Furniture for balcony and loggia: 7 tips for choosing and arranging

Since the entire Internet was simply flooded with successful photo examples of how modest loggias or balconies equip cozy places for rest or functional workrooms, many instantly looked at their loggia in a completely different way. And what did we see in this room? Unfortunately, either nothing at all (including the lack of glazing), or a storehouse of unnecessary or seasonal things - sledges, bicycles, old furniture that it was time to throw away, empty cans and much more. For example, my neighbor, even managed to put an old Soviet refrigerator on the small balcony of a one-room apartment, which ultimately led to the fact that going out on it was simply unrealistic. If the situation is familiar to you, and you urgently want to change everything, but do not know where to start, be sure to read this article. We will figure out which furniture fits for the balcony or loggiaswe give 7 tips for her choice and tell you how to correctly and compactly perform the arrangement.

What influences the choice?

Surely you yourself understand that the most important moments influencing choice furniture, it is:

• Presence or absence glazing;
• Availability warming;
• The size of the room.

It's one thing to choose furniture for loggias or balconies that have warm glazing and insulated by all the rules. And completely different requirements will be for items that are supposed to be installed on open balconies. They will be affected by absolutely all negative environmental factors - these are the rays of the scorching sun, and sudden changes in temperature, too high or too low temperatures, precipitation, gusts of cold wind. Therefore, if you do not plan to take out furniture from the balcony during bad weather, be prepared for the fact that it will be operated almost in Spartan conditions.

It must also be understood that if the room is small, then put in it a large soft corner, which at the same time will prevent elementary movement on the balcony is simply not reasonable. Even if you really want it. We do not offer to abandon the idea to equip a corner for relaxation - we simply call for a sound assessment of the size of free space and the selection of furniture in accordance with it. Perhaps, it will be enough to limit ourselves to a more compact sofa bench. We will talk about what other options for sofas for balconies later.

Also take into account the fact that the doorway leading to a balcony or loggia is often quite narrow. And if you choose any non-separable structures, estimate in advance whether they will go into the opening.

Furniture Requirements

According to the foregoing, the main furniture requirements on the balcony.

• Be sure to consider the total weight of all the items you want to fit. Remember that loggias are more durable structures, so they adjoin the house with three walls, and a balcony - only one. Therefore, it is impossible to overload the balcony slab. Choose the lightest models;
• Furniture should not block the entrance to the balcony or window openings;
• Also, it should not impede movement. A gap of at least 50 cm wide should remain between the walls and adjacent objects;
• Another requirement follows from here - the furniture should be compact, in the ideal case folding.
• Transformer furniture is very popular. And in this case, this is the most suitable option;
• If the windows face the sunny side, the material for the manufacture of furniture should be resistant to ultraviolet radiation. The most expensive, but at the same time having upholstered traces of upholstery or frame material, will instantly ruin the interior;
• Production material must also be moisture resistant. But there are some differences. High humidity will be observed even on a glazed balcony, but to a much lesser extent. In this case, furniture made of MDF, natural rattan or laminated particleboard is suitable. If you want to use objects made of natural wood, you must definitely open the surface with several layers of protective varnish. In open areas, such materials cannot be used. Preference must be given to furniture made of plastic, metal or artificial rattan. If you think that plastic furniture cannot be beautiful, and your balcony with plastic chairs will instantly resemble an inexpensive street cafe under a tent, take a look at the picture below. Plastic products can not only have an aesthetic appearance, but also not be afraid of moisture, do not fade in the sun and are light in weight. Forged objects in general can last you for many years, especially if their protective coating is done by powder coating. Rattan furniture often quite massive, so it’s better suited for large balconies (5-6 meters in length);
• The design of the balcony or loggia, or rather the interior itself, does not have to coincide with the interior of the adjacent room. But the furniture selected for the balcony must be in harmony with the materials of the interior. Just imagine how inappropriate a built-in wardrobe made of white plastic on a loggia with lining trim may look out of place. And the matter is not even in the different nature of the origin of the materials, but to a greater extent in color contrast. After all, choosing a plastic that simulates a wooden surface, you will instantly get a completely different picture. And in general, since we are talking about built-in furniture so that it seems to be a logical continuation of the room, its color must be selected to match the color of the walls;
• The style of the furniture should also be suitable for decoration. For example, if the walls are finisheddecorative brick, against its background wrought iron furniture will look good or furniture from pallets. Against the background of painted walls, any material will look, especially if you successfully choose the color scheme.

