Balcony styling ideas from interior designers to get you excited for summer

Whether you’re in a city-centre apartment or blessed with the privacy of a bedroom balcony, your outdoor space can be transformed into an alfresco retreat with a few clever styling ideas. The expert team at Blocc Interiors, Bellway’s showhome interior design partners, have shared their favourite tips for decorating balconies and bringing summery style to even the most compact terraces.

Add greenery with a vertical garden

Installing a vertical garden is an ingenious way to maximise your balcony space – think wall-mounted planters, hanging pots, and trellises with climbing plants to add greenery.

Designer’s tip: Choose a mix of trailing and upright plants for a lush, tropical feel. Mix in some kitchen herbs for functionality, and succulents for minimal maintenance. With so many great artificial plants available at the moment, don’t be afraid to mix real and fake foliage to make your plant care routine easier.

Photo by Spacejoy on Unsplash

Choose furniture with multiple functions

Multifunctional furniture is ideal for balconies, and helps to give the space more purpose and practicality.

Designer’s tip: Opt for folding tables and chairs, or benches and ottomans that double as seating and storage, helping to keep your balcony clutter-free.

Outdoor rugs add style from the ground up

Laying an outdoor rug underneath your balcony furniture helps to extend your interior space to the outside, with a touch of comfort and style.

Designer’s tip: Choose a rug that compliments your outdoor furniture, and can withstand wet weather conditions. Bold patterns and vibrant colours can make your space feel even more inviting.

Image by mrsiraphol on Freepik

Add ambience with string lights

Create a cosy atmosphere on your balcony with outdoor string lights – choose the solar-powered kind to save energy and effort.

Designer’s tip: Use strings of fairy lights or LED candles to add a warm night-time glow, drape festoon lights along railings, or create a canopy overhead with industrial-style caged Edison bulbs to bring a magical feel to your outdoor space.

Soften your space with comfortable seating

Even if nobody but you will be enjoying your balcony, comfort is a must! Outdoor soft furnishings can also extend your seating options for when you do have guests to visit.

Designer’s tip: Throw cushions and floor pillows in weather-resistant fabrics are a worthwhile investment. If you haven’t yet jumped onto (or into) the egg chair trend, now is your time – it’s the perfect space in which to cocoon yourself away this summer, with a book and a drink for some much-needed relaxation.

Photo by Ivy Aralia Nizar on Unsplash

Invest in a compact outdoor dining set

Nothing beats dining alfresco on a balmy summer evening, especially with company. A compact outdoor dining set will give you the perfect space, without taking up too much of it.

Designer’s tip: Invest in a small bistro set with a folding table and chairs. This is the perfect setup for intimate meals, or for enjoying your morning coffee, Parisian-style. It’s also a private spot for working from home without missing out on any of the sunshine.

Take inspiration from nature

Looking to Japanese Zen gardens for inspiration, integrate natural elements into your balcony décor for a calming effect.

Designer’s tip: Use organic materials such as wood, rattan, or bamboo for your furniture or décor, alongside plenty of greenery to bring nature closer to your own outdoor space.

Stick to your colours for cohesion

Just like your home interior, your outdoor space should also have a colour scheme for a cohesive, considered look and feel.

Designer’s tip: Extend the colours chosen for your home or apartment interior onto your balcony to create fluidity as you transition between indoors and outdoors.

For more expert tips from the Blocc Interiors team, read about how to use Apricot Crush, the 2024 Colour of the Year in your home, or look inside the jaw-dropping Bellway showhome styled by Blocc at Copthorne Keep in Shrewsbury. If your Bellway home has a beautiful balcony that you’d love to share with us, tag @bellwayhomes in your Instagram images, and use our dedicated hashtag #mybeautifulbellway for your chance to be featured on our social channels.

Article header image by mrsiraphol on Freepik