Compare
Balcony: six styles, side by side
The same balcony brief resolved six ways. A balcony fails on drainage, sun and wind before it fails on styling. We check the slab fall and the exposure, then build something that survives a monsoon.
Side by side
All six, in one row
Scroll sideways to compare, or filter down to the styles you are choosing between.
- Layout
- Compact seating ledge
- Floor
- Anti-skid porcelain, 300×300
- Screen
- Frameless clear glass
What changes: Frameless glass so the view is the only design.
- Layout
- Deck with a dark screen
- Floor
- Composite decking, charcoal
- Screen
- Black perforated metal
What changes: A dark perforated screen giving privacy without blocking air.
- Layout
- Teak deck with a jaali
- Floor
- Teak deck tiles on pedestals
- Screen
- Carved teak jaali
What changes: A carved teak jaali filtering the afternoon sun.
- Layout
- Formal with a stone floor
- Floor
- Stone with a brass drainage strip
- Screen
- Wrought railing with a stone coping
What changes: Stone flooring with a wrought railing.
- Layout
- Green corner with planters
- Floor
- Birch-tone composite deck
- Screen
- Rope-and-timber trellis
What changes: A herb rail and hanging planters.
- Layout
- Lounge with a bar counter
- Floor
- Chequer tile in emerald and ivory
- Screen
- Brass-framed fluted glass
What changes: A bar counter in fluted lacquer with a brass top.
At a glance
The differences in one table
| Style | Layout | Floor | Ideal for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serene Minimal | Compact seating ledge | Anti-skid porcelain, 300×300 | Small utility balconies in compact flats |
| Bold Contemporary | Deck with a dark screen | Composite decking, charcoal | Apartments overlooked by neighbouring towers |
| Modern Heritage | Teak deck with a jaali | Teak deck tiles on pedestals | Homes wanting a shaded sit-out for the evening |
| Classic Luxe | Formal with a stone floor | Stone with a brass drainage strip | Villas and larger apartments with a formal terrace |
| Indo-Scandinavian | Green corner with planters | Birch-tone composite deck | Owners who actually garden |
| Art Deco Glam | Lounge with a bar counter | Chequer tile in emerald and ivory | Entertaining balconies in premium apartments |
Sizing
Balcony dimensions by home size
| Home size | Typical room dimension | Layout that usually fits |
|---|---|---|
| 1 BHK | 4×6 feet | Compact seating ledge |
| 2 BHK | 5×8 feet | Deck with a dark screen |
| 3 BHK | 6×10 feet | Teak deck with a jaali |
| 4 BHK | 8×14 feet | Formal with a stone floor |
| 4+ BHK / Villa | 10×20 feet terrace | Green corner with planters |
How to choose
Picking between the six
The honest way to choose is to eliminate rather than select: rule out the styles that clash with what is already fixed in the home — the flooring, the window frames, an existing kitchen you are not replacing — and choose from what remains. Most people arrive certain about one style and leave having picked a different one once the elimination is done.
Layout tends to decide the choice before palette does. Two or three of the six styles above will suit your actual room dimensions and door positions; the rest will look right in the photograph and fight the room in practice. Start from the layout column in the table below, not the material column.
If two styles both work on paper, the deciding question is usually maintenance: how much upkeep the household will actually do. A high-gloss Bold scheme and a hand-oiled Heritage one both look considered on day one; only one of them stays that way without regular attention.
A pedestal-mounted paver deck lets water drain freely underneath and lets you lift a panel to service the drain. It is the single best outdoor detail for Indian terraces.
Keep the finished outdoor level below the internal floor level with a clear threshold detail, so wind-driven rain cannot cross.
Screen the neighbours, not the sky. Vertical louvres at eye level do more for usability than a heavy roof.
Lighting outdoors should be low and warm — step lights, planter lights, one wall wash. Bright overhead light makes a terrace feel like a car park.
Questions
Choosing a balcony style
Which of these six suits a family with young children?
Serene Minimal and Indo-Scandinavian tend to wear best under daily family use — pale, matt surfaces show less than high gloss, and both specify durable, easily cleaned materials by default. Bold Contemporary and Art Deco Glam ask for more careful living.
Can balcony mix two of these styles in one room?
Within reason. The six are coherent palettes rather than fixed rules, and most finished homes borrow across two. What rarely works is switching palette within one sightline in the same room.
Does the layout change between styles, or only the material?
Both. Each style resolves the balcony brief with a different layout logic as well as a different material direction — see the layout column in the table above for exactly how.
Which style costs the least for a balcony?
None of the six carries an inherent price premium over the others at the same specification tier — the cost difference between two balcony projects usually comes from hardware grade and finish level, not from which of the six styles was chosen.
How do I see my own room in more than one of these styles?
Bring the floor plan to a consultation. We draw your actual room in the two or three styles you are choosing between rather than a generic version of each, which is usually what settles it.
Do the six styles take different lengths of time to build?
Not meaningfully — the production and installation programme for a balcony runs on joinery quantity and finish complexity rather than on which palette is chosen. A heavily detailed scheme in any of the six styles adds time; a restrained one in any of the six saves it.
Can I see this comparison for a room size other than the default shown?
Yes — the balcony category page carries the full sizing table across every home size, in all six styles, if you want the comparison scaled to your own room.
More questions
Balcony — the practical side
Living with balcony, whichever style you choose
- Clear drains and channel gratings before and during the monsoon; a blocked balcony drain floods the room inside.
- Store or cover cushions during the monsoon even when the fabric is rated for it.
- Wash salt off metalwork in coastal cities every few months.
- Oil teak annually if you want it to stay honey-coloured; leave it to silver if you do not.
Will Balcony survive the monsoon?
If it is specified for it. Marine-grade aluminium, solution-dyed acrylic and free-draining decks handle Indian monsoons; indoor materials moved outside do not last one season.
Can a balcony take a deck and planters?
Usually, but the structural allowance must be checked, especially on cantilevered balconies in apartments. Pedestal systems help because they spread load and drain freely.
How do I stop water entering the room?
Keep the external finished level below the internal, maintain a drainage channel at the threshold, and never block the existing fall. Most water ingress is a level problem, not a sealant problem.
What maintenance does an outdoor space need?
Clear the drains, wash salt off metal, cover or store soft furnishings in the monsoon, and check the waterproofing annually before the rains.
Is a pergola allowed in an apartment?
Society and municipal rules vary and often restrict permanent structures on balconies. A freestanding, removable structure is usually the workable answer.
How much shade is enough?
Enough to make the space usable at the hour you would actually use it. For a west-facing balcony that means blocking low afternoon sun, which needs vertical shading, not a roof.
More comparisons
Other rooms, side by side
Next step
Choose your balcony style with a designer.
Send the plan. We will draw your actual room in the two you are torn between and put them next to each other.