My Great Outdoors: Erica's Fort Worth Balcony for One

Name: Erica Good
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Type of space: Balcony
Tell us about your outdoor project and how you enjoy it: This is my balcony for one. I've had to battle a flock of pigeons for ownership of the space, but I think I've finally won. Only 4'x8', and with a stucco wall that blocks the sun, I'm not able to use my space to grow veggies like I'd originally hoped, so I've turned it into a little oasis instead. I've had such fun this spring shopping for bargains and clearance so that I could turn a former pigeon litter box into such a nice space on my tiny shoestring budget. Now it's my little bit of the outdoors to sit and recharge while I read in the morning, or enjoy a cold beer after work. It's the one place in my apartment that's pure luxury. I sit down with the scent of jasmine, thyme, clematis, rosemary, and basil all around, prop my feet up, light my citronella lamp, and get to just revel in the beautiful Texas weather.

How did you create it? After ejecting the pigeons (which involved a lot of shoo-ing and waving a broom around for a couple weeks), and scrubbing the presents from the concrete, I bargain shopped. The coconut fiber planters came from the dollar store (they were $15 a piece everywhere else I looked!), the ceramic pots, chair, and ceramic side table were all on clearance at Garden Ridge. The rug was on clearance at Target, and the lantern I picked up for 3 bucks at a flea market. The herbs and flowers were all either started from seed, or bought at 50% off (except the jasmine). The whole kit and caboodle cost around $150

Recommended store, site, product or resource? Garden Ridge supplied most of what you see here -- they have great sales, and a pretty big clearance area where you can find some real steals.

See all Readers' My Great Outdoors submissions here

Comments (6)

I'm impressed that you put that together for $150. Great job!

posted by susang on June 11th 2009 at 3:32pm
view susang's profile

congratulations! it looks like a lovely oasis.

posted by sassydo on June 11th 2009 at 4:15pm
view sassydo's profile

Aww, I'm originally from Fort Worth, so nice to see Cowtown represented in such a lovely way! And I totally miss Garden Ridge, that place is amazing! Great job!

posted by EastVillageAmy on June 11th 2009 at 4:44pm
view EastVillageAmy's profile

This is great! Really love the colors, the scale--this is designed, not just stuff.

posted by FantasticMrFaux on June 11th 2009 at 4:48pm
view FantasticMrFaux's profile

You certainly made a little go a very long way! Tiny space! Beautifully done. I love your sense of space and how you made it feel bigger than it is. (It looks small, but I'd have guessed it was 10 X 5 or so instead.) The chair is great. And all the plants seem to be thriving.

My only disappointment is hearing that you happened upon the lamp at the flee market. Drat, I was hopping to find one for myself. It looks great. And the planters from the dollar store were a wonderful score. The ceramic pieces all add a touch of timeless class. Bravo! Well done!

posted by bittergaymark on June 11th 2009 at 7:04pm
view bittergaymark's profile

I am loving what everyone is doing with these little balconies! It makes me so ashamed that with the big space I have I just can't seem to make mine come together just yet! This looks like such an enjoyable place for you to sit and relax... wonderful!

posted by sfteri on June 13th 2009 at 12:38pm
view sfteri's profile