Creating an Affordable Balcony Space

Our balcony was in a sorry state of affairs. We had some discarded boxes, a few decaying leaves, and a tatty old doormat – and that was literally the extent of it. So as we’re slowly but surely descending into summer, we decided it was high-time we did something about it.
I’m super pleased with how it turned out – and it was all so affordable. We headed to Ikea on bank holiday weekend (brave, I know) and emerged with a plethora of outdoor pieces.
The orange stools bring a much needed pop of colour, and were only £7 each – we still need to get some cushions for these, but for now, they’re not too bad to sit on without.The rugs make a HUGE difference, they were only £5 each, and we bought 4 of them to cover the majority of the space – I think this is what pulls everything together, the floor underneath is so ugly and paint-stained, it really needed something to lift the space.The half-moon table was only £15, we originally considered painting it, but actually I think it works quite well as is, plus I’m hoping it will weather better in it’s natural state.
We also bought like, a million plants, because what balcony is complete without hanging planters? We got these two hanging boxes for £10 a pop, and then 3 plants for each one – two ferns for either end and then some colourful ones for the middle, the purple one is lavender, but I have no clue what the other one is, bonus points to anyone who can identify it!
Lastly, we headed to TK Maxx on Sunday and picked up these colourful lanterns – £15 per lantern and £5 for the candle that sits inside – I just know these will look great when they’re lit in the summer evenings.So all in all, I think we came in at around £160 to kit out our whole balcony – pretty good! I can’t wait to start sipping cocktails outside!