How to Decorate a Balcony: 6 Great Ideas from Designers

With proper insulation, a balcony can be transformed into an additional room—such as a home office, relaxation area, or utility space. We showcase real design projects by professionals to show how it can look. Get inspired to make changes if your balcony is currently empty or used as a storage area.

Utility Room and Workspace

Designer Elena Bunak decorated her own apartment and family's living space and knew exactly what would be convenient and comfortable for them. This is how it turned out with the balcony—she set up a home office and a laundry area. The ironing board was hidden in a cabinet, and an outlet for the iron was installed. A patterned tile was laid on the floor, and tongue-and-groove paneling was chosen for the walls. By the way, the balcony is fully insulated—walls, floor, and ceiling.

Design: Elena Bunak
Design: Elena Bunak

Compact Relaxation Zone

In the project by designer Irina Volchenko, the balcony was transformed into a comfortable relaxation area. They didn’t clutter the small space with wardrobes and sofas but instead placed just a footstool and a deep armchair—this is enough to find solitude or sit together. For wall finishing, they chose gray paint, and softened the strict decor with wooden slats with backlighting and decorative elements.

Design: Irina Volchenko
Design: Irina Volchenko

Office with Bar Counter and Extra Storage

In this apartment, the window sill was removed, which allowed creating wide openings with sliding partitions—these lead to the balcony from the kitchen and bedroom. The balcony was insulated, and a place for rest and work was created on it by widening the window sill.

The lower part of the wall was decorated with relief panels, and the side walls were painted in a rich dark green color. On one side, an integrated wardrobe for storage was incorporated, and on the other, a workspace was organized.

Design: Vera Sheverdenok
Design: Vera Sheverdenok

Mini Greenhouse

The area of this balcony is 3.7 m². Designer Olga Egupova turned it into a home greenhouse. For that, she created a shelf system for plants and designed lighting for the shelves to illuminate the pots—this allowed her to do away with special lamps, but still provided all necessary conditions for plant growth. On the opposite side, a storage cabinet was planned.

Design: Olga Egupova

Reading Corner and Comfortable Workspace

The balcony in this room was insulated and turned into an additional space. The floor has green tiles with a “warm floor” system, and the walls and ceiling were painted in a rich blue color. The workspace became as spacious and convenient as possible. There are wardrobes on top, and the communication systems near the window were hidden inside the wardrobe system—the ventilation box was placed there. Opposite, a reading area was organized—deep armchairs and table lamps were installed.

Design: Nikita Kovalyov
Design: Nikita Kovalyov

Functional Space for Relaxation

In her apartment, designer Tatiana Arkhipova made the balcony part of the kitchen-living room: the balcony block was removed, the balcony was insulated, and a warm floor was installed. In a pair of connected squares, a functional space was created. Here you can rest, sip coffee at the bar counter, and store items. By the way, storage was planned under the countertop and a spacious drawer cabinet.

Another interesting solution—part of the balcony walls were clad with regular rough boards of varying widths, painted white. Over time, they have slightly cracked, but this only added texture and life to the interior.

Design: Tatiana Arkhipova
Design: Tatiana Arkhipova

We hope these ideas inspire you to renovate! We've collected 10 tips for decorating your balcony on your own. Read below!