How to Decorate a Terrace

Your terrace is the place in your home closest to the outdoor world. It’s a great spot for hanging out, relaxing, and bonding with your family and friends. Give it a little more statement by giving it a whole new vibe! Here are some tips to decorate your terrace:

1. Cover up your floor.

Decorate starting from the bottom. Give your floor a new look by putting up interlocking deck tiles with a pattern and texture of your choice. Try putting a wooden pattern to match your pots of green plants. If you want the least expensive option, transform a patterned tablecloth into an outdoor rug by treating it with a water-based polyurethane, to cover up a plain concrete floor.

2. Make it comfortable.

Are your terrace benches hurting your bum? Replace it with comfortable furniture like loveseats and daybeds, or you may add some cushion to the bench seat. Make it a snug space and a perfect place to hang out and de-stress.

3. Create a small garden.

If you don’t have a backyard, one of the best places to grow a garden is a terrace. Create your own garden with pots and recycled cans. Paint your pots or cans to decorate, and plant flowers or succulent plants on them. You can place them on top of tables, window ledges or on the sides. Or, you may hang it up on the wall or from the ceiling by stringing pieces of twine to hang them up. Suspended flower pots can make a huge difference.

4. Pop some color.

A terrace doesn’t have to be green full of plants or brown as the wood all the time. Add some life by adding fun accent colors like blue, yellow, pink, orange and purple. Do it by adding patio furniture of different colors – but if you prefer a more neutral setting, pick one color and experiment with its shades. Add decorative pillows for a more welcoming atmosphere.

5. Repurpose crates.

Wooden crates are flexible. After deciding that a crate has already served its original purpose, you may paint it with any color you like. A wide crate can be turned on one end and repurposed as a cozy seating for the terrace – just place a comforting rug and some cushions. A small crate can be turned as an end table, which can be decorated with a jar or pot placed on the surface. Crates can also be stacked one by one (with the open side facing you) so that it may look like an open cabinet perfect for flower pots storage.

6. Cover up with cloth.

If your terrace doesn’t have a roof or awning, you can create your own by using a white fabric canopy to bring some shade and make the space cozier. If your terrace is too close or very visible to neighbors, create privacy by hanging some curtains or a DIY screen using canvas drop cloth painted with a pattern of choice.

7. Install a hammock.

Swing in the shade with the ultimate relaxation piece ever: the hammock. Choose from those made of fabric, rope or netting and make sure it suits the vibe of the whole terrace. Add it into your terrace to create a nook for reading, napping or just zoning out. You have added a piece of decoration and comfort at the same time.

8. Light up string lights.

Add pretty and playful lighting to your terrace by hanging string lights on the wall. It adds a magical glowing effect that can add a romantic feel during evenings. Turn your Christmas lights into pretty string lights by covering each bulb with ping pong balls, or you can buy an outdoor string lighting.

9. Create a cultural vibe.

Give your terrace a cultural vibe by adding bamboo feature wall and putting up wicker furniture. Lay a rattan rug on the floor and add some succulent plants and bonsai. Now, feel like you’re in Asia!

10. Add a coffee table that doubles as a plant box.

For the outdoors, don’t settle for a simple coffee table – showcase your greenery on a planter integrated into the middle of the table. DIY-ers may work from scratch using timber, or they may find an outdoor coffee table and just create a planter in the middle. It’s a nice spot to place your book as you sip your coffee while admiring your little plants.

Like other people, you might have confusions as to how a terrace is different from a porch, patio, deck or balcony. Here’s a little something to clear up their differences:

A terrace is an open, external, raised and flat area next to a home, or on a flat roof. It may also be detached to the house – if you have a spacious property in front of your home, you may build a terrace secured by railings or columns. Because it is an open space, it has different points of access, and if it is detached to the house, it is usually considered as an extension of the living room. Terraces are larger than balconies, and they are built on the ground. In some parts of the US, it may be used interchangeably with a porch, veranda, or loggia, because they are not so different from each other.

A porch is like a terrace, but it is usually constructed to the external of a house. It may be open at all sides or enclosed with windows, screen, light frame walls or latticework.

A deck looks like additional wooden platforms separate from the main frame of the house. Same as terrace and porches, they can be attached or detached to a house. They are made just a bit higher than the ground. Attached decks usually have few stairway steps that lead to the main door or back door of the house.  Also consider options like composite decking for long term durability.

A balcony is a small platform attached to a room in the house. Balconies are elevated usually on the second story of a house or higher. The only point of access is through a room or a door, and balconies are always affixed to the house.