Warm afternoons on your terrace with an interesting book, sunny mornings with a cup of coffee, barbecue evenings with friends – one might start dreaming at the very first thought. If you want to prepare your terrace for the season and make the moments spent there more enjoyable, take care of the surrounding - it should be beautiful and practical. Even if you have a small and narrow balcony characteristic of blocks of flats, with some effort you can get a unique and cosy area. How to do it? Which decorations should be applied? What to remember about?

Flowers - it's always a good idea

Long time ago our grandmothers, long before when decorating terraces with some fabrics, light and some bits and pieces became fashionable, decorated their gardens and balconies with flowers. You should not forget about them as well, in particular, when you have a samll balcony in a block of flats. Greenery and colourful flowers will certainly brighten up every space, and you will get at least a substitute of garden. If you think that you have no gift for flowers, choose undemanding but still beautiful plants. Pelargoniums, beginias, surfinia petunias - a great veriety to choose from. Do you want to avoid frequent watering? Choose attractive conifers in flower pots, which will decorate your balcony even in the winter. 

Are you keen on cooking?

Plant some herbs Fragrant basil, aromatic thyme, freshening mint - fresh herbs will not only make your everyday meals more differentiated but they will be a unique decoration of your balcony or terrace. You may create such a backyard herb garden easily on your own. Soil, a few flower pots, seads of our favourite herbs and some patience - and that's all. The spring is a perfect time to start your mini-garden. Don't you like waiting till your herbs grow? Get ready solutions - herbs in flower pots available in garden shops or shopping malls. Regularly watered, they will live long in your kitchen, decorating your balcony sill.

Relax!

Terrace and balcony are places for relax. Proper furniture is thus a necessity: chairs, table, deckchairs or armchairs, which, apart from their main purpose, might fulfill a decorative function. When choosing furniture, take, first of all, your space that is to be arranged into consideration. You will not accomodate a furniture set of a few elements into a small balcony, a large terrace might seem empty only with two chairs and a small table. Material, from which the furniture is made of, is important as well. Wicker is beautiful, but may not be able to stand water and rain, wood is a natural and exceptionally rewarding material, requires, however, regular impregnation. Metal is durable and waterproof but seems heavy and cold. The choice of furniture is vast. Before you reach a decision, write down all your requirements first – certainly it will be much easier to choose the most appropriate furniture then.

Light creates the atmosphere

Many people forget about lightning the balcony. Adequately chosen lightning will make spending the time on the balcony even after dark possible, and moreover, what is really important, is indispensable to create a pleasant atmosphere. You can choose from single lamps, flickering candles or small lights hanging on the balcony rail. If you don't want to spend a lot of money, you can try to create lanterns on your own from materials available in your house. You can find many DIY projects online – such lightning might create an amazing atmosphere! You can use Christmas lights as well which are stored in a box and are waiting for Christmas. But keep in mind that if those lights are dedicated to indoor use only, you must be careful about the weather - rain can destroy them.

Go for seasonal accents

Your balcony, as everything around you, awakes in the spring from a long winter dream. If you want to brighten it up, place some flower pots with daffodils, add some decorations and pillows in pastel colours. In the summer you will certainly place a colourful umbrella on you balcony which will protect you from sunlight, and some comfortable deckchairs. In the autumn, at lower cost, you can change the character of this area completely - change the pillows into orange, yellow or brown ones, place a pumpkin and a bunch of dried leaves in the corner, place some flower pots with violet heathers next to the rail. Sit comfortably, cover yourself with a warm blanket and take a cup of hot tea - a nice autumn afternoon outdoors is provided.

Proper surface is a necessity

Keep in mind that your entire engagement might go down the drain, if the balcony is covered with a poor quality surface. Crushed joints sticking to your feet, tiles heated by the sun which you can't stand on, or frequent impregnantion might effectively discourage you from spending your time on the balcony frequently. If you are thinking, which terrace surface to choose, consider composite boards. Attractive design, easy maintenance and exceptional durability will help you to enjoy the time spent outdoor, regardless of whether you are going to have a quiet evening with a book in your hand or a bearbecue with your friends.