Before and After: My Teeny Tiny Balcony Gets a Much-Needed Makeover

Before heading out for the weekend, I wanted to share a little outdoor seating area / balcony makeover I just finished up. Which seems to be just in time for a few cocktails for Cinco de Mayo and a whole lot of sun this weekend.

I teamed up with Annie Selke to show off their newest Palm Springs Collection. And it was totally the kick in the pants I needed to actually move forward with getting our outdoor space put together.

Our balcony was incredibly boring and neglected before – we hardly even went out there because there wasn’t even a place to sit down. But now it’s a functional space for us to hang out and get some much-needed vitamin D when the sun is out. It gets so much afternoon light. Click through for all of the before and after photos.

Told you it was boring before! That photo above isn’t exactly what I thought our outdoor space would look like 2 months after moving in – completely unused and totally barren. All that was out there was a tool box?! Definitely not what I imagined.

So, I pulled together some options for outdoor textiles, seating, and (of course) lots of plants to give out (very basic) apartment balcony a little more character. It’s still a work in progress… I need to work on a storage solution out there and add a few more things, but it’s a good start. Here’s all the pieces I pulled to work with…

And above is the after. Lots of the pieces you see in the after photos are from Annie Selke’s Palm Springs collection – all of the pillows and rug options are from the new collection. I love switching out textiles for changing seasons, so having lots of pillows and a couple of rugs to play with is perfect. It helps that everything is super high quality too.

The outdoor pillows are really thick and durable – same with the Catamaran Indoor/Outdoor rug. And while the Frida rug (the one with the colorful squares – which I love) and the linen pillows aren’t actually made for the outdoors, I think I can get away with it during the sunny months when its not raining much, since our balcony is covered.

To tie everything together, I added a few more things I already had…mainly my little acapulco chair that once lived in our bedroom, a plant stand that I bought locally a while back, and SO many plants. Can’t have an outdoor space without a few (dozen) plants!

Source list: Frida Hand Knotted Wool rug // Catamaran Stripe Indoor/Outdoor rug (available in tons of colors and only $134!) // Mingled Turquoise Indoor/Outdoor Pillow // Trimaran Stripe Daffodil/White Stripe Indoor/Outdoor Pillow // Stone Washed Linen Coral Sham 

All of the Annie Selke items in this post can be viewed in their digital catalog. Side note – The Palm Springs house they used as a backdrop for the catalog is gorgeous. I must have scanned some of those pages 50 times.

And you can also request a catalog be sent to you if a digital version isn’t your thing. Get 15% off your first purchase when your sign up for Annie Selke e-mails. Head to annieselke.com to sign up.

What do you think of this before and after? Do you have a mini outdoor space like this that could use some sprucing up?

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Annie Selke . The opinions and text are all mine. Thank you for supporting the brands that help keep Paper & Stitch running.