Types of furniture by design

After you decide what material is most preferable for you both in appearance and in cost, you need to decide on the design of the furniture. IN depending on type her setting it happens:

• Stationary. The most striking example is the closet. Yes, it is comfortable, roomy and functional. But, having collected it once on the territory of the loggia, it is unlikely to be able to get it out after some time without resorting to disassembly. But just this stage may not survive furniture made from such material as particleboard. Chipboard is formed from fairly large sawdust, which have the ability to crumble and sleep enough at the locations of fasteners or threaded elements. When reassembling in the future, it may be necessary to make new holes. In addition, if you compare a stationary cabinet with a built-in one, the first one clearly loses. Firstly, it may turn out to be more expensive in cost due to the fact that its production will require more material. After all, it has all 4 walls, and built-in cabinets are devoid of a rear partition and are adjacent directly to the wall. And in some cases they immediately go to two and lose one more side wall. Because of this, the weight of such a design is also reduced, which is very important when furnishing balconies;
• Recessed. That is, one that cannot be moved to another place or even taken outside the premises. Undoubtedly, the built-in furniture is very comfortable, it is compact, not so heavy, takes up a minimum amount of free space, but is only relevant on glazed balconies. An excellent solution would be the arrangement of built-in closed shelving for windowsill along its entire length. Yes, the depth of such a storage system will be small, but due to the length, you can fit a lot of useful things there, starting from cans with preservation and ending with tools;
• Portable. It's about folding furniture. This is the most compact and mobile look. It is suitable for both small glazed and open balconies. And in the latter case, this is generally the most preferred furniture design. At any moment it can be folded and carried away. It is especially convenient in rainy and cold season. The main thing is to think in advance where you will store it. Although in the case of plastic folding furniture, it is quite simple to put it in a corner and cover it with a cover or oilcloth. There is also a wooden and combined design. If such furniture seems too stiff, ugly and uncomfortable, you can solve this issue with the help of decorative pillows. And so that they are not blown away by the wind at each corner, it is necessary to provide a braid with which the pillow will be tied to the legs or a circular Velcro. Pillows can be sewn independently. It is better to choose foam rubber as a filler, and preference should be given to furniture foam, as it is more dense and thick. To make it easy to care for the pillows, and to have the opportunity to change their colors, we recommend additionally sewing removable covers. They can be both on hidden zippers, and on ties, Velcro or buttons - as you like;
• Hanging. The so-called pendant cocoon chairs, which are woven from natural or artificial rattan, have been very popular for a long time. This material is quite suitable for use on a loggia or balcony. These chairs are hung both with a carabiner and a chain directly to the ceiling plane, and to a special rack, which is sold in the kit. The rack takes up a lot of space, but it is possible to rearrange the chair if necessary. The method of attaching to the ceiling is more compact, but you should first evaluate how the possibility of such installation itself is, because the fasteners are mounted directly in the plate, and not in the finish, so the reliability of the floor slab. Another good example of hanging furniture that can be used on open balconies is hanging coffee tables. They simply hang on a balcony parapet and do not take up much space. There are also folding table tables, which are attached to the wall and when folded, only 10-15 cm protrude beyond the plane of the wall;

I would also like to say separately about three types of furniture that will be appropriate on balconies:

