Tag: balcony

GARDEN

From the Experts: How to Set up Your Small Balcony Garden from Scratch

I ran a poll on our Facebook page a few weeks ago asking what you would like to see: a post on balcony garden or accent walls? An overwhelming majority of you voted in favor of balcony garden. Understandably so, given that we all live in concrete jungles, but have fond childhood memories of growing up amid greenery. Garden space is a luxury for most urban apartment dwellers. I’m using 18 beautiful balcony gardens designed by Livspace to illustrate how you can create a green haven for yourself irrespective of how little space you have with this guide. I have dissected these gorgeous spaces into five different elements and tips for each of them: plants, planters, flooring, furniture and accessories. Plants No balcony garden is complete without plants. Here are my top tips for choosing the right kind of plants. — Choose seasonal flowering plants like Petunia, Dahlia, or Aster for…

HOUSE TOURS

A balcony gets a beautiful makeover to entertain guests

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My heart skipped a beat when I saw this image. I get yours will too if you see how this space looked like before it went under the hammer. A mindblowing transformation that aimed to bring together the cooking, grilling, and entertaining part close to each other. This balcony is part of an apartment that belongs to an entrepreneur and a lawyer in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Yes, this is the balcony that gave way to that bright, jaw-dropping entertaining space. I believe there should be one space in your home where you can let your hair down and entertain your guests in a no-fuss manner. Barbecue, grill, drink the night away, play music over several rounds of food — whatever your entertaining style is, and whatever works for you. What do you do when you are short of space? How do you make room? Well, there is a lesson to…

SHOPPING

Friday Shopping: 6 picks to set up your balcony garden (mostly under Rs.1000)

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What would you need to set up a balcony garden from scratch? That’s the thought that crossed my mind as I was looking for some affordable railing planters before deciding on making my own. Iron brackets are so hard to come by, and even if they are available online, they are usually priced ridiculously high. Working on this theme, this week’s post centers around setting up your balcony garden replete with essentials such as planter, potting medium, seedling tray and of course, seeds. The only outlier is the deck chair in terms of price. I’m fond of easy chair, but you could replace it with a cheaper alternative like a couple of cane modas with comfy cushions for seating. 1. Colorful hanging terracotta pots for Rs.650 2. Walnut finish deck chair and foot stool from Urban Ladder for Rs.5499 3. Wheelbarrow planter for Rs.295 from Zansaar 4. Seedling tray from…

DIY

DIY: One Easy Way to Paint on Your Wall

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How are you doing this morning? Feeling happy? Great. If you are feeling grumpy, don’t worry. Just go on, take a few minutes off, leave your grumpiness aside to pick up later and read this post. Before I begin, I want to ask you, are you good at sketching and free-hand drawing? Yes ? Well, then you have my profound admiration. No? Great, I’m glad I found another partner (my best effort only went this far). I can neither draw nor get my curves right ever on paper. So, drawing on the wall is a far fetched dream. But, you know what, I found a brilliant idea for folks like us during my recent vacation to Goa. In the club house of the resort where we stayed, there was this colorful pattern all over the walls. On closer look, it appeared easy to replicate. I know we’ll know the outcome…

DESIGN

How to deck up your balcony

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Good morning! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. When it comes to dressing up one’s balcony and learning a thing or two about container gardening, I look no further than the Nordic region. The design sensibilities, the color scheme (mostly whites offset with colorful furnishings), simple furniture, tall ceilings, and natural stained wood goes with what I believe in : keep it simple.

This post is about decking up one’s balcony along with the beautiful plants you may have. Most of the apartments featured here are much smaller than a typical 2 or 3 BHK in India. So, if they can look this beautiful, I don’t see any reason why we can’t do the same. Of course, the views from the Nordic apartments overlooking some quirky cafes, a clear night sky above, red rooftop houses, clean streets, lush green views, ancient architecture – it’s all a heady combination that we can’t bring home. But, why not try and make the most of what we have.

