Balconies
Transport yourself to Kyoto by going for Japanese style in your garden. While Japanese gardens appear to be minimal and simple, every rock, sculpture, plant and path has been placed with great care. These elements inspire calm meditation when you're sitting and looking out at the garden and provide a very specific experience when you're walking through it.
8. Wall garden. Save floor space in a compact city patio and get your greens too, by installing a wall of planters. Choose succulents for low-maintenance beauty or fill pots with tender lettuces and herbs for an edible urban feast. Tend the plants with a hose extension and keep a ladder handy for when you need to get a closer look at the plants
2. Gazing Out to Sea in Cornwall Location: Polzeath, Cornwall, England Who lives here: A family of 4 The view: Dramatic British coastline The homeowners wanted their newly built house to make the most of the incredible views of the Cornish coast, so architect Rob Grieve of The Bazeley Partnership designed a home that has most of its windows facing out to sea. The balcony is perfectly situated to take in the dramatic scenery, and it was placed away from the main road for privacy. It can be accessed either by a winding staircase from a ground-floor deck or from the master bedroom suite. Glass lights set into the balcony floor allow for evening enjoyment too, providing a soft wash of light as the sun sets over the water.
3. Views of Sydney’s Harbor Bridge Location: Circular Quay, Sydney, Australia Who lives here: A couple in their 60s The view: A city’s iconic span “The clients wanted a relaxed feel but not a beach one,” says Marylou Sobel of Marylou Sobel Interior Design, who found inspiration for this outdoor space from the view beyond. “I selected the outdoor furniture because it reminded me of the branches from the surrounding trees. The colors came from the exterior too — blue, green and mustard tones,” she says. A key challenge for Sobel was ensuring that the fantastic view of the harbor was unimpeded despite the awkwardly shaped balcony. She chose a dining table with bench seating instead of chairs so as not to visually clutter the space and tucked a small table for two up against the window, where the homeowners can enjoy watching Sydney’s breathtaking fireworks over the bridge on New Year’s Eve.
4. Reading and Contemplating in Japan Location: Kochi prefecture, southern coast of Shikoku island, Japan Who lives here: A retired couple The view: Pacific Ocean splendor The retired couple who live in this house created by Kiriko Design Office like to spend as much time as they can out on the terrace. The man loves to read here, but he especially enjoys spending the evenings watching the stunning sunsets over the Pacific. The house was built on a hill because the owners wanted to take advantage of this superb view. In Kochi prefecture, where the climate is mild, the boundary between indoor and outdoor spaces is often blurred, and this couple’s balcony extends to their library inside, with its collection of 10,000-plus books and CDs. It has movable wooden slat doors to create a semi-outdoor space where the surroundings can be experienced up close.
This balcony hangs 250 feet above a bluff, with glass walls that practically disappear to allow for views of Big Sur, a dramatic and rugged region that stretches about 90 miles along the Central California coast. The home, designed by renowned architect Anne Fougeron, is situated on a steep grade, a challenge that Fougeron embraced. “I had this idea of having the house cascade down the hill to take advantage of the view as much as possible,” she says. “Sometimes modern homes look like they’ve landed on the site out of nowhere. We wanted to make the home indistinguishable from the site, totally embedded and following the contours.”
This 151-square-foot (14-square-meter) balcony faces south, meaning it soaks up as much sunshine as it can in a city that’s shrouded in darkness in winter. The sun-kissed location makes it the perfect place for the family to enjoy long summer dinners. They love the amazing views of the Essingefjärden bay that spreads out below. This is one of the many stretches of water that cut through the islands that make up Stockholm. If you walk across the road below, you hit cliffs that offer some of the best swimming spots in the city — even in winter!
Deep blue and white will take you away to Mykonos, Greece.
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