 (1).0q~4vvftc1eoq.png){kind=small}
Balcony with Glossy Blue Storage and Bar Counter
About Balcony Area Interiors
Common questions from homeowners.
It is a full run of fitted storage in high-gloss blue laminate, wall cabinets up top and a bank of drawers below. A balcony usually wastes its wall, so building floor-to-near-ceiling cabinets here turns that dead strip into real storage for tools, pots and odd bits. The upper doors and lower drawers all use flush finger channels rather than handles, which keeps the glossy face clean and stops sleeves catching as you pass in a narrow space. A couple of black glossy shutters break up the blue.
The white top on the lower cabinets runs out into a bar-height table on a single metal post. It works as a standing ledge for a cup or a book and gives the narrow balcony a surface without a bulky dining set. White solid surface was picked over wood because it shrugs off sun and the odd water splash better, which matters on a half-open balcony.
There is one wooden rocking chair with a padded seat, tucked into the corner by the glass doors. A rocker suits a balcony better than a fixed armchair. It is light enough to shift into or out of the sun, and it takes up little floor. That keeps the narrow walkway clear, which a bulky lounge chair would block.
Overhead, a retractable fabric awning covers most of the balcony, striped in brown and cream. It pulls out on folding arms to throw shade across the seating and the glass doors, then rolls back when you want the open sky. That flexibility is the point. A solid roof would have darkened the room behind the doors for good, while the awning lets you choose sun or shade by the day.
Light comes from a single woven cane pendant that hangs beside the cabinets, a soft globe that throws a patterned shadow at night. During the day the balcony runs on daylight through the glass doors. The finishes are deliberately simple around it. The cabinets are high-gloss, the walls a flat peach, and the floor a plain matte tile, so the shine of the units stays the one thing you notice against everything matte.
High-gloss laminate holds up well on a covered balcony like this one, less so on a fully exposed one. The awning here keeps direct rain and harsh sun off the doors most of the day, and that is what a glossy face needs. Sun and standing water are the two things that fade and lift laminate over years. The upside is easy cleaning, since dust and splashes wipe straight off gloss where a matte or wood finish would hold them. On a fully open balcony, a matte finish lasts longer.
Glossy cabinets look great and show everything, so upkeep is mostly about wiping. A dry or barely damp microfibre cloth clears dust and fingerprints without leaving streaks. Skip rough scourers and strong solvents, because they scratch the top coat and the scratches catch light on a shiny surface. The flush finger channels collect a little grit over time, so run a cloth along them now and then. Done weekly, the blue stays mirror-clean.
Yes, this layout is actually built for a tight balcony. All the storage goes up the wall, so the floor stays free apart from one slim table and a single chair. On an even smaller balcony you would drop the upper cabinets to one row and keep just the lower drawers, which stops the wall feeling top-heavy. Wall-hung cabinets also leave the floor clear underneath for sweeping and drainage. The bar table can shrink to a fold-down flap if space is really short.