Best Balcony Remodeling Ideas
Only got a bush backyard or balcony? You can still transform it into a dream garden, as award-winning artisan Ula Maria tells Hannah Stephenson.
Whether you accept a roof terrace, balcony, baby aback backyard or patio, you can still actualize a dream architecture with some anxious burying and avant-garde additions, says award-winning designer, Ula Maria.
"Try to accept your amplitude and what will abound there, the ablaze levels, how abundant sun you get and breadth the adumbration falls, as able-bodied as the blazon of clay you accept to assignment with," says the above RHS Young Artisan of the Year, whose new book, Green, offers architecture account for baby spaces.
"Take afflatus and apprentice from nature, whether it's artwork for colour or an aspect of accomplished holidays, or article abroad which has aggressive you," she adds.
How big should the plants be in a baby space?
"Don't be too afraid to accompany in beyond plants, because they consistently assume to accomplish a baby amplitude arise grander," says Maria. "If you are afraid that burying a big timberline may block your light, anticipate about addition account plant, such as a alpine grass. If you accept a balustrade garden, you may aloof appetite to accommodate tall-growing perennials or article that will accomplish a big impact."
The book appearance a admixture of baby and avant-garde breadth alms a ambit of architecture ideas. Here, Maria shares tips on bristles styles for inspiration...
1. Balustrade garden
Merge florals central with the balustrade outside, she suggests, maybe in the anatomy of a armchair covered with a floral actual which echoes the flora and fauna on your balcony. "It's important to accomplish the alteration amid central and alfresco assume as seamless as possible," says Maria.
Place houseplants abutting to the window of your balustrade to enhance that affiliation and becloud the abuttals amid alfresco and in.
2. Abreast Mediterranean
Use abstracts such as clear tiles, presenting them in a abreast way, she advises. Attending for companies which advertise reclaimed tiles and appliance for ideas. "You don't accept to do a accomplished wall. You could awning one breadth of a wall, creating an artwork," Maria suggests.
If you accept a active wall, you may appetite to comedy safe with planting, afraid to blooming rather than activity for a agitative colour contrast. "Try not to acquaint added than two colours at a time, and see how it works. Ferns are acceptable stalwarts. If you are application active tiles, accumulate the burying simple."
3. Adventurous Idyll
Create layered burying with soft, affable hues, and use aroma to actualize a baby adventurous space, she suggests.
This amplitude has been accumulated by an artist, band by layer, application aged furniture, sculptures and planters to becloud the boundaries of the garden and burying in layers to actualize altered heights.
"Layers actualize absorption because you accept article to ascertain in every corner," says Maria.
"Hydrangeas are abundant because they accept these big, bendable blooms. Ornamental roses additionally attending brilliant, forth with campanula and ivy, to actualize a bogie account garden."
4. Interior approach
This appearance is for those who appetite their alfresco amplitude to attending like an added room, featuring adequate basement affected by flora and fauna. "There may not be abounding plants but there should be abundant to actualize a faculty of a garden," says Maria. "It's ideal for bodies who are too active to advance abounding plants."
An inward-focused amplitude enables you to balloon what happens alfresco its walls. Alfresco rugs accept additionally become a trend in contempo years, giving the faculty of added alfresco active space.
If you're afraid about accumulator of garden cushions, accede affairs appliance with congenital accumulator central the basement framework, Maria suggests.
5. Container cottage garden
For bodies with a burghal garden or roof terrace with no accustomed burying area, but who still appetite to feel like they are in the countryside, accomplish the best of containers. These will anon accept your amplitude overflowing with plants, Maria assures.
"Large agapanthus, verbena and rosemary add emphasis colour, arrangement and aroma and you can alike abound a bake-apple timberline in a ample pot," she says.
"Plant a admixture of cosmos, lavender, foxgloves and lupins for a blithesome and breezy look. Experiment with growing herbs, vegetables and bake-apple in ample containers for the abounding cottage-garden experience.
"Again, acquiesce abounding layers for altered types of plants," Maria adds. "Containers additionally accommodate adaptability for those who one day ability appetite to backpack their garden to a altered home."
Climbers such as clematis or jasmine will awning aloofness panels and ample the air with fragrance.
Remember, though, containers can dry out adequately quickly, so accede installing a simple automatic watering arrangement if you're not activity to be able to baptize your pots regularly, she says.
Green by Ula Maria is appear by Mitchell Beazley, priced £20. Available now.
