Enjoy a balcony garden!
Living plants are much more than a decorative asset. The presence of their bioenergy is refreshing to the human spirit. Especially for city dwellers, it is important to include growing things in plans for embellishing residential spaces. However small or oddly configured, the balcony of a high-rise condominium can be transformed into an inviting outdoor living space, a setting for bistro dining, or a display center for flowering plants.
The governing principle in designing a balcony garden is that the concept and style should be a faithful continuation of the decor of the residence just inside the outer wall adjacent to the balcony. Because living space is experienced more as a perceptual judgment than as an accurate spatial assessment, this technique makes the residence seem larger. For example, potted foliage plants may be massed just inside and also just outside of the door from the condominium out to the balcony.
The scene beyond the balcony should be incorporated as a design element. Shapes and colors in the view should be echoed in details on the balcony itself. The common approach of trying to screen the view and create an oasis environment is not as powerful a strategy as accepting and enhancing the vista. Including the larger surroundings in the visual field and therefore the thought of the viewer reinforces the effect of making the residential space seem larger.
Design concepts for high-rise balcony gardens are constrained by the rules for construction, modification, and appearance imposed by the governing condominium association. Elements such as hanging plants and wall torches, used with intriguing effect in conventional gardens, are usually restricted or forbidden for multiple dwellings situations. Unique training and experience in addressing the special requirements of vertical urban living are needed to develop exciting aesthetics for balconyscapes.
Prisms may be used to create lighting effects instead of candles or torches. Also, since most high-rise balconies adjoin a window wall, the interior design may feature lanterns, candle gardens, or sconces just inside the window, so that the flickering candlelight can become a component of the ambience for bistro dining on the balcony. As a bonus, the interior view will be enhanced after dark by the reflections of the candles in the window glass, just as though they had been placed in front of a mirror.

   
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