My most favourite space of Project Comeback is its terrace. I have really enjoyed working on the terrace design and am bursting with new ideas which I’m really excited to be sharing with you!

Terrace Design:

After our last meeting, Jyoti got down to some serious research on the terrace design. This is the terrace.

Both its lengths are open, with one opening into the living room through a sliding door and the other to the outside, protected by a glass railing. The two smaller sides are partially closed, having narrow passages connecting them to the bedroom balconies. There is a column in the center, and some exposed pipes which are a bit of an eyesore.

Jyoti spent some time on site getting a feel of the place. She visited the home at different times of the day to see how the sunlight moves across the balcony. I also gave her a copy of the terrace plan and Missus filled in a detailed questionnaire.

I managed to get a little peek at some of the notes she made. This was her analysis:

Strengths of the Site:

1. Fully open on one side.
2. View not obstructed, except in the center.
3. Light not obstructed.
4. Full privacy.
5. Owner has an artistic flair.

Challenges of the Site:

1. Pet dog chewing on the plants.
2. Direct sunlight obstructed due to walls and pillars.
3. Seating area required.
4. Owner is not a gardener.

Special Requirements of the Client:

1. Should look like an outdoor garden, with trees.
2. Low maintenance.
3. Entertainment friendly.
4. Lots of floor space

The Plan:

Based on the above, she made a rough sketch of the terrace design. Her sketch is self-explanatory and lists down the main elements beautifully.

The Greens:

I loved most of it, and both of us have been using this as a guideline for inspiration and ideas for the terrace. We’re aiming at making a ‘rain forest’ or an ‘unmanicured garden’, so the evergreen creeper sounds perfect to go with the look. I love how this one has climbed all the way up to the ceiling, and hope we can get something like this for our terrace.

Source: MyDomaine

I think the broad leafed trees will look great too and help with the ‘rain forest’ look.

Source: MyDomaine

In fact, all these pics make me think that we should take a few trees into the living room too… why stop at the terrace!

Source: MyDomaine

The Accessories:

I really didn’t want to start paneling and tiling the outdoor area, so I loved the idea of the bamboo sticks to hide the pipes.

Source: OrigamiFrog

The pendant lights she has sketched look really cute, and I managed to get a few of these beautiful cut-work lamps from Delhi to fit in.

We have to leave one side of the terrace plant-free, as we don’t want the plants blocking the entry into the living room. So having planters on the railings is a great idea to get greenery on to the other open side.

Source: 3LittleGreenWoods

Jyoti had suggested growing herbs in little pots. This will look great and give a fresh supply of herbs to the kitchen. We loved the idea, but Snoopy is half cow-half dog. She loves eating plants, so the herbs will always be in danger of annihilation!  This wall planter gave us a solution. It will help decorate the wall, put the herbs at a height and out of Snoopy’s way, and also allow for little candles to light up at night.

Source: bricolaje.facilisimo

There are so many more little bursts of inspiration I found. We want lots of greens, but don’t want to use up all the floor space with dozens of pots. So I loved these ideas to take the greens away from the floor, the little bird cage converted into a planter, and the ladder, used as a plant stand.

Source: Left – EmpressOfDirt; Right – Instagram @urbanjungleblog

Putting it Together:

So many ideas! I’ve been bugging Jyoti with them too. I’ll see a beautiful tree and send off an email to her – “Which plant is that? How much sunlight does it need? Will it grow on the terrace?” And she’s been answering most of it all very patiently. It’s obviously not possible to put every plant and planter we like onto one terrace. But we now have an idea of what we’re working towards and some of the elements we will use to achieve our look.  I’ll leave the actual plant selection to Jyoti. She will figure out what’s best given the sunlight, shade and space we have. While I go and get the terrace ready to receive the plants. It’s time to get working!

Until next time,

We finally have the completed reveal on the blog. Click here to see how this ‘garden’ turned out!

Thanks robbrownaustralia for the featured image!