apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

How did you create it? by morphing into a Tasmanian devil...no really, this was long overdue, to reclaim this space for myself after taking in a series of family members with trauma & drama.
• I wanted a space outside where I could be myself.
• Painted the whole balcony and downstairs too.
• I started with the tomatoes & deciding to redo the chairs.
• I schlepped compost and plywood, redid all the cushions & stained the chairs & ottomans.
• Got planter boxes & painted them purple.
• Put the tomatoes in Ikea trash cans.
• Made corner "shelves" for plants or drinks.
• Made outside curtains & put them up on copper pipes.
• I had a metal decorative thing that was hanging up, took it to the local framers and had them put a mirror behind it & re-hung it.
• Pulled a lamp I had made a few years ago out of storage where it had been hiding.
• Straightened out the sloping floor with scavenged wood.
• Bought a new door (exactly like one in an inspiration pic - the landlords haven't put it in yet, but the door is here in the stairwell & they say it will be in by the 4th of July)
• I knew I wanted color, and needed to solve the problem of getting some privacy.
• I am happy with the "garden" of tomatoes and Jalepenos, herbs and flowers. I went shopping for herbs that smelled.
Now everything just has to grow!

The before and after pics on my flickr really tell the story.

Recommended store, site, product or resource? Right now I feel that Home Goods/TJMaxx/Marshall's has the best prices on accessories, my planter boxes were half the price of the exact same ones at Loew's. I found good plants at Briggs nursery locally, and flowers at the plant guy on Reservoir Ave in Cranston, RI. The copper came from Loew's, & the fabric for the furniture and curtains from Joanne's.