Tips for transforming your balcony into a little paradise

Garden culture techniques are developing as surely as practical tips in the field, especially when space is tight. A balcony, no matter how small, is in fact an opportunity to invest with all the creativity and imagination you can muster! With a little effort and some guidance, a simple balcony can become a real little Eldorado, shaded or sunny. A pretty little vegetable garden, a few carefully chosen plants, a personalized living wall… The ideas are plentiful for bringing life to a small space in a useful way while taking care of the environment. It’s spring, the perfect time to think about renovating your balcony to enjoy it to the fullest…

Designing your balcony: practical tips

What’s the point of having a balcony if it blends into the background? To make your little relaxation nook come to life, you need to design it. Flowers, a mini garden, a living wall, furniture, lighting, awnings… all are good for offering you a patch of greenery that is both pleasant and responsible to share with family or friends, a new living space!
However, for your balcony to become a place of absolute relaxation rather than a chore, it’s important to keep ideas simple and let your imagination speak. The most important thing is that your paradise corner reflects who you are.

Basic balcony design tips

• Mind the sun exposure
• Choose a good flooring that’s easy to clean or replace and not messy
• Choose perennial plants with generous blooms or year‑round greenery
• Don’t block the view or access for maintenance (pruning, watering, etc.)
• Create layered decor with small trees, shrubs, and low perennials to create the illusion of mass plantings
• Favor back panels in the background, simple wooden square-mesh trellises
• Think the whole setup through with climate hazards in mind, especially wind
• Consider the space you may need in winter if you need to bring some plants indoors

Balcony design: choosing outdoor furniture and accessories

Tables, chairs, armchairs, umbrellas… Outdoor furniture goes hand in hand with comfort and style. There are two broad categories:

• classic/romantic furniture (wrought iron, predominance of white and pastel colors…)
• contemporary wooden or resin furniture for easier maintenance

Also, note that furniture inspired by antique styles fits very well in a countryside-inspired setting. Wood worn by time, rattan garden furniture, finds from flea markets… The ideas are plentiful, as are the sources… so, do try to source locally wherever possible!

What materials should I choose for my garden furniture?

Choosing wooden furniture, a renewable and recyclable material, is of course ideal. Avoid exotic woods to limit transportation costs and energy, and to avoid contributing to deforestation!

Remember that FSC-certified wood (Forest Stewardship Council) or PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) guarantees the source of the material and the sustainable management of the forests it comes from.

For budget balcony makeovers, repurposing furniture is a great idea, but don’t forget to restore it in an eco-friendly way: caustic-soda-free strippers, acids and solvents, turpentine- or citrus-based debonders, borax (a natural non-toxic mineral), varnish or sealant based on linseed oil or soybean oil…

To give a chic touch, you can also choose hemp furniture and a zen balcony decor (bamboo, fountains…)

Note: If you have wood paneling at home, be careful not to bring in furniture that harbors wood-boring insects, such as powderpost beetles.

Lighting: the balcony’s charm boost

Outdoor lighting plays a significant role in the charm of a terrace or balcony, because as evening falls, it’s what creates the ambiance. In summer you’ll enjoy the décor and surroundings you’ve established, and in winter it will extend your living space indoors by making your rooms feel larger.

Latching onto discreet, low-voltage fixtures is ideal. For summer dinners, favor a soft lighting: torches, citronella candles, lanterns…

Ready-to-use, also consider garden solar lamps, which provide modest but free lighting. Perfect for decorating the balcony…

Note: however, choose models that turn off when you’re not using them, because light pollution greatly impacts nocturnal wildlife, whether it’s a streetlamp or your tiny lights.

Protecting the balcony from sun and heat

During sunny days, it’s important to protect yourself from the sun, so to better enjoy the balcony you need to think about creating shade. Umbrellas, shade sails, exterior blinds… Many solutions exist to block the sun, but also to keep interior temperatures cooler.

Equipping with a shade screen can help avoid turning to air conditioning, which yields a substantial saving.

How to choose outdoor shades?

UV protection ratings indicate the percentage of UV filtered by the fabric, those for thermal comfort (solar factor) indicate the reduction in radiant heat. Regarding visual protection, the index tells you the percentage of light passing through the fabric.

The UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor) index reveals a material’s ability to reduce UV penetration.

Beyond aesthetics, the color of the shades also matters. Blue tends to create a feeling of coolness and calm, yellow a friendly, warmer vibe. White or gray barely change the color temperature of natural light, for a calm and balanced atmosphere.

Orientation, sunlight, and wind can limit choices. On a balcony that receives little to no light, you’ll need to choose plants that tolerate partial shade or full shade, such as azaleas, hellebores, narcissus, or fuchsia.

Herbs such as chives, mint, or parsley also adapt to partial shade, while dwarf fruit trees need full sun.

The green plants themselves prefer shaded balconies. It is therefore possible to pair ferns and variegated ivy with your flowers.

The best flowering plants for brightening a balcony

• the fuchsias in a wide range of colors (white, red, pink, purple…)
• the begonias
• the miniature roses (to be planted in terracotta pots at least 12 inches in diameter)
• the perennials: iris, primrose, daisy, hellebore…
• the climbing plants: climbing hydrangea, grapevine, jasmine, annual nasturtiums…

For an ultra-design balcony, think of very graphic plants like Cornus controversa, twisted hazel, or Yucca filamentosa. Scatter your décor with pots of dogwoods that will provide a permanent year-round display.