Bobby Berk Explains The Best Way To Decorate Your Small Apartment Balcony For Summer

Many apartments are notorious for lacking outdoor space. But having a small balcony or patio doesn't mean you can't transform it into your ultimate oasis — and you don't need a ton of square footage, according to "Queer Eye's" Bobby Berk. The interior designer shared tips for transforming an apartment balcony, no matter the size. He suggests starting with lighting. "You can still do market lights out there," Berk tells Houston news station, KPRC2. "And if you don't have room for that, battery-operated candles are a really great way to set the mood." Having lights in your outdoor area also allows you to enjoy it well into the night.

The interior designer also provided suggestions to get the most out of your seating when it comes to a smaller outdoor space, "do benches for seating, don't do chairs. Chairs, they're taller, visually, they take up more space, [and] you can usually only fit about one person on them. If you do benches, you can line those up around the perimeter of your space. Do some cool pillows . . . and that way, you can do way more seating in that space." The extra seating will be great, whether having your morning coffee or entertaining friends in the evening.

Making your outdoor balcony feel like an extension of your indoor space is essential to creating an area that you want to hang out in. Adding outdoor pillows is a great way to add comfort and make an apartment balcony a place to relax. Since some outdoor furniture can be hard or, as Bobby Berk suggests, using benches without backs, pillows add some physical and visual softness.

They're also a great way to add color, pattern, or texture to your balcony. On his website, Berk suggests a grouping of three pillows that include a solid, a small-scale pattern, and a large-scale pattern. Be sure that you're selecting outdoor pillows with materials that will stand up to the elements and also be fade-resistant when sitting out in the sun.

An outdoor rug is another way to bring the comforts of the inside to your balcony. These add texture, as well as color and pattern, just like pillows. It can also create a definitive zone and make the balcony design look finished. Plus, it's much more comfortable to be barefoot outside with a rug underfoot.

Having your indoor and outdoor spaces be cohesive can also make a balcony feel larger, allowing the inside of your apartment to seamlessly flow outdoors creates of a sense of one large space. Using the same color scheme both indoors and out on the balcony is one of the best ways to achieve this. Bobby Berk explains that he uses the same colors in some of the elements outside as he does inside. Even if the color scheme for indoors and outdoors is tweaked a little, consider having both indoors and outdoors similar or coordinating.

For an event that you may be hosting on your balcony and in your apartment, you can also bring in cohesion with outdoor dinnerware. Berk suggests using melamine plates, which are reusable and shatter-resistant, perfect for an outdoor event. Plates and serving ware are also another detail that can be incorporated into your overall color scheme outdoors.