Gone are the times where we lived in a 1000 square yard old bungalow built by our folks or grandparents with a beautiful garden to sit and watch the squirrels being chased by our pets or in our case decide who will water the lawns today because it took almost an hour. We now dwell in cities that are larger than some countries mind you and Multi-storey apartments that are smaller than match boxes (Bombay folks are you listening)
Early last year we moved from Gurgaon to Hyderabad, now relatively apartments in Northern India are still lavish or we were lucky to have a 3 BHK with 3 massive balconies to our mercy. Compare that to our tiny 1200 sq ft rental in Hyderabad that has a 3 by 5 balcony and then you also have laundry to deal with. We never imagined how we will fit the 50 odd plant pots we carried all the way from Gurgaon here at first.
The first week post shifting my Plants lay all across the balcony floor and some on top of my furniture pieces or on top of unpacked cartons, the kitchen slab & for once I thought, this is it I cannot have them all here but I was also determined to not donate my babies that I collected & nurtured over years altogether. So the task on hand was to use the tiny space I had in a functional way yet have all my plants sit pretty to give me company for the morning coffee or an afternoon read during the winters.
Fast forward this day and for a while my most favourite spot in the home is the Balcony now and its not just me I bet, the Instagram community loves it too and I receive numerous queries on certain things and compliments often. So I thought why not begin the year on a detailed post about HOW TO CREATE A SIMILAR OUTDOOR SPACE THATS NOT ONLY A PLANT HAVEN BUT FUNCTIONAL & FEELS CALM. No matter the size of your balcony 3 by 5 or 1 by 2 its possible to convert it into a nook you will love and adore specially with another lockdown hanging on our heads now.
This blog is in two parts – PART 1 everything you need to know about planning your balcony and PART 2 has some chic ideas for space constraint balconies as bonus and links to all the products that can help you achieve a look similar to ours . Sounds cool right, now without more blabbering lets dive into Part 1 and the details.
PART 1
Create A Vertical Garden Keeping the Floor Plan Open
One look at the balcony & I knew I didn’t want plants scattered on the floor so it could be cleaned daily and we could have a little sit out area without toppling over a pot. So here comes vertical gardening options if you have noticed those the Metro Pillars cladded with some self watering greens something similar to that.
Now there are tons of way one can create a vertical Garden – Think Shelfs , Ladder , Hanging Plants , Wall Mounted Pots. We chose wooden shelfs that we built ourselves from pine wood bought at a local timber store. Wood is a little heavy maintenance but I have always loved how raw wood and its grains feel so organic and lend it a very ‘Country Forest Feel ‘. In general if I lived in a cold place I would a ton of ferns because I love them.
The Brackets are solid iron brackets sourced from IKEA that really added depth to the beautiful grain of this pine wood.
We live in Hyderabad that has moderate temperatures but dry climate with 2 months of intense heat. This made me mostly choose succulents and a few philodendron creepers that I have to water only once in a week bringing everything down so the water doesn’t damage the wood, you could also add water trays below your pots to collect excess water if you find that easier. The planks are 3 ft in length (same size as the width of the balcony) and easily accommodate 6 to 7 small to medium pots . Here’s how it looks on a winter afternoon.
Use the Railings for flower boxes or railing planters
We still had a few plants mostly herbs or flowering variety that need full sun exposure like Mint, Basil & Geraniums so we added a row of railing planters from Trust Basket . You can find them at your local stores or nursery or any garden store near you but I like the quality of Trust Basket. They are usually made either from Metal or Plastic with Hooks behind that one can just hang onto the railing like a flower box & then add smaller potted plants inside or even grow plants directly inside them. The White ones are almost 4 years old and were actually spray painted to white from their original red. I was very sure I wanted to add a nice green colour that go with my overall muted theme. Only if I had my way and could source wood flower boxes, like the ones we see in Europe cascading over cute mountain huts , I would be a very happy girl !
