Kim Ri-ha's apartment balcony in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, serves as a home cafe. Korea Times photo by Kang Ye-jin

A balcony sits between an apartment's interior and the outdoors. Enclosing balconies to expand living rooms became a mainstream interior trend in Korea long ago as residents seek to maximize space.

However, an unenclosed balcony offers something special as the area closest to the outdoors. Because doors separate it from the main rooms, residents can easily decorate it as a distinct space. By discarding the misconception that balconies are only for storing belongings and hanging laundry, residents can make the most of the area's potential.

Here are the ways three households utilized their balconies.

Yoon Ji-in, 44, who asked to use a pseudonym, vividly remembers her childhood habit of asking her parents to visit restaurants with yellow lighting simply for the atmosphere. Yoon's family of four moved into their Daegu apartment five years ago. The home featured a long, continuous balcony attached to the main bedroom, the living room and a small room.

Yoon Ji-in, a pseudonym, transforms her apartment balcony into a hotel-style lounge using carpet tiles, a single sofa, a table and lighting. A slatted wood partition and storage unit separate the area from the adjacent bedroom balcony. Courtesy of Yoon Ji-in

She decided against enclosing it. Removing the balcony required replacing window frames, which drastically increases costs. She also worried about insulation and condensation problems.

Instead, she turned the balcony into a hotel lounge-like space. She laid carpet tiles and painted the walls with ivory waterproof paint. She divided the long space with a slatted wood partition and storage units. She placed two single sofas and a table on the living room side, and a long sofa on the bedroom side. To create a hotel feel, she placed an unplugged capsule coffee machine and a cordless telephone on the table.

"Styling cost about 1.2 million won ($800) for lighting, carpet tiles, furniture and partitions," Yoon said.

A black storage unit divides the living room and bedroom balconies in Yoon Ji-in's apartment. Courtesy of Yoon Ji-in

Source: Korea Times News