The kitchen terrace on a budget!
Having spent the last few months with contractors in and out of the house we have, at last, managed to start putting some personal touches to the place.
I like to tackle a room or a space at a time, it becomes really far too overwhelming if I think about all the rooms and all the spaces, bite size suits me best.
I am particularly pleased with the kitchen balcony which I have done on a shoestring, big jobs cost big bucks and the personal touches have to be carefully devised so I spend as little as possible! I’ve mixed it up with a renovated oak table I have had for years, secondhand chairs with new cushions, inexpensive plants, supermarket finds and a sprinkle of vintage style.
The oak table was a bargain buy from an old school back in Leeds and it has seen a variety of incarnations as a our main dining table. Then it went through a phase where I painted the top and it sat in the conservatory for summer dining. next we stuffed it into a truck and brought it to Girona, it was given a coat of duck egg blue and used for al fresco dining on the terrace at our last house. Now it’s been sanded back and given a matt finish varnish to protect the wood from spillages. Peeking out at the side is a big green swishy plant (note my accuracy with it’s latin name), picked up a zinc pot from Carrefour for a knockdown 5euros and it looks proper swish.
The chairs were a bargain at just 70euros for four from a segunda mas (second hand) warehouse, two different designs but they work really well. Cushions were all bargain buys from Muy Mucho, they are actually seat pads so they can double up if we need more seats, I have five folding chairs that I painted with white chalk paint tucked away in the garage should we have a house full.
It can get a wee bit windy on this corner of the house as it faces valley on two sides, nice for cooling off but a bit of a pain keeping candles lit and stuff blowing off the table. Solution one LED candle lamp, all you need is a battery and it looks pretty realistic, slate table mats and coasters too heavy to blow off and a lovely wicker tray to plonk it all in.
I’ve chosen mosquito repellant plants for the hanging tubs, marguerites, lavender and rosemary with small flower geraniums. The smell is gorgeous, they look pretty and the rosemary is a handy step away from the kitchen door.
This is one of my favourite little finds, a small but beautifully finished storage pot, it’s repro not orginal but it is just a perfect size for storing the coasters. Have a bit of a thing for bird motifs and am looking out for a decent hydrangea to put in the other corner of the terrace, below sill height so the petals don’t end up like confetti in the wind.
