How to make the most of summer with a decked-out balcony

With a strong sense of community and shared facilities – not to mention shared insulation – there are many advantages residential units in apartment buildings offer to homeowners, and while it might take a little more time and effort (especially if the lift is broken) to get to your door, however high you have to go, the corresponding view makes the climb worthwhile.

In the summertime, however, high-rise residents can be forgiven for feeling a little envious of their ground-based friends’ downtime spent in barbecue-, paddling pool- and deckchair-filled gardens. Whereas most apartments in comparison only offer a slither of outdoor space by way of a balcony. But no matter how small – or how high, when filled with the right products, even the most compact balcony can become an outdoor paradise.

Two features all balconies – and even just wide-open windows – enjoy, whatever their size, are both the sound and the feel of the outdoors. If you close your eyes, a balcony’s size only ends with your imagination. Comfortable yet compact outdoor seats like the Frame sun loungers from Paola Lenti are perfectly placed out on balconies, where their curved form complements the area’s rectilinear shape, and weatherproof materials such as aluminium and outdoor fabrics keep things looking fresh.

For a truly luxurious experience, swinging hammocks like Paola Lenti’s Farniente are rocked in a gentle breeze, making users feel more connected to their environments. Farniente is available with its own structural frame, but on balconies with ceilings or enclosing walls like the Sabará Apartment, a hung hammock can be effortlessly unhooked when out of use, keeping the floorspace clear underneath.

Lounging back on a balcony or terrace is the ideal way to spend an evening in front of a golden sunset. But balconies that point towards the morning sun might be better served by breakfast-suitable café seating instead, like at the CatFlat Apartment. The foldable Arc en Ciel chair and table family from EMU Group is extremely light in both form and weight, and with a range of dazzling bright colours to choose from, the furniture is easy to use, easy to move and easy to love.

Another imperative feature on any balcony is a connection to nature. The fortunate few may look out over forests and lakes, but as the majority cantilever over urban environments, the inclusion of plant life is not only a design consideration but a health one, too, improving air quality as well as the design quality of the space.

On slightly larger balconies, like at the RP Duplex, large planters like those in the free-standing Big Planters family from Euroform W allow small trees to accompany the seating. But if space is tight, smaller Globe planters from Bloss can be raised up high, retaining the area underneath for alternative use. And even in the narrowest of balconies, small window boxes like those at the Under the Barão's Sky Apartment balcony can add a little bit of nature.

Balconies with wide sliding glass doors welcome natural light into home spaces. Frustratingly for lovers of light, though, its natural path is often blocked in part by solid walls at the side, or by ceilings overhead. Despite this, the additional surfaces can still benefit the balcony. As seen above in the Sabará Apartment, along with offering structural support to hanging hammocks, balcony ceilings also support all kinds of hanging items without taking up valuable floor space.

Bloss’s Globe planters collection includes both ceiling-hung and wall-fixed options, for example, while a living wall at this Apartment in Tel Aviv is a perfectly functional addition. Besides, sunlight is not always a welcome guest; the Tolbiac Apartments’ balcony ceilings, for example, showcase how they can be used to hold up sun-protective awnings.

With every positive, comes an opposing negative, and although open balconies unobstructed at the sides or above are seductive sun traps, they’re also at greater risk from all types of weather. For these, weatherproof-quality outdoor seating is an absolute must, while additional products like shade sails and outdoor screening panels like this from Gandiablasco are necessary for privacy and protection.

Another positive of an apartment building with open balconies, meanwhile, is communication with the neighbours. Like the high-rise version of a garden fence, open balconies encourage neighbourly conversation while sun-drenched in high spirits. Project Gomila, for example, is a collection of new buildings in Palma that make an entire multi-level neighbourhood from a topography of open balconies, terraces and exterior mezzanines that bring the community together.

© Architonic

Head to the Architonic Magazine for more insights on the latest products, trends and practices in architecture and design, or find inspiration in a whole world of projects from around the globe through ArchDaily’s architecture catalogue.