TIPS FOR EFFECTIVELY DESIGNING YOUR OUTDOOR SPACE

Create A beautiful outdoor space on your terrace or balcony!

Creating a personal outdoor living space on your rooftop, terrace or balcony provides a place to go outdoors and wind back after a busy day.Good design can bring precious additional living space to small condos and apartments.

Here are few helpful tips on how to elevate your outdoor space and make it successful. 

THE VIEW

Preserve it!The view from a rooftop living space is your most valuable amenity, so all design decisions must preserve and maximize it. For example, changing a solid wall to a transparent railing or screen can greatly enhance the view as well as borrow space to make your project visually larger. But if there's an eyesore, replacing a transparent rail with a solid wall may be the solution you need to retain the view while hiding the undesirable segment.

THE PRIVACY

When considering privacy, be aware of your standing privacy needs as well as those when you're seated. Discuss this with your designer to find the least imposing solution for privacy while maintaining air movement. Use an open material such as lattice or metal grids enhanced with vines or some natural greenery hat can offer you the desired level of privacy.

THE ENVIRONMENT

Creating the desired outdoor space, it must be comfortable for you and your plants in as many seasons as possible. In the colder months the planting and decor should make this space equally as attractive to look at through windows!

Some of the typical problems include afternoon heat and full exposure in the summer months so you will need seasonal shade  for you and your plants. However hose units located in wind corridors need to consider wind screens or selection of plants that tolerate the distress. 

THE FURNITURE

Selecting right furniture for the space can be difficult as you will have to consider both - comfort & size.  Small and well designed furniture without compromising comfort. Strive for a balance of style and versatility. Furniture that blends with that of the adjacent room helps to blend interior and exterior style. Keep it simple & avoid clutter!

ACCENTS

Pots and plants constitute the most visually dynamic element within the space. In these small urban spaces, your pots are viewed at close range and must be selected wisely. Your designer will have to use great care to obtain the perfectly sized pots to spice up these outdoor spaces, and ensure they are large enough to support the root ball of the designated species. Some will remain outdoors year around, and these must be thick walled and weather proof. Tip:  Do plant dwarf evergreen conifers for year round greenery.

You can also set a stunning scene with lanterns, adding a touch of glowing light to the terrace is a lovely way to enjoy your outdoor space after hours and also looks beautiful from the inside!

 WATER & SOUND

We all know well that sound travel upwards and heavy traffic noise can be louder on the top floors. This and the general noise of city life can spoil the sense of peaceful separation, but you can try using water as a masking device if your space allows it. Wall fountains make the most space saving style. They stand at the edge of the space against a wall asking for little to no square footage to be devoted to its base. Freestanding fountains are far more demanding. No matter what style of fountain you use, it must above all be variable from a lot of sound to a minimal flow rate during quieter times of the day or night.

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