Designing Cozy Balcony & Zen Room Makeovers - Design & Conquer!

Room makeovers are truly our passion - but unfortunately they’re super difficult to achieve when no one can leave their house and there are no stores open to shop at. That’s why Design & Conquer is so great - it’s a series where we give our friends and subscribers room makeovers virtually! They provide photos and videos of their space, give us some insight into their personal style, and then we make up a plan for them to makeover their space themselves.

Meet Ali!

Meet Keara!

This week we made over two of our subscribers' spaces; Keara’s spare room and Ali’s balcony. Both were blank slates that needed some serious design help. Here is what their spaces looked like before:

KEARA’S SPACE

ALI’S SPACE

KEARA’S VISION

For Keara’s spare room, she wants to turn it into a zen room, a space where technology does not set foot and creativity reigns. She also needs a place where guests can sleep, but she doesn’t want a full-on mattress in there. Her favourite colours are dusty pink, sage green and navy blue and she describes her style as “boho librarian chic”. The only things she wants to keep in her room are her piano, and the vintage dresser she thrifted. Let’s get designing!

ALI’S VISION

For Ali’s balcony, she wants a place she can host friends and use as a cozy outdoor space to chill. She specifically wants a table to do work at outside, a comfy couch, a space for a barbeque, and a solution for more privacy since her balcony faces a bustling parking lot. She describes her style as quirky and eclectic, she loves collecting things while travelling and supporting local artists. She wants the space to have a touch of boho but with more colour, and use a collection of different things that somehow fit together. With that, we started her design!

KEARA’S DESIGN

To add some colour, I chose to give Keara’s room a sage green accent wall that she’ll carry into the closet, so that the closet feels more like a part of the room. Keara mentioned that her piano could fit in her closet, so I moved it in there which saves a lot of space in the room and also utilizes a nook that would otherwise sit empty. To finish off that side of the room, I want her to add some sheet music art, either taped up on the wall or hung in a frame, as some inspiration when she wants to get creative. 

On the wall beside the closet, I carried the sage green theme through to the futon, which will serve as a bed for guests and a sofa for herself. I chose a blush shaggy rug that will cover the entire room to add some coziness, and since Keara mentioned she likes sitting on the floor while DIYing, this is a comfy addition. To keep the floor-sitting theme going, this circle coffee table and IKEA floor poofs are perfect as another seating option. Like Keara wanted, I kept her beautiful thrifted dresser but wanted her to add some wooden shelves above to hold more decor pieces and books. 

For lighting, I switched out her plain overhead light for a rattan shade to add some boho vibes, and then put light and airy white floor-to-ceiling curtains over the window. I also brought in a swing chair which was on Keara’s wish list because why not bring some fun into your home?! This will go beside the thrifted dresser in the corner. Finally, on the blank wall above the futon, I want her to DIY a greenery vine wall using some super realistic faux plant vines. How this works is she’ll hang the plant from the ceiling closest to the window side of the wall, and then using some sticky hooks she’ll carry the vines across the wall so it looks like they’re climbing. Her design is now complete!

ALI’S DESIGN

For Ali’s balcony, I decided to stick with the rust colour that her balcony naturally had because why not work with it rather than against it?! From there I added in more colours like mustard, deep green, black and teal to bring the rest of the design together. On the short wall closest to the door I placed her barbecue so it’s easily accessible from inside, and hung a pendant light that can plug into the outlet right there. Since she can’t screw into the brick (#RentalLife) I hacked it by using an over-the-door hook from which the light will hang, and it will clip over the walls of her balcony.

Next I want her to DIY a table that will fit right under the first window and just above the window AC unit so it will hide the appliance and be the perfect place to have a drink with friends. I’m adding two rugs, one long runner on the table side of the balcony that is an affordable jute material and the second a wider one that has more of a traditional feel on the cozier side of the balcony.

To tackle the privacy issue I found these super cool tension rod plant stands that get wedged between the ceiling and the floor and have little ledges for plants to sit. I’m thinking that she can install two of these and then drape some longer trailing plants between them to hide the outside area from the balcony. To carry the plants and privacy theme, I want Ali to DIY macrame hanging plant pot holders in a mustard cord colour which are super cute and boho-y, and hang them off of the upstairs neighbor’s balcony rung. 

For a lounging moment, I gifted the Article Sol daybed to Ali that is the perfect fit for her style and is super functional in the space. It will fit under the second window and I paired it with a thrifted teal side table. Finally, I found a super cool over-the-railing fold-up table that is great for when Ali wants to work on her laptop outside, but can be easily put away when friends are visiting. Top it all off with fairy lights for around the daybed window, and this space is ready for some summer lovin’!

THE REVEAL

To see how Ali and Keara reacted to their makeovers please check out the video below, and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for the reveal of their finished spaces on the next episode of Design & Conquer!

Steal Ali's Style

Thank you Article for gifting the Sol Day Bed, found here! https://bit.ly/2XPgm4j

Tension Rod Plant Dividers: https://bit.ly/3bsmt25

Red rug: https://bit.ly/34Y4Vsj

Jute rug: https://bit.ly/2KmeWpN

Balcony folding table: https://bit.ly/2XY6IvV

STEAL KEARA’S STYLE

Daybed: https://bit.ly/2ytTnRw

Coffee Table: https://bit.ly/3bnzOc6

Faux Vines: https://bit.ly/2wVN7By

Faux Pothos: https://bit.ly/3cA25fO

Hanging Chair Hammock: https://bit.ly/2Y1uO9l

Hanging Chair Cushion: https://bit.ly/2VYX6Pf