Rooftop Balcony Styling
I was very excited about styling this particular rooftop balcony.
Every home I work on - whether it’s a big renovation project or a colour consultation - I get attached to in one way or another. This particular home I consulted on from the plans, to the build, to the finishes and decor. So yeah, I am definitely attached to this one.
This rooftop balcony looks over Edmonton’s beautiful river valley and towards downtown. It’s west facing so gets a lot of light and heat in the summer. It was also built in a way that it feels private and cozy. However, the homeowners had been living in the home for a good 5 months already and just weren’t really using the space. It had so much potential but it needed to be properly styled.
Once that happened, suddenly they were using and enjoying the space, hosting friends and family and also spending time out there together as a couple.
Next up, we needed more seating!
We found the two chairs at IKEA on sale for $25 each (including the seat cushions) and the homeowners built the black bench with dimensional lumber and some rustoleum paint. Overall that was about $100.
Seat cushions for the bench were another clearance find, this time at Home Sense for $36 for 4.
I also love using mirrors in outdoor spaces.
This one is actually weather resistant and light with its plastic frame. But it creates additional depth and is great for checking in on how you’re doing with your suntanning. ;)
The space was further decorated with other pillows and objects that the homeowners already had. Overall, the total spend on the new items was around $600.
What did they have to work with?
The sectional lounger, a 40ft string of lights, the outdoor rug and the small wooden table. That was it.
Because of the heat and the sun, adding a sun shade was a must. This also helped with the heat transfer into the house through the door. We found a cream coloured one on amazon for about $25 and spent another $15 getting appropriate hardware for hanging it (and the lights). We attached it with carabiners so that is easy to take down when required.
I’ve mentioned the sun and the heat a few times now but it became a determining factor on whether to go with real or fake plants.
There isn’t a water source on this floor of the house and real plants would likely require near daily watering. This just didn’t work for the homeowners so it was an easy decision to go with fake plants instead. All of the plants are from IKEA - two bamboos to flank the bench and varying others just to add more “life” to the space. The plant pots were a combo of IKEA and Home Sense.
Having storage and spots to set things are also important so the metal shelf (for a whopping $11.99 at IKEA) and the metal coffee table were perfect pieces to incorporate.
What do you think? Worth every penny? I think so.
Kierstin Smyth Design
Edmonton Interior Design Consultant