Our Well-Loved Balcony {31 Days: Day 9}

One area I didn't show you on the home tour the other day was our little oddly-shaped balcony. You may have noticed it in the floor plan, but I didn't mention a word about it. That's because there's hardly anything out there to show :). But, since this 31 Days series is about using and loving what I have, and I do have a balcony after all, you get to see it today!

Ready to see our non-styled, non-"finished", pretty unexciting balcony? I snapped a couple of photos the other day from the best angles I could...here you go!

{Jackson wasn't super excited I closed the door on him...}

We use this balcony all the time (as long as it's not raining). It's such a treat to be able to be outside easily and get some fresh air. I realize that's not a luxury if you live in a house, but we've always been in apartments, so outdoor space is a luxury to us! (Even if it is only 15 square feet.) It's the place I go to relax, work on my computer, and sometimes even have quiet times. It's kind of an escape for me. Our apartment faces east-ish, and overlooks a section of dense forest, so we get clear views of magnificent sunrises each morning. I'm always in awe of God's creativity when I see those faded pinks and oranges explode into bright swaths of color. It's such a treat to wake up to that each day. If I wasn't so rushed getting ready for work in the mornings, I'd love to take my cup of coffee out there and just be for a few minutes - ya know?

I mean, just look at this.

{From sometime around Valentine's Day}

Stunning, right?

I had/have grand plans for making this space a little more special and pretty, but that hasn't happened yet. For now, I'm ok with that. I appreciate it for what it is and I'm not worrying too much about its appearance. I'm content with having a couple of comfy rattan/bamboo chairs to sit in and a bench for my cup of coffee to rest on. The goal here is to have a designated place to just breathe (no Faith Hill song pun intended).

How about you? Do you have a place in your home that you call your escape? Somewhere you can shut off the world and just enjoy the beauty around you for a few quiet minutes?


Read the series from the beginning...

Fun Find: Rattan Chairs

A few weekends ago, I took a day trip with some girlfriends up to a barn sale (similar to the one I went to back in the fall, but smaller). While I didn't find anything there, we did stop by another thrift/antique/junk shop before we left and I found two beautiful rattan chairs sitting just off the road by the entrance. I immediately said, "Ooo! I LOVE those!" and everyone else in my car agreed they were really cute. Sold.

Here's one of them sitting in its new home on our balcony:

I've been casually looking for a pair of chairs for our teensy balcony so we can really enjoy sitting out there, and thought these would be perfect. We've got a really pretty view from our balcony into a park, so we sit out there a lot when the weather is nice. Previously we had a wooden bench, which just didn't cut it in terms of comfort. These are com-for-ta-ble. You don't even need a cushion.

I love their clean lines and slightly worn edges. The look like they were well-loved (and well taken care of) by their previous owners.

The price wasn't quite thrift-store rock bottom, but at $60 for the pair, I snatched 'em up real quick. Turns out that was a good deal, because when I tried to look up similar chairs and prices, I found this one at World Market for $200 for one chair.

{World Market}

Annnd this very similar one from Anthropologie (not available anymore), that was $298(!). Uh, yeah, WINNER goes to my side-of-the-road find!

The only issue is that I'm not totally sure how "outdoor-ready" they are. Does anyone know how to weatherproof chairs like this? At this point, we're bringing them in when it rains, but other than that, is there something we could treat them with to keep them in good condition?

I've got big plans in my head for our little balcony so we can use it to its full potential this summer. I'll be sure to keep you in the loop as my ideas go from my head to reality!