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Patio for Pay
TV celebrity, food aficionado, trend-setter and personal friend of mine Pay Chen asked me to help out with the balcony on her new condo. Like most of these builds, this space was long and narrow, with only four feet of depth, making it tricky to put anything into the space. Pay wanted to extend her living space, have a barbecue and grow enough food to eat fresh all summer long.
Here is how we did it.
There are two trends when it comes to outdoor furniture in Canada. The first is big, thick and comfortable. Larger scale pieces with multiple pillows that are inviting work very well if you have a huge patio or deck. The other option seems to be sleek and modern with angular designs and sling seats. While these look great in a small space, they don’t speak to comfort and lounging the same way as the over-sized pillow versions do. Also, patio furniture is almost always sold in sets or collections that often leave the buyer with extra, unwanted pieces for a small space. In Pay’s case, we went with CTC’s Canvas collection because these pieces are sold individually. When you are dealing with a small space, the ability to buy just the pieces you need allows you flexibility to add or take away. We also mixed the cushion chair and loveseat with a wooden bistro set to get more in a smaller space.
Pay is very lucky that her building allows for barbecues on the balconies. Due to fire codes, most apartments have limitations as to the size or type of grill you can have. In this space, we were able to include a full-size Weber barbecue. This works because of the wheels on the bottom. When the barbecue is in use, it can roll forward, allowing for good airflow on all sides, which will help dissipate the heat. When its not in use, it rolls back against the wall so that it is not an obstacle in the space.
Growing plants and vegetables on a balcony is harder than you may think. In this case, the space faces south, so it gets lots of natural light (important as most fruit-bearing vegetables do best with at least six hours of sun). Unfortunately, unless you live in the penthouse, most balconies have a patio above that prevents any natural rainfall. In Pay’s case, she travels a lot—which makes it difficult to constantly be watering her plants. I brought in LifeSpace Gardens’ new self-watering model. It’s perfect because of the large reservoir under the roots, but also because it comes with optional legs, raising the plants above the height of the railing.
With the resale value of condos steadily going up, making the most of the available living space is a great way to add value to your asset. Having a long and narrow outdoor space doesn’t have to be limiting. You just have to think ‘outside the box’—pun intended!
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