY pots look on this IKEA plantstand. The mix of the distressed glam (a big thank you to Courtney for coining that phrase) feel of terracotta pots with the natural wood is completely what I was envisioning when I planned out this little corner of our balcony.
Faux sheepskin helps to cozy up the space.
At the opposite end of the balcony I placed a little cafe table, another IKEA purchase that pops up on half of my pinned inspiration for outdoor living spaces, where we have already enjoyed many post-work cocktails. And that little cushioned spot in the corner?
Loving her Puggle perch.
That is a budget friendly seat for Lola created with cinder blocks. She is clearly already quite at home on it.
There you have it, the big reveal of my small outdoor living space. While it is far from what I would have accomplished with a larger budget, I’m please with how it turned out. Careful planning and a whole lot of love joined together to create a very livable space that we are already enjoying on a daily basis. I’m looking forward to spending many summer nights to come out there enjoying the long days and warm weather with my little family.