porches can be an absolute lifesaver if you live in a city. they provide a quick escape from cabin-fever and can be the perfect place to grow plants and flowers or enjoy a glass of wine at the end of a long day. d*s reader arnod has shared his small apartment in ghent, belgium with his boyfriend for over five years. because the weather in ghent has been lovely for the past month or so, arnod and his boyfriend decided it was time to create a small outdoor retreat. their tiny terrace had previously been a stash spot for garbage, cleaning tools, and spare paint, so they invested about $85 and a weekend to making over the space. after cleaning out the terrace and repainting, arnod and his boyfriend constructed an ingenius little table/bench/seat nook that easily folds up onto the wall when it’s not in use. and the bonus? the black fencing against the back wall actually hides shelving where arnod can keep recycling until it’s ready to go out. they love the new look and the fact that they can comfortably fit three people in the sun for breakfast, coffee, light meals, or late afternoon drinks. with a vision and some handiwork arnod and his boyfriend managed to create a beautiful outdoor room that has quickly become a favorite space of theirs- and the cat, cartouche. two thumbs up- well done!
[have a before & after you'd like to share? just shoot me an email with your images right here! (low res, under 500k per image, please)]
60 Comments
SUCH a great idea! It makes me wonder why I hadn’t thought of it!
So funny, as a Belgian myself, I immediately thought that this looked like a Belgian porch. Ha :)
Good work, guys!
That is genius!
Hasn’t this before & after been featured on apartment therapy in the last couple of days, too?
So smart!
XO
Lenore
whoa — so smart! :)
genius shelves! love how the wood brightens up the space.
very wise organization!
Trimming out the brick with wood painted black adds a surprising amount of impact here. PS. Brilliant.
I will be moving to a new house with a very large porch, so I will have to save this idea for the future.
just brilliant. and adorable.
it just goes to show, you don’t need a huge space to entertain in.
super idea!! I’m moving to Ghent too soon, wanna do my porch? No seriously, it looks amazing and practical!
I love this idea. It makes me want to get out the paint and tools and redo our balcony. Thanks for the post.
Amazing! I love folding benches like that. What a great use of space.
smart & simple solutions!
Does anyone know the name of the tall purple flowering plant in the after photo? Thanks!
Addendum — it’s more pink than purple, the one with trumpet flowers (not the shorter purple flowering plant).
Anyone know the name of that plant?
Great. Just great use of a small space. xo Joan@anythinggoeshere
That is so smart. Nicely done!
I love it. Simply bare wood. Love it.
So nice.
Plus they can take their indoor plants out for a sun bath.
Great job! It turned out amazing!
XOXO,
looks fab and is calling for a morning coffee and croissant…and this is for you Christina…especially with that foxglove (digitalis purpurea) in the background!
@Christina it’s a foxglove
The tall pinkish purple flower is a foxglove. The dark purple flower looks like lavendar.
Honestly, I didn’t see how they could fit anybody on that porch. Well done!
Wow, that is so darling!
LOVE LOVE LOVE this!
It looks so much cleaner and lighter now. Very creative use of limited space and the plants liven things up beautifully.
so good idea!
This is one of the cooler things I’ve seen!
So creative!
ingenious :D
so clever, soo clever! And very stylish above all!
Wonderful job – so clever and beautifully executed. And…I recognize those white table supports as re-purposed Elfa shelf brackets! Right on :)
oh my goodness…how flipping clever is that…i love it!
Gorgeous and ingenious. Will be book marking!
Watch out for your cat! High rise syndrome can be deadly and or expensive.
Very smart!
That is ingenious!
That is completely brilliant! What an amazing idea!
Wow! This is officially one of my favorite before and afters ever. So impressive!!
Oh my gosh! So clever!!!
brilliant! for a very very small space!
The result is beautiful and very practical!
really, really brilliant!
What is truly amazing is how many people from Ghent are reading design*sponge (me too!)
Such a great idea!! So creative…
PLUS it came out beautiful!
All the respect.
I can’t believe, it’s brilliant!
I thought small terraces like that where just a waste of space but after seeing this make over I learned that even the tiniest spaces can look beautiful. Great job!
This was absolutely fantastic. Such a smart use of space. And a bonus….when the table and benches are “up”, they look like modern art!
Thanks everyone! I have one of these at home and am slowly killing it with the wrong care. So now I can look up what it needs. They are stunning houseplants. So regal.
What a fabulous & genius idea! Great work.
What a clever and functional use of a minimal space! I love this.
Absolutely fantastic idea!
This is awesome. So clever. Everyone deserves their own place in the sun! Px
Gosh! Functional, cheap, fabulous…genius!
What a clever idea.
what a fantastic use of space, I would have never thought of that!
The kind of ingenious use of space that makes my eyes light up – just love it!
This is GENIUS! I love this idea, it is so smart. I guess the only problem is, does that mean you have to fold up the table if the person sitting on the other side needs to get up? Either way, I’d rather be sitting at that table and stuck there :)
I loooove this!
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