How to Build a Balcony Table

Measure the length and width of the balcony and write down the measurements. Consider how much space you need for chairs and for moving around the table and subtract that from your measurement. The resulting measurement is the maximum you want your balcony table to measure. Of course, you may want to make it even smaller to ensure you’re not hugging the railing or the exterior wall every time you want to access a chair around the table or walk around it.

Measure the height of the balcony railing and write it down. Ensure your tabletop is, if not as high as the railing, nearly as high. That way when you sit down at it, your view will be unobstructed.

Cut a piece of wood to your measurements from Step 1. This will be your tabletop. If your balcony is on a high floor of your building, use a thicker lumber to add weight to the table. Otherwise, it may be blown around the balcony on windy days.

Cut a piece of wood for a base in the same shape (e.g., round, rectangular or square) as your tabletop but smaller. The bigger the base, the more difficult the table will be to topple. For a balcony, this works better than attaching four standard legs to the table because it allows you to move more easily around the table. Avoid anything larger than one-third smaller than the tabletop; otherwise, the top and base will look too similar.

Cut the leg to the desired length. Take the length determined in Step 2 and subtract from it the width of your tabletop and base. You can use 2-by-4 wood for this. You can also pick up thick, embellished wooden poles at many big-box hardware stores and cut it to size.

Attach the base and tabletop to the leg. If getting the table in and out of your balcony might be a problem, choose hardware that allows you to easily unscrew the leg and base from the tabletop. This way, you can simply disassemble the table in your balcony before you bring it indoors.

Sand down your table and apply paint or stain. Once it is completely dry, apply a waterproof sealer. Allow the sealer to dry before handling the table.