Looking for small balcony ideas on a budget? Owning a balcony can be exciting, especially if its your first one! Before you jump in and buy items to fill out your tiny outdoor space, plan out your balcony’s function to save money.
Look around your apartment or house. What is it missing? Do you need a quiet place to relax once the kids are asleep? Maybe your apartment is small and you need extra space for entertaining guests.
This can help you decide your balcony’s function. It will also help you narrow down on the decor and furniture. You’ll want to make the most out of this tiny space. In this post, I’ve gathered the best small apartment balcony ideas on a budget to turn your balcony into a functional space.
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Small Balcony Ideas On A Budget
- Place for relaxation
- Extra social place
- Balcony garden
- Work space
- Extra dog space
- Storage
- Multipurpose space
7 Small Apartment Balcony Ideas On A Budget
Have a budget before you start spending! This will help allocate the budget towards important pieces, like seating. I recommend buying the furniture first and the decorations next. To save money, purchase pieces from thrift stores or DIY them.
You can save a lot of money by avoiding purchasing items you won’t use. Some decor and furniture pieces can look nice, but if they don’t serve a function, they can easily clutter a small balcony. Also, measure your balcony (and balcony door!) to make sure larger furniture pieces can fit outside.
With your budget in hand, let’s dive into the best small balcony ideas on a budget.
1. Turn Your Balcony Into A Place For Relaxation
Looking for relaxing small apartment balcony ideas on a budget? Turn your tiny balcony into your zen place. If your balcony is large enough and you get nice weather, you can dedicate this area towards yoga or meditation. This can be great idea if you lack indoor relaxing space. It’ll also give you a breath of outdoor air when you do your routine.
Do you own a hammock? If your balcony is large enough, you can try to hang your hammock there. This can be a wonderful area to get some sunlight while reading your favorite book. If you live in an area that doesn’t have light pollution, you can stargaze while lying down.
You don’t need to buy a lot furniture to make the most out of your space. Be clever with your balcony’s function so you don’t buy furniture you won’t use.
The balcony is a wonderful place to lie down in your hammock. Consider purchasing a hammock with a stand if you don’t have a good place to hang it.
2. Turn Your Balcony Into An Extra Social Place
Looking for fun small balcony ideas on a budget? Do you live with a large family or roommates? If you find yourselves bumping into each other or don’t have the space to spend quality time together, you can dedicate your balcony for social time.
Select a larger outdoor furniture seat for everyone to sit in. You can make your balcony cozy and usable at night by adding string lights. Have a smaller table or side table to place drinks. You can even add an outdoor rug for a homely touch.
I recommend utilizing a bar table. A bar table can give extra seating and table space. This can be a wonderful place to chat and drink coffee. Before furnishing your balcony, be realistic of how often you or other people will use this space. Make sure your furniture is comfortable to encourage others to spend time outside. To save money, I recommend checking out thrift stores or DIY-ing your own outdoor furniture.
3. Turn Your Balcony Into A Garden
Do you dream to one day have your own backyard garden? Consider starting your garden on your balcony! Before you get started, know the weight restrictions of your balcony. Soil and pots can be heavy. If your balcony can handle a garden, try one out!
To save money on traditional plant pots, you can grow your plants in yogurt containers, coffee bags, wooden boxes, and large plastic bottles. Consider regrowing plants from scraps instead of purchasing seeds. Did you know you could regrow scallions, basil, onions, bok choy, and potatoes? There are so many fruits and vegetables that can be grown this way! I recommend trying this out on your first garden.
To save space, use a planter that can hang on your rail like the one above!
4. Turn Your Balcony Into Your Work Space
Looking for functional small balcony ideas on a budget? If you work at home, you have the opportunity to design your office exactly how you want it. So why not work outdoors on your balcony? Of course, you don’t have dedicate your entire balcony for your office. This area can be a great place to work when you want some fresh air and a change in scenery.
If you can work on your laptop, have a sturdy table and comfortable chair on your balcony. If your balcony tends to get a lot of sunlight, consider shading it with an outdoor umbrella or curtains. This will help reduce the glare of your screen when you work outside. If you don’t have a divided workplace in your home and you often have great weather outside, try using your balcony as a chill work space!
5. Turn Your Balcony Into An Extra Place For Your Dog Or Pet
Looking for small apartment balcony ideas on a budget for your pet? If you have a dog, you’ll know how much they’ll appreciate the outdoors. Dogs love sniffing the outside world and lying down under sunlight.
If you are a pet owner, consider using your balcony as an extra place for your pooch. This is a wonderful idea if you live in an apartment and/or don’t have a backyard.
Place down some synthetic grass. Add a dog house, a water bowl, and place some of their favorite toys outside. Consider adding a bench or seating for them to lie on. A chair will give your dog more height so they can look beyond the balcony. Dogs love looking outside. Be careful not to place the seating near the balcony’s wall if your pet likes to jump.
