Waffling: Balcony Plans!

Now that the weather has finally turned to spring, I am eyeing doing some updates on my balcony. And yes, I know I have about 999 unfinished projects on the go that I should finish before starting this one but I loved how my old balcony turned out after I spruced it up and I am excited to get it completed on this condo before summer!

Old Balcony

Unfortunately my new condo's balcony is quite sub par to the old one- it is much smaller at only 6.8ft by 3.5ft, which is around 23 square feet total. It also has a view of another building and the building's rooftop deck instead of the lake view I had at the old place. It is nice and set back from the side of the building so the street noise is dampened...but that also means it won't get much sun. But I have hopes of turning it into a little oasis!

I apologize for the state of this photo...I worked late and quickly took this shot when I got home. The window on the right is my bedroom window and I would prefer not to block light from coming in. The door also swings outward, which means I am limited for furniture placement.

Soooo what are my plans for out here?

Step 1 is flooring! I loved my old balcony floor, but Costco didn't carry that exact one any more. However my Dad was there the other day and picked me up the flooring they did carry- which is the same brand, but wider planks and a different colour.

I actually like the brown colour they had this year, so that worked out. He picked me up 5 boxes, even though I really only need 3-4. He apparently doesn't trust my cutting skills :). At least the balcony is square this time, which should hopefully make this a quick install! I am planning on aligning it like I did the old balcony- in stripes instead of parquet style. I am hoping this will visually make the balcony bigger as it will draw the eye out.

I also want to get a couple of chairs and a little table. I am hoping to find relatively comfy chairs that are still small and will fit out here! If not, a bistro set will work! I also want to get some plants out here- either through railing baskets or some sort of plant stand against the back wall like this:

Applaro Wall Panel

I'm just not sure how to connect something like that to wall though, since I can't drill into the wall. Might have to build some sort of leg brace?

I am also considering these chairs, which can recline for comfort if one person is outside, but upright I think two would fit out there- they are only 18.5" wide. They come in white and black. For the table it will probably be a tiny folding option.