Residential space
A balcony is either the nicest part of the flat or where the washing machine and the junk live. In most flats it has to be both, and that only works if it is planned rather than colonised.
Before anything is drawn
Balconies fill up with the things that had no home indoors. Solving storage inside the flat is usually the first step to getting the balcony back, which is why this gets planned alongside the utility, not separately.
Four months of driving rain and salt air destroy indoor furniture and untreated timber. Material selection here is a different exercise from the rest of the flat and it is where most balcony projects go wrong.
Washing machine, dryer, mop, buckets, bulk storage and drying lines all end up on a balcony with no provision for them. Given a proper utility zone with a plumbing point, a drain and closed storage, the rest of the balcony becomes usable.
Almost every workable balcony plan splits the space. The utility end takes the washing machine, the drain, a tap, closed storage for cleaning equipment and the drying line, ideally screened. The other end takes seating and planting. Where the balcony is too narrow to split lengthwise, the utility gets a full-height cupboard at one end and the rest of the run stays clear.
The prerequisite is usually indoor storage. If the flat has nowhere to put the suitcases and the spare fan, they will come back to the balcony whatever we design, so the two get planned together.
This is the one part of the flat where the specification is driven almost entirely by weather. Salt air, four months of rain, and strong sun the rest of the year rule out most indoor materials. Powder-coated aluminium, marine-grade coatings, outdoor-rated tile and synthetic weaves on rust-proof frames are the honest options. We would rather say that at the start than replace furniture in year two.
Grilles, glazing, awnings, anything fixed to the railing and anything visible from outside are frequently restricted, and the restrictions vary building to building. It is a ten-minute check that occasionally changes the whole design, so it happens before drawings rather than after.
The room itself
Specification
Come prepared
These are the questions that decide the design. Having answers ready makes the first meeting worth twice as much.
ResidentialKitchenThe hardest-working room in the flat, and the one where a bad layout costs you every single day.
ResidentialWardrobes & StorageThe difference between a flat that feels spacious and one that feels full is almost always storage planning.ResidentialLiving RoomThe room guests see and the room you actually sit in. Usually two different briefs in one space.Draft wording.This page was written by us from your brief rather than by you. Read it, change anything that is not how you work, and we will set it exactly as you want it.
Let's begin
Tell us about the property and what you want from it. We will come back with a plan and a detailed estimate.
