Before

Apartment balconies are often under-utilized because they can be tight spaces without much privacy. But it's easy to transform your balcony into beautiful outdoor space you'll love spending time (and that makes your neighbors jealous). 

After

We started our makeover by incorporating a small bistro table and a couple of chairs to make this balcony a great place to eat dinner, read a book, entertain friends, or relax with a glass of wine. We augmented with some container gardens to add color and life to the space, and decorated the wall to break up the big, boring expanse. 

Fun Details

Because concrete looks cold and lifeless, we painted the floor of the balcony a soft blue color and then painted the ceiling to match. Some simple stencils with white paint added extra interest to the floor, helping it feel more like a decorative rug than a concrete slab. You could also use an outdoor-friendly rug for your makeover project, if you wish. 
Tip: If you paint your balcony floor, be sure to use paint designed for use on concrete that will hold up to wear and tear. 

Select a Color Scheme

Choosing a color scheme for your balcony helps unify your overall design. Here, we chose shades of blue, purple, and pink to augment the country-casual design. We repeated the colors in the plants and furnishings to ensure the balcony makeover had a finished look (without feeling too fussy).

Add Plants

Here at Costa Farms, we love plants, so we tucked them throughout the balcony. This small tabletop planter features fragrant dwarf snapdragon surrounded by fluffy blue lobelia. We used both lobelia and snapdragons in other container gardens on the balcony as another way of making the design feel cohesive.

Looking for container gardening ideas? Download our free idea book!

Plant a Variety of Containers

When dealing with a small space, we like to have plenty of variety -- but not too much. That way the space doesn't feel too frantic and crazy. While it's easy to do that with plants, you can also do it with containers, as we did here. The cosmos, snapdragons, and lobelia seen here are all planted in the same style of container, but each pot is in a different, but coordinating color. We chose a different style of container to help highlight and draw attention to the pink Oriental lily.

Look at Light Colors

On balconies and other similar spaces, using lots of light colors, such as this white petunia and pink cosmos and soft blue pot, help the space feel larger and airier. If you employ primarily dark colors, it can make a small space appear more cramped. Similarly, too many bold, bright colors and make a balcony feel chaotic. 

Find the Perfect Furniture

This old side table was a flea-market find. A quick coat of pink outdoor-friendly paint with some white detailing and a new knob makes it the ideal accessory for this makeover. To make it do double-duty, we coated the drawer in polyurethane, added a liner, and planted variegated ivy to make this accessory fit our country-casual theme even better. 

Match Your Plants to the Conditions

The first rule of success in gardening is to pick the right plants for the right spot. Pay attention to how much sun your balcony gets -- as well as how much you're able to water and maintain your plants. Because this balcony gets some hot sun, we chose easy, breezy cosmos accented with golden creeping Jenny and beautiful blue lobelia for flowers most of the summer.

Adorn Your Walls

One advantage a balcony gives you that decks and patios don't is wall space. Decorate with outdoor-friendly art to really personalize your space! Here, we made vertical gardens with Drop and Grow Sedum Tiles tucked in old picture frames. It's a low-maintenance way to add color and break up the wall space.