• Corner Such a design can be both stationary and built-in. Corner cabinets, for example, are really very roomy. But, despite the claims about their compactness, in fact they take up quite a lot of space. Therefore, we recommend choosing angular structures if the shape of the room is incorrect. After all, there are often houses where the balconies are in the shape of a hexagon. Then you can try using two shallow corner cabinets on the sides to give a trapezoidal shape or generally rectangular. And how many places to store all kinds of needs will immediately appear ... Shallow corner tables, corner sofas and trestle beds will also be a very good solution;
• Furniture transformer has gained great popularity due to its compactness. The most popular models are wardrobes, which, if necessary, turn into a full double bed. Of course, it is difficult to fit such a design on the balcony, but there are cabinets with a built-in single bed.And if you often have a shortage of beds, and the condition of the balcony or loggia allows you to sleep comfortably there even in the cold season, then this is an excellent option. The only thing that brings negative notes is the cost of such transformers and the frequent complaints about the quick failure of a complex lifting mechanism.
• Furniture from pallets. Recently homemade furniture from pallets just blew the internet up with its popularity. Everything was good in it - the low purchase cost of the pallets themselves, sufficient strength, unusual appearance and, most importantly, the ability to assemble a structure of any shape and size yourself. Many assembled whole sets of garden furniture from pallets, beds, sofas, deck chairs, coffee tables. This budget option simply can not be ignored. All that is required of you is imagination and the ability to design the necessary piece of furniture. Well, if there are difficulties with this, you will always find the necessary information on the Internet. The main thing is to treat the wooden surface well - soak it antifungal agents and open in several layers varnish or special paint of any shade. If the wood processing is too coarse, you may additionally have to grind it. And the issue with comfort is also simply solved with the help of homemade pillows.

Suitable cabinets for balconies

Very many people in the first place must necessarily have a place to store various items and things on the balcony or loggia, as usually pantries in the apartment itself they are cleaned in order to increase the area of ​​a room. No matter how you try to get rid of unnecessary things in time, they still tend to accumulate. Therefore, the choice of cabinet should be given special attention. So, by design cabinets can be:

• Built-in;
• Case.

In the paragraph above, we have already figured out the advantages and disadvantages of both designs, so the choice is yours. Much more important to decide door opening method. They can be:

• Swing. This is just the option that is not suitable for a loggia or balcony. The exception is long balconies. In all other cases, voluntarily choosing a swing structure, you yourself steal precious space. Indeed, if your closet has, for example, a width of 100 cm, it means that it will have two doors 50 cm wide. This means that an open door steals 0.5 meters of the length of the balcony, if the closet is adjacent to the side wall, and so on. Although the swing mechanism remains the simplest. And from that the least often fails and suggests the possibility of self-repair, which often consists in adjusting the hinges. And the most affordable;
• Sliding. Like u wardrobe. This method of opening the door can be both in stationary and in built-in cabinets. In the latter case, the guides are attached directly to the floor and ceiling to reduce the cost of construction;
• Accordion. Pretty convenient option. In the fully folded form of doors, you will have access to the entire interior of the cabinet. The main thing is to choose not the cheapest doors, as they often fail, start to jam and stop folding;
• As shutters. This option is not yet very common, but it still occurs. In this case, the doors really are shutters, can be locked and controlled by a simple shift up / down. In this case, the door takes up the least space.

It is also worthwhile to decide in advance what you will store in your closet. By functional purpose distinguish between:

• Wardrobes for clothes. It so happens that the bedroom simply does not have enough space for a wardrobe. Then the wardrobe can and should even be taken to the territory of the adjacent balcony or loggia. But without fail the room must be insulated in accordance with all the rules. Otherwise, the cabinet itself and the things in it will quickly become worthless.The internal content of the cabinet is selected, as well as the usual sliding wardrobe - shelves, drawers and a bar for outer clothing;
• Storage cabinet, tools and other equipment. In this case, the internal filling is a regular rack with many shelves. The design can be built-in or freestanding. The number of shelves, their height and width of sections you choose individually. We advise you to think over this moment in advance so that it doesn’t turn out so that half of the shelf is empty, because it turned out to be too high, and nothing fits into the others, since they are too low. Equal to the height of a three-liter jar and add another small gap of about 2 cm, so that it is convenient to get items and they freely enter the department;
• Cabinets-freezers. This type of cabinet can only be used in the cold season. Products will be stored in it or even frozen under the influence of low ambient temperatures. Therefore, it is necessary to stir the cupboard so that it fits as close as possible to the outer wall of the balcony or loggia. Ideal - under the windowsill, the entire length. The internal filling will be the usual shelves.

For the most rational use of space and increase storage space, we recommend choosing or making cabinets to the very ceiling.

How to choose a sofa

A sofa on a balcony or loggia is not uncommon. Many prefer a comfortable and roomy sofa to a pair of chairs. The main thing is to choose models that will fit the size of the room.

