ode de balcony

I've lived in my four storey building for seven years. The first thing I did when I moved in was put up hooks all around my balcony and ran a clothesline around the perimeter. I didn't do a whole lot after that. I tried having a dinner table and chairs out there but it never felt right. A few years ago after hanging out with friends on a pile of sleeping bags picnic style, I realized it was a nice place to sleep.

Outside, but sheltered so you have a decent amount of privacy. From then on when my apartment got a little too warm on those occasional nights in a Vancouver summer, I would pile the blankets and pillows out there to sleep and keep cool. It's pretty enjoyable so it's become part of my summer routine. This year I decided to put in a little effort and create a space that could still be used beyond sleeping and hanging clothes. It's become my summer room. I can take my laptop out there and do my photo editing, watch movies, or have friends over, and often use it as photography space. The southern light is diffused and it turns into a giant soft box, which is great lighting.

Before\\

And I knew I wanted to play with colour...

It wasn't a major fuss to do. I found three pieces of multi-use furniture and filled it with pillows. I'm not a huge fan of roses but tulips are out of season and when I saw these Rainbow Roses, I knew they would coordinate with the textiles. So I went with it.

After//

 
I purchased the lantern and the majority of these fabrics at IKEA and all the pillow forms are from Fabricland. I picked up the coffee table on Craigslist and painted it using semi gloss white paint from Home Depot.

I'm looking forward to spending A LOT of time out here.