No matter the size of your apartment balcony, there are ways to make it beautiful and cozy. My husband Michael and I live in the city of Zurich. It is a beautiful city but like any city we have a lot of traffic near our apartment and small balconies. However, in summer those small outdoor spaces are so essential for all of us who live in the city. Balconies, terraces and roof terraces are entertainment areas for everyone. In my apartment that is no exception. We use the balconies a lot.
In my Zurich apartment I have two small balconies. One is in front of the living room and the second in front of the kitchen. The kitchen balcony has the sunset, it is located in the back of the building, as a consequence the area is quieter. The balcony in the living room is slightly longer but the width is similar. The only thing is that it faces the street, so it is a bit noisy. We also have neighbors to the right, left and front. So our goal was to make the living room balcony a little more private and inviting. For the kitchen balcony that is quieter, we wanted to turn it into a practical space.
My husband Michael loves to cook and use different spices. We thought it will be great to have a small spiced orchard for him. The kitchen balcony has all kinds of spices, herbs and chilis. We open the door and window facing the balcony and suddenly our kitchen become bigger and have a little urban garden. To the front balcony to make it more private, we have added a large palm tree that covers part of the view of the balconies of the neighbors on the right and different tall plants that slightly limit the view of people from the left.
To make the two balconies cozy, we installed wood tiles available from Ikea. We also added two wooden boxes and created an L shape so that three people can sit or one can lie down. In addition, we added H&M Home cushions, small Migros do it pots and CITRUS by Kunz's large pot.