Living in the heart of downtown Toronto is so much fun, but it can definitely become busy and hectic at times. For this reason, I find it extra important to find ways to relax and zen out as often as possible! With this in mind I started out on a mission to create my own little outdoor oasis on my balcony, one where I can relax and take a step away from the buzz of the city. Thankfully, with the help of Lowe’s, my dream quickly became a reality as my tiny balcony transformed into the perfect tropical hangout spot.

I was so excited when I heard Lowe’s would be helping me elevate my balcony space. My boyfriend and I went straight to the nearest Lowe's store to start grabbing the things we needed. With a little inspiration from Pinterest, I embarked on my journey to completely transform my balcony. Keep reading to hear my tips on creating the perfect balcony getaway, even if your balcony is extra small! You can also check out the video version on my YouTube channel.

Plants Bring Life into a Space

Plants truly add so much to a space. They’re affordable and add so much life, and they make a smaller space look more polished. We were in love with the Garden Centre at Lowe’s. They had so many different types of plants that work for every space. After exploring the endless aisles of plants, we settled on 3 different ones. We opted for a big tropical looking palm plant, a medium sized one with big leaves, and a little aloe plant. By getting plants of varying size I was able to fit them perfectly in each corner. We also came across one fake plant inside that was just too cute to turn down. Four plants seemed like the perfect amount for our smaller space, so we placed them all in the cart and headed inside to continue searching for more pieces.

Layering Rugs Adds Comfort & a Bohomeian Feel

We really wanted the balcony to feel like we were hanging out in California, so of course we needed it to have a boho flare. Layering rugs is the perfect way to do that, it looks so cute and effortless, and it makes the space really comfy too! We picked up a cute neutral rug with a fun pattern on it. Another reason I love layering rugs is it gives the illusion of more space which works perfectly with smaller areas!

Add Cute String Lights to Set the Mood

If you watch my YouTube videos, you know I’m big on setting the vibes. Using cute lights and candles set a cozy atmosphere, and it’s honestly game changing. Good lighting is essential in a small space. We wanted to have lots of lighting out there since there is no outdoor light on our balcony, and luckily Lowe’s has tons of lighting options. We picked up a set of mini lantern lights (so cute) and also they had these adorable little fairy lights that we thought would be perfect to wrap around our fake palm plant.

We also wanted to add some candles, and Lowe’s had the perfect option: flame-less candles! Of course it would be a little dangerous to have open flames around all our plants and rugs in such a small space, so we grabbed a set of three flame-less candles with a remote control. They’re perfect! They look like real candles because they’re made out of wax. We got a gold lantern with a tropical leaf print on it to put one candle in too. We also picked up a set of gold candlestick holders because I just couldn't resist. I love elevating the space with some gold accents, so these were perfect just for decoration.

Chairs & Cozy Blankets

Comfort is key while creating a dreamy balcony oasis, I wanted to make sure it was comfy enough to hangout there for hours! While walking through the Lowe’s patio furniture section, we stumbled across the perfect chairs that had the boho vibe I was going for! A grey woven chair - such a great colour because I didn’t want anything too dark, but also white chairs get dirty so easily- so these were perfect!

Because we were working with such a small space, the size of the chairs was extremely important. These chairs are still moderately big but don’t have the traditional armrest which kept the space open and inviting. We immediately added two to our (overflowing) cart. To make them even more cozy we got two extra soft blankets. I grabbed one in cream and one in black and they looked perfect draped over the chairs.

BONUS: These blankets are also perfect for those cooler summer evenings!

Bringing it All Together

Our dream balcony was about to become a reality. We began by cleaning off the balcony, and placing down the rugs. We then added the chairs, lights, plants, blankets and decorations. After playing around with the placement of everything  we ended up with our final look. The only thing left to do was relax and enjoy what we had created! We were able to find a super cute set of bowls and cups at Lowe’s, so we had to make some guac and chips in the new set.

The end result was exactly how we envisioned it. We had created the perfect tropical/ boho space to relax and spend tons of time on over the summer months! Small balcony spaces work when you optimize the space and add the right pieces. We are so happy with how it turned out and couldn’t have done it without Lowe’s!