Use Hooks – On the Ceiling or Walls to hang a few pots
You could hang some plants mostly creepers and the ones that dramatically cascade down from the ceiling using iron hooks on the wall too (like me), we did not hang too many because that would block light & sun in our case but I hanged my very old jade in a basket on the opposite wall to the vertical shelfs. I am a sucker for natural light & direct sun hitting my skin everyday, but if that’s not a problem , get some hooks installed on your ceiling & hang as many creepers as you like they indeed look very dreamy. In the Part 2 of this blog you can find some cool ideas too.
The Railing Pavement Wall
Right below the railing there is a little pavement which is about 6 inches wide and since I do have a lot more Plants I placed a few here as well. This way the floor stays clear of plants except for 2 big planters plonked in a corner for added greenery. We recently added flowering creepers here so they actually cover a part of the fence and add more lush greenery to my balcony. A tip while styling plants that I would say works is adding plants in various heights , breaking the greens with a little bit of coloured foliage plants and flowering ones. I personally prefer keeping the pots neutral like terracotta or whites/blacks for symmetry and you’ll rarely find colourful ceramic pots here but that’s just me, feel free to add colours that you like but try and build a binding factor & balance them, a riot of different colours can be visually very confusing & distracting unless done right.
Get Compact Furniture that fits the space
Invest in compact outdoor furniture that can be folded and put away when not in use. If you ask me IKEA INDIA has the best range in outdoor furniture that’s so well priced but if Ikea doesn’t deliver to where you live there are few other options that you could explore or for that matter even build one with the help of a local carpenter , a rustic bench , a Carpenter’s Table or replace the Table top of an old table to a slated one by getting some planks from a timber store yourself. A nice sit out nook where you can start your day sipping coffee slowly , or throwing a barbecue lunch on the weekends or a just meditating spot makes a host of a difference in your quality of life in my opinion specially if you are a homebody like me.
Add Some Dreamy Lights
Well there is no drama without lights on this planet, a space is transformed with the sheer use and style of lights you add. In the balcony add a dreamy Macrame Lampshade (Mine is under construction by my good friend since a decade now ya like forever Ha Ha Ha) or add a rustic country style pendant if you please the ones that hang over the Doctors Operation Table work too. Or just add a evergreen string of Edison Bulb string lights and some Solar Powered Fairy lights, Country style lanterns the options are so many. They all look nice as long as they are a mellow yellow or a warm white, Please refrain from adding a tube light in your balcony, choosing a warm light with low lumen is equally important for added coziness.
Add some art if you Please
Go a step further and add a piece of art , anything a Garden Quote , A Framed Art, Carved Wooden Trivets or a cool Bollywood Poster. Make it a little personal but yeh don’t go too heavy on the art by creating a Gallery Wall out of it that takes away the focus from nature I personally feel.
If you like Bohemian style add Macarame Dream Catchers or ditch the furniture for a swing. I like to keep it a little cozy with the feeling of old country cottage charm so I just added my Chalkboard Art with some essential reminders. I kind off dupe myself all the time that I am living in a tiny cottage somewhere in the woods and not a metro city with 10 million people.
And thats about it , if you have been thinking about this, just put aside a weekend and get going on your little balcony space. Transform it into a little sanctuary and your zen corner that becomes the envy of neighbours and your personal slice of heaven within the madness of our concrete city life !
If all this planning , shopping , drilling , painting, which plants to get is still a very daunting task and spins your head and you would rather go for professional services who handle everything , I cannot recommend enough a good friend of mine who excels at creating outdoor green spaces that talk character & exude charm. Please take a look at The Greenish Affair website if you are looking to hire a talented professional to do this end to end for you while you relax with a cup of chai.
Ok then , Happy Green Spaces to you. Look up Part 2 of this blog here with links to all or similar products and a few more ideas that you could bookmark and pick a clue from. Have a good day & a great week ahead. Leave me a comment if you found this useful will you 🙂
Kamakshi
