Terrace-tastic: how to decorate your balcony on a budget with planters, lights and fake grass

Flat owners in London often ,bemoan their lack of outside space.

Precious few period conversions or older purpose-built flats have anywhere to sit in the sunshine, and if they do, you have to pay for the privilege.

But developers have cottoned on to the importance of outside space and now most new flats have a balcony or terrace that, with a little ingenuity, can be enjoyed every day of the year.

PICK YOUR FURNITURE

With space at a premium a bistro set makes sense — and it’s just the thing for a glass of rosé at sunset. Asda has a great range of colourful takes on the French alfresco classic, including the Heritage three-piece bistro set in zingy aqua for a pocket-friendly £49. Table and chairs fold up for easy winter storage (asda.com).

French furniture firm Maisons du Monde has similar steel bistro furniture in a rainbow of colours. And you can buy chairs, at £52.49, and table, priced £31.49, separately so you can mix and match.

When you are strapped for both space and cash, chairs you can use indoors as well as outside make a lot of sense. Italian brand Calligaris has some sleek, contemporary options that would look great at the dining table and on the balcony. The Skin chair in sky blue polypropylene will make you feel summery whatever the weather and you will still love it in 10 years’ time. Individual chairs are priced at £87.98 but can only be bought in groups of four. UK stockists include Scossa.

If you really want to get an open space vibe going, then artificial grass is having a moment — yes, really. It adds a cheerful and comforting dash of colour and can even be vacuumed to look as good as new. Carpetright’s Windermere artificial grass is priced at £17.99 a square metre.

PLANTERS WITH PUNCH

You can grow your own in even the tiniest space, though you’ll have to buy smart, with planters you can hang as well as put on the floor. Ikea’s Bittergurka hanging planter in white is a neat little portable herb garden for £8. Unhook it from wherever you’ve hung it and bring it indoors when you want to cook.

Homebase has simple wire balcony baskets at £4.99 that hook over balustrades and would look lovely in a row planted with lavender. Its timber potting bench, £34.98, would also look great painted to match your colour scheme and loaded with classic terracotta pots.

Next has a good range of planters whether your tastes are industrial, retro, or a bit of both. For a utilitarian look there is a set of two galvanised bucket planters, £45, or a concrete effect planter at £55. For a bit of fun, its cactus-shaped plant holder is ideal for setting against a wall, for just £5, while a large, stylish bucket planter on a timber stand gives your plants a bit of height at 42cm and costs £85.

If money is really tight and you are remotely handy, then it’s pretty easy to recycle tin cans into hanging plant pots for almost no money. Wash off labels, buy a selection of tester pots — choose rust-proof paint — bang drainage holes into the base using a hammer and a nail, and create away. Also, visit Ikea Hackers and get lots of ideas for adapting cheap basics into stylish plant holders.

LlGHTING FOR LONGER NIGHTS

Your balcony will have some form of overhead lighting but come the evening, you might prefer something a little more flattering. Fairy lights come in all shapes and sizes, colours and lengths, and can be wound around railings and plants, or pinned overhead in geometric shapes. There are lots of solar light options but there’s also the traditional plug-in variety. Just be sure to buy the type meant to be used outdoors, as rainwater and electricity don’t mix.

The classic choice is bulb-style lights and Maisons du Monde has strings of 10 for £21.59.

Go a bit holiday-resort bonkers with the help of John Lewis’s pineapple LED lights line, priced £16. Or, for a lantern look without the risk of a naked flame, the Vermont LED lantern, also from John Lewis, in Watermelon Red is a good is a good buy at just £10.

"I'M ON MY BALCONY EVERY DAY"

Almost every day Claire Harvey wanders out on to her balcony. At weekends she breakfasts alfresco, in the week she tends her plants, and sometimes she goes out simply to marvel at the sight of London laid out below her.

Claire’s one-bedroom flat in a former chocolate factory in Bow comes with the special extra of some fantastic views of south and east London’s best-known landmarks: The 02 centre, the River Thames, the Emirates Air Line cable car and the Olympic Park.

“I have the doors open all the time if the weather is nice enough,” says Claire, 28, a speech and language therapist who bought her flat just over a year ago.

She bought a 30 per cent share of the £310,000 property, putting down a £23,000 deposit that she’d saved up. Her outgoings, including rent, mortgage, service charge, council tax and all bills, come in at about £1,050 per month.

“I was only really interested in flats with a bit of outdoor space,” says Claire. “It was really important to me to be able to have some plants, and keep the doors open and get outside.

“I watched the fireworks here on New Year’s Eve which was amazing — I go out there pretty much every day, even if it’s just to have a look.”