{"id":6102,"date":"2021-04-19T14:00:57","date_gmt":"2021-04-19T05:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vhbloglive.wpengine.com\/?p=6102"},"modified":"2021-04-19T12:51:25","modified_gmt":"2021-04-19T03:51:25","slug":"getting-the-most-out-of-your-balcony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/japanese-apartment-life\/getting-the-most-out-of-your-balcony\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting the Most Out of Your Balcony"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Utilizing your balcony\nmore often can be a great way to enjoy the outdoors, especially if you live in\na city. Here\u2019s how you can get the most out of your balcony. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people in Japan use\ntheir balconies to hang laundry. It is also common to see balconies being used\nas a place to store bicycles. As convenient as balconies are, they can do much\nmore than serve a utilitarian purpose. You can use your balcony as a place to\neat, socialize, grow plants, and relax! It\u2019s nice to get some fresh air while\nenjoying a meal or doing hobbies. Here are some ways you can start doing more\nactivities on your balcony. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Grow Plants<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Your balcony is a great\nplace to grow plants, especially varieties that require a lot of sunlight and\nwouldn\u2019t thrive inside your apartment. Growing plants is great for the\nenvironment and can be a fun hobby. In addition to decorative plants, you can\ngrow your own food by starting a small garden. Herbs, tomatoes, eggplants, and\nlettuce typically do well on balconies. Given how expensive produce in Japan\nis, having a small garden can help you save money on groceries. If you want to\nlearn more about growing plants on your balcony, check out our article \u201cThe Best Balcony Plants”<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Eat Outside <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Eating outside is one of\nthe best ways to enjoy your balcony when the weather is nice. Have your morning\ncoffee while watching the sunrise or invite some friends over for a nice brunch\nin the sun. If you want to start dining on your balcony, start by getting a\ntable and some chairs. Cute bistro furniture can make dining on your balcony\nespecially stylish. You\u2019ll get to feel like you\u2019re dining out at a nice\nrestaurant when in reality, you just stepped out onto your balcony.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Create an Outdoor Living\nRoom <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Even if dining outside\nisn\u2019t your thing, you can still enjoy relaxing on your balcony. Consider adding\na cozy chair or two, a small table, and some lights to make your balcony into a\nnice outdoor living room. It will be a great place to read, spend time with\nfriends and family, or do hobbies like knitting. In addition, your laptop (and\nmaybe a pair of headphones) can make your outdoor living room a great place to\nstream Netflix. Just try not to fall asleep outside! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Add Some Temporary\nOutdoor Flooring<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many balconies come with\nflooring that looks plain, boring, or even ugly. If you want to change the look\nof your balcony\u2019s flooring, you can add some temporary outdoor flooring on top\nof it. You can find outdoor flooring in designs that look like hardwood, tile,\nor other types of traditional flooring. This kind of flooring can help make\nyour outdoor living room cozier and more relaxing. As it is fairly inexpensive\nand easy to install, even DIY novices shouldn\u2019t have a problem adding outdoor\nflooring to their balconies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Make Sure You Still Have\nRoom for Everyday Tasks <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Like we mentioned\nearlier, many people use their balconies for laundry or storage. If you use\nyour balcony for everyday tasks and chores, make sure you leave enough room for\ndoing them when redecorating your balcony. Don\u2019t get so much furniture or grow\nso many plants that you have nowhere to hang your wet clothes. It\u2019s best to\nonly buy furniture that is lightweight enough to be moved easily. It\u2019ll be much\neasier to move out of the way when you clean your balcony or temporarily bring\ninside when the weather is bad. Moreover, it\u2019ll be easier to get onto your\nbalcony in the first place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Want Some Privacy? Put Up a Screen\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Some people may be hesitant to start doing more activities on their balconies because they do not want to be seen by other people. If that\u2019s the case, you might want to consider putting up a privacy screen on your balcony. That way, you can enjoy dining or read in your outdoor living room without being watched. If you buy a sturdy enough privacy screen, you may be able to hang some small planter boxes on it, adding some more space to grow plants. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Utilizing your balcony more often can be a great way to enjoy the outdoors, especially if you live in a city. Here\u2019s how you can get the most out of your balcony.  Many people in Japan use their balconies to hang laundry. It is also common to see balconies being used as a place to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":6115,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-japanese-apartment-life"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6102\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}