This ingenious table transforms the balcony into a terrace with a dining area (and all Parisian apartments are already equipped with one), June 18, 2024
There is not a Parisian who does not have one on their balcony. The Balconie is a small table that is installed on the balcony railing and allows you to take advantage of this space, however small it may be.
It all started in June 2019 with the idea of attaching a small shelf to an urban pole. “I wanted to create one with my own design and with recycled wood, in the spirit of upcycling. After a few tests, I made a first prototype. The invention, which Félix Miquel developed during his architectural studies, continued to evolve and another, even more functional design emerged: a table that attaches to the balcony and transforms any balustrade into a mini-terrace.
Big ideas sometimes have small problems to solve: in this case the starting point was not very promising: he had nothing, no machines, no workshop, only his own hands to make the small table . He therefore began to make a few models at home, on the balcony of his Parisian home, "to the great dismay of my neighbors, who were lulled by the noise of the circular saw for a few weeks, until I found a more viable solution,” says the designer.
The first wooden balcony table being completed in 2021, he decided to create a new one in steel, which attaches to all the railings, even if there is no balcony! “After Covid, city dwellers are spending more and more time at home, particularly thanks to teleworking, and I really wanted to offer a useful product that responds to these new lifestyles,” explains Félix. This is how Balconie was born in 2023, the balcony table which assembles in 2 minutes and transforms any outdoor space, no matter how small, into a terrace.
With the help of 2 friends, he found a premises which allowed us to produce on an assembly line and meet the delivery times of our first customers. Then come marketing and communication, and above all word of mouth: everyone in Paris wants a small table for their balcony. At a time when space optimization is a necessity, Balconie allows you to create a new living space at home, to share a drink near the window, to place an ashtray and even, why not, to have flower pots.
After a year and a half of work, it is now available in four colors and two sizes, at prices ranging from 100 to 189 euros. The success of these balcony boxes is such that he had to relocate production to the south of France to distribute them throughout France (and Europe). And this, while continuing to develop the Street Furniture branch of Extra Terrasse.
(translated from Spanish by Félix Miquel)