We live in a townhouse in Charlotte, so we have to maximize our small balcony since we don’t have a yard. We are fortunate to be in the middle of things and can walk to tons of parks, and are really enjoying the city living - the light rail trail is outside our door for running and biking, and we have so many restaurant options we can walk to.

Our balcony is TINY - I don’t want it to feel cluttered, but I do love having a little space for all 4 of us to sit outside when it’s nice out. Our windows cover almost the whole wall, so we usually keep our door open, and the balcony is just an extension of the living room.

Outdoor Furniture

I am totally cheap, and outdoor furniture is not - So I found some deals, and make some cushions myself. Our bench was a facebook marketplace find for $20, and just needed to be sanded down and painted. The chairs were a steal from Marshalls, and I made the pillows. I decided to not add a rug since it was such a small space, but in the past I have found great deals on rugs at Rugs USA.

Outdoor Pillows

Since I make pillows, obviously these get their own special mention. I have a large lumbar embroidered pillow from Anthropologie that I got on sale, and LOVE. Its an outdoor pillow but not waterproof, so I try to be careful about bringing it in when it rains. I made several Sunbrella pillows so I could have a low maintenance balcony and not always have to bring things in. For the most part the water just beads up on the Sunbrella and doesn’t soak in, but you should always use polyester inserts not feather for outdoor pillows so they dry faster if they do happen to get wet. You can shop my outdoor pillows here.

Finishing Touches

I couldn’t have a balcony without some sort of string lights - they just look so pretty at night! I decided to go with a simple strand draping on the railing, and had to get battery operated ones since we don’t have an outdoor plug. I picked up two pack at Marshalls for only $8 each!!

Also some herbs, flowers, or any sort of greenery are the perfect touch on a balcony. We switch out what we have outside depending on the season. Right now we have fresh herbs and my kiddos planted snap peas.

I hope you love these ideas!

xoxo

Liz