Ivy’s Home: 8 Ways To Transform Your Balcony

You may or may not know that home decor is one of my passions. I’m no interior designer- far from it- though I’ve single-handedly worked with carpenters and upholsterers to design my own home, a work I consider still in progress even after four years (of procrastination.) I’ve been meaning to introduce a new home decor category to my blog for some time now and have finally gotten around to doing so.

It’s not so much a category about what textures and colors go with what, you’ll quickly notice I don’t follow any rules. It’s about the little tips, tricks, hacks and buys that can really transform a living space from basic to beautiful. I’m all about the little details, I despise things that come in sets and love mixing and matching different styles together. According to my interior architect friend I’m what you’d call eclectic.

So first up on my list of design improvements this summer, was to try and add a little more life to one of our favorite areas in the house; the balcony. It’s a spot where we have our breakfast almost daily and host endless brunches , happy hours and dinners at least 8 months out of the year.

Since it overlooks the sea, I’ve wanted to keep things fresh and inspired by everything nautical. So on my recent trip to City Centre Beirut I dropped by H&M Home which to my delight opened there exclusively in March of this year. They carry a wide affordable collection which includes everything from living room accessories, linens, Chinaware, rugs and much more. So you can always change things up in your home without spending a fortune.

Our glass round table was looking a little bland so I decided to accessorize with a few pieces that I picked up, actually 8 in total. I also made sure these items are basics that I could use again and again even with a different theme. Here’s what the table looked like before.

And here are the items I picked out from H&M Home:

1. A white Linen Tablecloth
2. A Navy Table Runner
3. A Glass Bottle
4. A Flat Tray Basket
5. Small Wooden Serving Bowls
6. Small Wooden Serving Bowl
7. A Metal Container
8. A Beer Opener

And here is how I placed each item. I dressed the table with the white linen table cloth and strategically positioned the navy runner right at the center. I then proceeded to place a small orchid plant into the Metal Container and a bunch of fake flowers into the glass bottle which I used as a vase.

I used the Flat Tray Basket as a tray in the middle to serve as a base for both the wooden serving bowls and the vase.

And I kept the Beer Opener on the table for convenience and because it looked pretty

Et Voila, my table looked Pinterest-worthy and was ready for a whole lot of hosting.