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How to decorate a small balcony on a budget

Want to create an outdoor oasis in your small balcony? On an even smaller budget? These easy ideas can add totally-you touches that make the most of the furniture and space you have. Choose what brings the biggest impact now. Add on as time or resources allow. Because how to decorate a small balcony on a budget is ultimately up to you.

A light brown stained acacia ASKHOLMEN table and foldable chair face the view in a balcony with plants and natural materials.
A light brown stained acacia ASKHOLMEN table and foldable chair face the view in a balcony with plants and natural materials.

The best seat outside the house

Be sure your outdoor seating is as welcoming and supportive as can be. Add chair cushions that tie on to stay firmly in place. If your small balcony isn’t just for you, keep foldable chairs on standby. 

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A blue KLÖSAN outdoor chair cushion with a floral pattern is tied onto a blue metal folding chair in a plant-filled balcony.
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A basket of soft faves

The simplest secret for how to decorate a small balcony on a budget​? Let the fluffy, fuzzy, squishy staples you already love indoors come outdoors for awhile. Fill a basket with throws and cushions that signal relaxation while adding pops of colour, texture and patterns. Just bring everything back indoors when you’re done.

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A hand is lifting a rattan SNIDAD basket by a handle. The basket holds cushions and throws that are temporarily on a balcony.
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Do look down

What’s under your feet sets the feel of the balcony almost as much as the view. A flatwoven outdoor rug adds style, enhances a laidback atmosphere, can help define a zone and is easy to care for. You could also upgrade concrete with outdoor floor decking that’s easy to lay and to disassemble.

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A medium brown LYDERSHOLM flatwoven in/outdoor rug is seen from above, under acacia furniture and on outdoor floor decking.
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Plant power

Use lush plants to create your own calm space or let them inspire your creativity. Matching pots put greenery in focus. Wall-mounted FEJKA artificial plants can cover slatted walls, blending in behind shelves. Tall plants in pots offer natural privacy that’s even more flexible when placed on plant movers with castors.

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A balcony’s dividing wall has wall-mounted in/outdoor FEJKA artificial plants in green lilac, partly visible behind shelving.
A dark grey/beige woven RÅGKORN in/outdoor plant pot holds a rubber plant on a lush balcony by a glass and metal railing.
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Lovely, unfussy light

Create a mood that’s just right by adding to the light your balcony gets from the sun, the moon or the city. Most outdoor lighting doesn’t need plugs or cables, so you can decorate however you want (or close to it, anyway).

  • Hang different sizes of outdoor pendant lamps overhead like little, luminous clouds.
  • Wrap outdoor LED lighting chains on rails or around sturdy plants.
  • Copy your indoor lighting approach with an outdoor table lamp or floor lamp (that doesn’t need an electrical connection).
  • Put LED block candles in lanterns for an atmosphere that’s festive or romantic.

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Four globe-shaped SOLVINDEN pendant lamps with white shades  glow warmly as they hang from a balcony ceiling, above greenery.
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