• For very narrow spaces, if the sofa needs to be placed along a long wall, a sofa bench is the best option. Its appearance is fully consistent with the name. He may have lateral past, or not. The soft seat can be either removable or stationary. Such a sofa does not have a back, due to which it is very compact;
• A sofa bed will be more functional. It looks just like a sofa bench, only under the seat is not a void, but a capacious cabinet;
• A sofa cabinet is usually installed under the end wall and is the size of a balcony. He got this name by placing the console above the seat. At the same time, the back wall of the product is common, both for the sofa, and at the same time performs the function of the back, and for drawers. By analogy with hallways that have cabinets for shoes and a shelf for hats on top;
• Corner sofas, those that are L-shaped, are very comfortable on wide loggias or balconies. The seat itself has a shallow depth, due to which it is possible to maintain enough free space in front of the sofa for an aisle or a small coffee table;
• Folding sofas. Very convenient if you periodically need to organize an extra bed. They are installed under the end wall and in assembled form are quite compact in size.

Other furniture

Furniture for balconies often does not end with sofas or wardrobes alone, some owners even prefer not to install such bulky objects and wish to maintain a sense of spaciousness. To achieve this effect, you can use the right pieces of furniture:

• Little table on the balcony you will need it anyway. Indeed, pleasant gatherings with a girlfriend in the fresh air can not do without a cup of aromatic coffee, or something stronger. We have already talked about compact hanging tables. They are really very comfortable and take up a minimum of space. Another suitable option would be small coffee tables with a glass top. Most often they have a round shape. Surely you saw such tables in small street coffee houses. They have a metal frame or rattan braided. Another convenient option for the balcony will be book tables, which in a assembled place can simply be placed along the wall and make room;
• A popular solution is tologgia improvement. In this case, the mandatory element is writing or computer desk. We advise you to pay attention to corner models. They occupy less free space, and the work plane in fact is more capacious than that of direct models. It is also worth giving preference to models with rounded edges. Since the space will not be too spacious, there is a chance that you will often cling to corners. If they are rounded, there will be much less pain. if there is a need to arrange an office or other items, get an extension;
• Chairs on balconies are often found paired with coffee tables. It goes without saying that their design should match in such a case. We do not recommend taking chairs, the distance between the legs of which extends to the bottom. They will take up a lot of space. You will constantly cling to them, so there will not be enough free space to pass by a person already seated. A great option would be to think over this point in advance and convert the window sill into bar counter by increasing its depth. Then you can put a pair of high bar stools, which will be much more functional. And the solution itself is very modern and interesting;
• If you want to equip a roomy the place for posting indoor plants wall shelves nailed in a checkerboard pattern on the entire end wall will be a great way. The wall plane can be used completely - from the floor to the ceiling, the main thing is to correctly arrange the flowers depending on the amount of sunlight they need;
• Sometimes on the balconies there are even armchairs. This is practical if the model is folding and can provide an extra bed. In other cases, a lot of space will be "eaten up" by bulky sidewalls and a back. But if you cannot deny yourself the pleasure of sitting comfortably in a soft chair, pay attention to bean bags or cocoon chairs. Remember about high humidity. Choose products from oxford fabric, it is waterproof. Such chairs are quite comfortable, have a comfortable handle on top, which makes it possible to move them to another place. Yes, and they have a small weight.

Furniture Arrangements

After you have decided on the optimal set of furniture, I would just like to supplement all of the above with brief tips on the optimal way to place it within a small room:

• Cabinets are best placed under the side wall. Moreover, if the entrance is in the middle, then the side does not play a special role. If the doorway is more biased, for example, to the left wall, install a cabinet under it. At the same time, its depth can reach the very beginning of the door slope. In this case, you will have a lot of free space on the right, where you can install the same corner sofa or a table with chairs;
• Narrow sofas-benches or sofas-curbstones are better to install opposite the window. Then they will be more capacious, because it will be possible to make them the entire length of the wall. Opposite them, you can put a table-book, if the width of the remaining space allows or attach a folding table to the wall;
• A table with chairs can also be installed in the middle of the balcony, then it is reasonable to occupy the side walls on one side with a cupboard, and on the other with wall shelves.