It need not cost a fortune to get this look. A simple rug from Cottage Industries or FabIndia, garden/outdoor chairs from Fab Furnish/Urban Ladder/Home Town, a lantern and colorful cushions are all you need to get this look. Many apartments have only one balcony that are rectangle in shape and double up for other things like drying clothes. So fitting in plants, clothes and furniture may be challenging. What you could do is move plants to rail planters and free up the ground space.

It need not be as perfect as the first image. A unkempt place looks just as pretty with the same components mixed and matched in bold colors to your taste.

DESIGN

Ready for a patio makeover?

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It will be July in two days. We’d planned a trip to the backwaters of Kerala last weekend but some good friends advised it would be best to stay away from the region during monsoon. But, but, whatever happened to the rains this year. As I write this, it’s bright and sunny in Bangalore. I love sitting in my modest balcony more than in any other part of the house. So, I’m thinking why not give the outdoors a makeover?

What’s your style? Sassy and chic, or a comfortable and laid-back one; neither style scores over another. It’s a personal choice.

If you are nuts about colors, then this one is for you. Nature does most of the decking up with the never ending greens. Throw in a red carpet and some colorful cushions – lighter on the purse to get the most rejuvenating environment, what do you think ?

Given the high pollution levels, it’s intimidating to think of an outdoorsy all-white decor like this one in Bangalore. Nevertheless, can’t stop salivating over the different shades of white accentuated by the potted greens in this picture.

Uncategorized

Gardening: Life on the Balcony

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How was your weekend? After months of being holed up in the house on weekends, we had a great time on Saturday. The title for this post, “Life on the Balcony”, is a term I’ve borrowed from Fern Richardson of the award winning blog on container gardening. I’m surprised how I’ve missed this blog for so long. Worth reading every post. Last Friday afternoon was well spent cleaning up the balcony, scrubbing the floors, rearranging the pots and re-potting some creepers with a lot of help from my five-year-old son. Did I mention that we started using used coconut shells as a seedling tray? Worked well for dhania and other herbs. The ratio has shifted generously towards vegetables and herbs in our garden now – betel leaf, curry leaf, tomatoes, tulsi , spinach and coriander. Anyways, what prompted me to write this post was an awesome balcony I saw on the…

Uncategorized

Hand Painted Balcony Wall

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One Friday afternoon, a few weeks ago, I hand painted one of our balcony walls. I actually wanted to stencil it but went freehand instead. Not very good at sketching, this is how my effort turned out.

Uncategorized

Start Your Kitchen Garden Today

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This past Sunday was World Kitchen Gardener Day. Never knew they had a day like that. Wow! It can work wonders for a garden aficionado like me to indulge in pictures of herb gardens from around the world and get hands dirty.

Imagine. Herbs like betel leaves, basil and ajwain from your own balcony to soothe your sore throat. Dhania to garnish the tomato and basil salad. And some hot chillis again from the pots to add spice to your life. Right now, the plants in my balcony are capable of doing just these.

The idea of eating fresh, pesticide-free produce as good looking as this gives me goose bumps.

Uncategorized

Balcony Garden: Accessories to Spruce up your Hangout

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Everyone has a favorite corner in their house; a place where you’d like to unwind, go to the first thing in the morning, sip a cup of tea in the evening, or spread the morning newspaper with breakfast on Sunday mornings . My sanctuary is my balcony garden. What’s yours? It’s only natural that I’m constantly thinking of ways to spruce my hangout. There have been some new additions to the balcony. It’s actually a wooden plant holder with a rugged look that I used to store brushes for painting the pots. I love hanging pots but never had one. We got two wrought iron holders with butterfly design. The plant has grown rapidly since this picture was taken. Every day there are about 20-25 flowers and it’s a pretty sight. Next I would like to get two rattan chairs with colorful cushions and a tea table. Got any ideas…