Our Florida Beach Condo: Balcony Updates

One of the best features of our Siesta Key condo is the balcony (or lanai as most people there call it). It's fully screened but small - about 5'6" x 11'. That's not a ton of space. Our first priority was to have a table for eating which I purchased in March when we bought the condo. The table that was there was a plastic table like you would buy at a drugstore and not something that was sturdy enough for daily eating. Most of our renters are going to want to take advantage of the warm days and evenings and eat outside. Fortunately the chairs were fine but just need a little cleaning.

Here's where we started on the lanai back in March. 

And a few hours later during the cleanup, I had barely touched the balcony except for removing the table cloth and directors' chairs. At the point, I was going to leave the table but by the end of the day, I realized that the table had to be replaced with a glass top table.

 By the time I left the unit on April 1st, this is what the lanai looked like:

It's certainly a nice place to eat but it's nothing memorable.

When Handy Hubby and I had our Memorial Day escape to Florida, I really wanted to add a light fixture so people can eat out at night. It gets dark early especially in November and December. I also lugged down a little "Life is better when you are at the beach" sign I found at Marshall's for $9 a while back. I picked up some cute new throw pillows at HomeGoods for $18 per pair. The light fixture is from World Market and we were able to wire it in using a plug light (also from World Market) with a switch on the end. Now it looks completely refreshed! It really needs a rug of some sort, and some chairs for relaxing (scored last night at World Market - 75% off all outdoor furniture!). 

I wanted to note the adorable dishware. I was not originally planning to get new dishes but wanted to live with what we had. But, the dishes were not very beach-ish and I didn't really have to do very many kitchen investments other than some glassware, knives and toaster. I decided to go with a cute Corelle pattern that I found at Walmart. I was originally resistant to Corelle but then I saw how cute this pattern was and you really cannot beat its durability when you have renters. The silverware was in the unit - there's tons of it and it's in good condition so we kept it. My mom scored the plastic wine glasses at a yard sale for a buck. Love my mom and her bargain hunting.

Here's the view for your breakfast...

 

I think we achieved the goal of sprucing things up on a budget. Total investment here was about $200. I still need to get a rug but I am hoping to find one in the end-of-summer sales which seem to be in full swing even though summer is just beginning. Uh... Target... why is all of the back-to-school stuff out?!!!!  I nearly flipped out. Our kids don't get back to school until after Labor Day in Virginia!! I'm surprised they weren't putting Christmas lights out on the back wall. 

Enjoy your summer no matter what the big box retailers are trying to tell you!