If you don’t think you’ll spend a lot of time on your balcony, make a space for your pet!
Add some fake grass on your balcony for your pooch!
6. Turn Your Balcony Into Extra Storage
Looking for more small balcony ideas on a budget? If your home is small and cluttered, consider using your balcony as extra storage. You can buy a deck box to hide away certain items. Deck boxes will protect your items from weather. For extra function, place outdoor pillows on top of the boxes to create seating.
Consider purchasing outdoor storage solutions for your balcony. I don’t recommend placing items outside that are not weatherproof. Place them inside outdoor storage boxes intended to keep your items safe and dry. I would limit how many items you place on your balcony to avoid it looking cluttered.
7. Turn Your Balcony Into A Multipurpose Space
If you live in a small apartment or house, the extra square feet counts. You can utilize your balcony as a multipurpose space. For example, you can use it as an all-in-one area to grow plants, work, and hangout with guests.
Be creative when furnishing your balcony. Consider using multipurpose furniture. For example, a storage box to store blankets and board games can also be seating when the lid is closed. Multipurpose furniture will also help you save money and space.
If you need to move around furniture, get ones that can easily be stored away like folding chairs and tables. If not, make sure your furniture is light enough to move around.
Arrange your furniture wisely. If your balcony is small, you’ll want to make sure that you can go around your furniture without bumping your knee or stubbing a few toes. Go for less furniture than more. You want to maximize your space, not clutter it. To save space, consider buying balcony railing planters or hanging planters for your plants.
Before You Start Furnishing Your Balcony, Consider The…
Before diving into these ideas, consider your home’s location. For example, some of these ideas may not work well if you live in an area that frequently snows.
Since your balcony is outdoors, you’ll want to make sure you have the right outdoor conditions to enjoy it the most. After all you’ll want to be able to use your balcony after all your hard work and money!
Area
If you live by the highway and don’t enjoy loud noises, then you might have a hard time relaxing on your balcony. I wouldn’t recommend using your balcony for certain activities like relaxation or social time if the location will ruin the experience for you.
Other than noise, other factors may impact your enjoyment. These include insect population, air quality, and sunlight (or lack of). If you can, I would stand outside your balcony during different parts of the day to see if there are any annoyances. If there are, consider using your balcony for other functions or try to come up with solutions. For example, a curtain around the balcony can serve as a bug net!
Privacy
If you plan on spending time on your balcony by yourself or with others, a lack of privacy can make the experience uncomfortable. Check out where your balcony is located. Is it facing other buildings or a busy street? If you live on an apartment building, are neighboring balconies too close for comfort? Your balcony should be your sanctuary. Make sure you have enough privacy to enjoy it.
Lucky, there is an easy fix for this problem. I recommend adding curtains, fencing, plants, or a privacy screen on your balcony. You can DIY your own privacy solution to keep the cost down. Be creative, but be mindful of how its material will last under different weather conditions.
Need help selecting a privacy screen? I wrote a post on the best apartment balcony privacy screens here.
This ivy screen is an effective and beautiful privacy solution for your balcony.
Weather
Speaking of weather, check out the weather of your area. This will help you determine what furniture and decor will last on your balcony. I recommend buying outdoor furniture regardless of how mild your weather is. This is because outdoor furniture is made to handle outdoors better and is often waterproof.
If you live in an area that gets windy, select furniture and decor pieces that are heavier and won’t easily fall over or get blown away. You can also get nylon rope to tie down pieces if the weather gets extreme.
Weather will also impact how often you’ll want to use your balcony. Areas that frequently get too hot or cold make it uncomfortable to go outside. You can try to rectify this by purchasing an outdoor fan or heater.
Areas that get a lot of rain can make your furniture wet if you don’t have the proper cover. If you get a lot of rain, I would consider getting a large umbrella to cover most of the balcony if you want to spend time in the rain outdoors.
If you get seasonally good weather, you can still use the balcony for outdoor activities. You can always cover up or move the furniture when the weather becomes harsher. Just be prepared when the seasons change so you can keep your furniture in good quality.
Conclusion: Small Balcony Ideas On A Budget
Owning a balcony is exciting. If you live in an apartment building in the city, it’s like having your own little chunk of the outdoors! If you turn your balcony into a functional area, you’ll be able to make the most out of your budget and space. In this post, I’ve gathered the best small apartment balcony ideas on a budget.
It takes creativity to decorate and furnish a balcony within your budget. I recommend purchasing pieces one at a time so you can slowly get the idea of you need to tie the place together. It’ll also prevent you from buying more decor pieces than you’ll need!
I hope this post gave you helpful small balcony ideas on a budget. Do you own a balcony? I’d love to know what you plan to do with it! Are you planning to use some of the ideas listed above?