Timber and Balconies

Timber is one the best ways to soften and warm a cold concrete balcony. We often use Australian hardwoods in our balcony garden designs to create built in bench seats, timber decks and privacy screens. There’s a few reasons why timber is a great option for balconies and rooftop gardens:

1. It weighs less than materials such as brick, concrete or sandstone. Often your balcony garden design is limited by weight restrictions imposed by the engineers.
2. Generally speaking it is against most strata bi-laws to penetrate the floors and walls of balconies & rooftops, that includes private balconies too. We often construct floating timber decks and bench seats that don’t need to be fixed down or fastened to the walls.
3. Timber is so versatile that you can maintain a consistent colour palate by using it for several elements throughout the same balcony such as: timber privacy screens, bench seats, decks and BBQ cabinets.

If your balcony doesn’t require anything as substantial as bench seating or a timber deck, you can always add an element of timber by purchasing a beautiful hardwood table to soften the space.

At The Balcony Garden we try to only use Spotted Gum and Blackbutt, which are both Australian hardwoods. These timbers leach less than hardwoods such as Merbau or Tallowwood, and because they are Australian, they are also produced using ethical forestry techniques.

This floating Spotted Gum bench seat helps to softens this hard rendered wall.

Timber is so versatile it can be used for multiple functions when it comes to balcony gardens.

This ‘L’ shaped bench seat with storage not only softens the balcony but also creates a casual lounging area for entertaining friends.