Name: Pete the Cat
Location: Vancouver, BC
Type of space: Balcony
Tell us about your outdoor project and how you enjoy it: This is a south facing balcony on the top floor corner of a three story building. It's about 5.5m long, but only 1.25m deep (so actually very hard to get a photo of all of it at once). It has a very nice evergreen tree just at the corner which is home to finch and chickadees which I lure closer with two feeders just outside the curtains. The birds are actually my favourite part of the balcony, but the curtains are a close second.
How did you create it?:
Being south facing and on the top floor, it gets HOT, so I'd been trying to find ways to give it more shade. Large plants did little and I've never liked the look of rolled bamboo blinds from the outside of a building, so I thought I'd try a gauzy white curtain on simple bamboo poles and I love it. They are secured with rings screwed into the wood with white twill tape to tie and they have weathered very heavy wind and rain with no mishaps. There's a seating area at either end and it's very easy to move the chairs and plants if I need more or less seating. My favourite plants are the bamboo and the Japanese maple. The rest are evergreen and semi-evergreen grasses and spurges which do very well with full sun. In the corner is a small vegetable garden with lettuce, green onions, watercress, and strawberries. Since the balcony doors are basically the front wall of our livingroom and open right up, this is like an extension of the room. I would say that the curtains give us more privacy if it weren't for the fact that everyone who walks past the building always stops to look, especially when the lights are lit. The space worked out even better than I'd hoped when the curtain idea first occurred to me
Recommended store, site, product or resource?
David Hunter Garden Centre for plants and advice. These curtains are Ikea and very inexpensive.
Small Cool Lessons: Discovering Small Space Design Ideas That Really Work
Marisa and Peter's Playfully Eclectic Home
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Sheex Bedding
Eileen's Beachside Oasis Kitchen
How to Make Fresh Pasta Dough in the Food Processor
Wow, you've made a wonderful little retreat out what I imagine was a rather sterile city balcony. Great job!
Um, BEAUTIFUL! I would stop and look too!!
I like it! The curtains work really well. You should've submitted a photo from the sidewalk so we can see what the people who stop and look can see.
Love that you stuck with white planters and green plants – I think it helps it look crisp and tidy.
Magical. I love the practical, beautiful, clever, and creative curtains. And everything else about it.
This is so beautiful. What a lovely space to relax and enjoy the outdoors. :)
Thanks everyone for your nice comments! It looks better in person; I'm afraid I'm not the world's best photographer.
@erinpeace - I did take 1 pic from the street, but since we could only send in 5, it got ditched in favour of another. Maybe I can dig it out and post in comments or something. I really should label my photo files better :(
I think this is my favourite, it is just fabulous. The curtains really make it, and I love that they were actually added for practical reasons, they add so so much to the look. I also love that all the planters are white too, it keeps it very serene looking. Do please post a link to the "street view" picture, I'd love to see it.
Where's Pete?
nice! i d like to see a photo of how it looks from the street/outside
This is a great idea! Question: how did you attach the bamboo pole the curtains are hanging from?
@sintax
The bamboo poles I picked (from Chinatown were only a buck each) are probably only about 3cm in diameter. I was able to get hooks from the hardware store (mine are chrome) through which the bamboo could easily fit and since the roof (ceiling?) is wood, I drilled holes and screwed the hooks right in. I ended up using three rods across and one little one at the end. After one very windy day and a pole popping out at one end, I lashed either end of each pole to the hook (with heavy jute twine because it suits the look, though it doesn't really show much) and it's worked super well. Since I never actually slide open the curtains at the top (and actually overlapped a tab on each to keep them together), it makes it much easier to secure.
That's very impressive with what you did with the size of the balcony! You made it look lush-like with the green plants and the small tree. Of course, I love the curtain idea and lights! I'm sure the pictures don't do it justice...
Beautiful. Is it difficult to keep the curtains clean? Do you take them down when it rains/snows? Do they help with mosquitoes?
hey! I'm curious about your bench, could you provide detailed dimensions? (thickness of metal, width, depth, height and location of legs along length)
i was looking to get something similar done that was simplistic and clean lined.
Hi, what model is the white plastic chair? It's beautiful! :) Thanks!
@miesh
The curtains don't get dirty at all, which really surprised me. It's Vancouver, so it rains ALL the time ha ha, so no, they stay up for rain. They're a poly/cotton blend from Ikea and have done super well in even crazy heavy rain. They'll come down in winter, mostly just for a different look, as I like to do different lights for the holiday season, but also if we do get snow (which is not guaranteed) it would probably get messy.
@pinstripeprincess
The bench is 1.5m long by 50cm deep, about 40cm high. I'm afraid it's a Frankenstein's monster; I found an old office bench at a thrift store, took off the old vinyl seat and put my own plank of (very cheap) plywood on and stained. The cushions are just woven seagrass from Chinatown.
@c7y
It's the Oh-chair from Umbra. Super comfy, too.
I'm so glad everyone's interested! Thanks for all the comments.
Oops, and the bench's legs are 3cm thick, there's a leg half way along [and at the corners, of course :)].
a bit late now but thought i'd just throw in a thanks for the details. i'm getting something made.. hopefully it'll hold up!