How to Create a Romantic Botanical Summer Apartment Balcony

Are you searching for creative summer ideas for your apartment/condo balcony? Maybe you have a small patio/deck at your house and you are trying to figure out how to decorate such a small space for you, and your significant other? Heck, maybe you just want to see what Red (that’s me) did to her new apartment balcony to be making such a big deal about it on her Redhead Can Decorate Facebook page? If you said, “Yes!” to any of the above, I hope you are inspired by my latest makeover: “How to Create a Romantic Botanical Summer Apartment Balcony”. Check out the before photo of the balcony below, and view the full line-up of after photos, including romantic nighttime images with all of my shopping sources located below each photo to make it easy for you to find ☀️.

Clearing the Balcony of Decor We No Longer Want

The very first priority I had when decorating our cute balcony located right outside our living room, was clearing the balcony of decor we no longer want. Life is way too short to feel obligated to keep chairs that are uncomfortable-especially as we age. I actually listed this small dining set on Facebook Marketplace for “porch pick-up” (here’s how I list things for free), but then I thought better of it. Instead, I decided to recycle the set for an upcoming balcony re-do I am designing next month at someone else’s apartment 😉! Sign up for the reveal HERE because it is going to be incredibly youthful, colorful, and fun.

Romantic Botanical Summer Apartment Balcony from the Inside

Before we step out onto the balcony, I wanted to mention how important it is to pay attention to all angles far and near. For example, the night we hung the new darling wood beaded plug-in chandelier, I noticed how beautiful it glowed from the inside of our apartment. I decided to take full advantage of that two-for-one “ambiance” and was very careful to hang the chandelier so it could be seen from inside, too. I noticed tonight when we had the hanging chandelier on, it actually makes the living room look longer 😲.

Romantic Botanical Summer Apartment Balcony Tour with Sources

Okay, come on out into our new little romantic summer apartment balcony hide-out…

What catches your eye the most? Maybe the mosquito catcher sheer black curtains 😊? I would love to tell you that hanging the curtains was easy, but in all honesty, our apartment is up pretty high, so we had to really think this through. We were okay with getting on our step ladder at the ends where there is a partial wall, but I wasn’t willing to have my husband stand on it in the middle. So, we managed to hang the curtain rod just by the ends, and putting the curtain panels on first before we placed it up in each corner. The little glass balls you see hanging I put up with a broom and hooked them on to the rod with a hook.

*** Some of the links in this post may contain affiliate links for your convenience.  Read full disclosure policy here.

I must say, I adore the curtains hanging down for the privacy factor, but they also create such a cozy, romantic atmosphere (they also help keep the bugs out). If interested…I used 4 curtain panels and this gorgeous curtain rod with gold crackle finials. I also tie them back with a little leather twine wrapped around the iron balcony because otherwise the curtains blow all over if it’s windy. See my Instagram video HERE of the curtains flowing in the wind and the deck all set up.

Hey, did you happen to catch that beautiful “Sunlight in Forest” canvas hanging as my “back drop”? I chose this particular canvas from my friends at Desenio because it reminded me of our old back yard at the house with the sun shining through the tall trees. It also gives the optical illusion that the balcony is larger than it appears. If interested in shopping gorgeous canvases, or posters I have a special coupon for my readers to use. Use my code JULIE35 for 35% off prints at Desenio, excluding personalized prints or poster packs. Valid until midnight on May  25^th.

Adding the Romance to Your Summer Balcony

To add more of an indoor romantic feel I added the plug-in wood beaded chandelier (see the cord hanging in the back ground?), and tons of real/faux plants. You may have noticed the gorgeous large Majesty palms (they need tons of indirect light) we used to ground the entire balcony and help create that botanical feel. Fresh Palms are my go-to indoor and outdoor plant, along with fresh Ferns which I talk in great depth about how to care for HERE. By the way, I found the tall basket planters, and the faux greens on the table at Big Lots. The brass candle, rug, and black ottoman are from HomeGoods.

Ooooo…now we’re talking. As soon as the sun starts to go down (we call it the golden hour) it gets so romantic out here. We haven’t had the chance to have dinner out here yet because it’s been quite chilly, but soon. We were joking about how all we need is room service. At least we will be able to watch our delivery person pull up 😆. I’m telling ya, we are having so much fun in this apartment. We feel like kids again. Who wants pizza?

Our Cozy Bohemian Summer Deck

Our Cozy Kitchen Lounge