Name: LeenTell us about your outdoor project and how you enjoy it: In Milwaukee you only get a small window of opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and when I moved into my new place a little over a month ago I knew my large balcony had to be transformed into an outdoor sanctuary. It's a beautiful place to sit all day and read a book, we can hear Jazz in the Park in the distance on Thursday nights, and now I'm excited to break it in as a dining area.
How did you create it?:
We had three goals for this project:
1) to put up a barricade along the railing so our cats don't go up to the edge
2) create a tiered container garden that thrived in minimal sun light
3) have a multi-functional space for eating, conversation and lounging.
We then hit the ground running for the better part of the past three weeks buying plants and containers. I personally don't like a uniform look so we bought different colors, shapes and sizes of containers and plants. We then needed furniture that met our goals. We decided on a bench and two chairs for seating. The bench is wonderful because below we can store unused pots or tools and it goes virtually unnoticed. I had my heart set on a folding table that could be small enough to go between the chairs but then expand into a large dining table. The last thing was the umbrella. The sunset is harsh to the eyes so we purchases a small umbrella that clamps onto the railing to shield against the sun. All in all I'm thrilled with the result!
Recommended store, site, product or resource?
Most of the plants and pots came from Steins Garden & Gifts. Others came from Whole Foods, Anthropologie, @home (in Savannah GA) and Ikea. The bench & chairs are Martha Stewart's from Kmart. And the gate-leg table & umbrella from Ikea.
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so lovely. perfect garden chair selection. enjoy the warm weather!
view susang's profile
Very nice--it looks like you've been pulling it together a lot longer than a month.
view sally305's profile
I love your furniture!! Great table and those chairs and loveseat send my heart a pitter patter.... Too bad my balcony is about 36 inches wide....
view Heatherbelle's profile
That's Milwaukee? From the first photo I thought it was Paris. Lovely job.
view Lisa (Montreal)'s profile
Uuuu! I'm like in it !!! great job...love the two chairs, the bench,the table oh what the heck I love everything.....
view ilovenature4ever's profile
This is just beautiful, really balanced and well thought out. And I agree that it looks like it evolved over a much longer time than three weeks. Hope you get a wonderful summer to enjoy it now :)
view idontdobeige's profile
I thought it was nice until I saw the table open. It went from nice to awesome. What a great use of space!
view NYKate's profile
Looks great! Your furniture is very chic. I love all of it, especially the umbrella and the pots.
view clampers's profile
Great job pulling that together in only a month. It highlights the great urbanity of Milwaukee's lakeshore neighborhoods. I miss summers up there, and your patio looks like a great place to enjoy some great summer evenings.
view Jts's profile
Fantastic space! Where did you find that great table? Do you take the umbrella down when you're not outside? I'd be afraid it would blow away. Also, how do you prevent your cat from jumping up on the railing? We just moved into a 4th floor apartment with a huge deck, but I'm terrified of letting the cats out.
view callithrix's profile
The table is the Applaro gateleg table from Ikea. The umbrella (also from Ikea) is clamped onto the railing and doesn't move! We've had several windy days since I put it up and it hasn't moved. My cats don't jump up because there's no ledge for them to sit on. For some reason they know that it's a rail and not a flat surface. (We also don't let them out without supervision)
Thanks for all the great comments!
view leen's profile
Hey, that's right above where I park my car (in the underground public parking, that is). Beautiful little sanctuary. And love how you solved the cat issue - that's something I always worried about with balconies & my kitties. :)
view chokolaj's profile
I was thinking the same thing about the cats...lol. Your balcony really looks great and I love your table.
view junklover's profile
Beautiful space!! you did a fantastic job.
I'm not sure I could trust my kitties to understand there is no railing for them, so don't jump, wish I could, tho.
I only notice one cat in your pics and he's lovely, reminds me of one of mine.
view sassydo's profile
sliders are so nice for use out to balcony. unfortunately, i have a single french door, which really affects how much of the small space is usable, since there has to be room for the dang door to swing open. this is awesome.
view stephanie in orlando's profile
I'll be over in 10 minutes. :-)
view keltrue's profile
I love the chairs and bench! I can not find it in Martha Stewart - Kmart collection.. was this purchased awhile ago? I would love to get the set for my patio!!
view hcamp's profile
You succeeded in reaching all of your goals and then some. It What a lovely place for you and the cats to hang out!
view bcthree's profile
Nice job with the container garden. Also, that striped umbrella is to die for.
view rmp154's profile