5 Types of Balcony for Your Home: Which One Is Right for You?
Adding a balcony to your home is one of those improvements that pays dividends in multiple directions at once. It brings in more light, improves kerb appeal, creates a connection to the outdoors, and can add anywhere from 5 to 10% to the value of your property. But balconies are not a one-size-fits-all solution. The right type depends on your property, your budget, and what you actually want to get out of the space. Here is a breakdown of the five main types to help you figure out where to start.
1. Glass Juliet Balcony
The glass Juliet balcony is the most accessible entry point into balcony ownership for the majority of UK homeowners, and arguably the most elegant. Rather than extending outward from the building, a Juliet balcony sits flush with the wall and acts as a frameless glass safety barrier in front of a set of French or bi-fold doors, allowing them to be opened fully while keeping the space safe. The result is a flood of natural light, unobstructed views, and a genuinely striking visual feature both inside and out, without the structural complexity of a full balcony.
In most cases Juliet balconies fall under permitted development rights, meaning planning permission is not typically required, which makes them one of the fastest and most straightforward home improvements available. For homeowners looking for a clean, modern frameless option with adaptable fixing configurations, the BFIX Glass Juliet Balcony supports widths up to 2600mm, is compatible with brick, timber, and concrete structures, and arrives ready to install with vertical glass profiles that keep the view completely unobstructed.
2. Walkout Balcony
A walkout balcony is what most people picture when they think of a traditional balcony: an external platform that extends from the building and can actually be stepped out onto. These are typically accessed through French or sliding doors and provide genuine outdoor living space, making them ideal for homeowners who want to entertain, dine outside, or simply enjoy the garden from an elevated vantage point. They can be constructed from a range of materials including steel, timber, aluminium, and glass, and can be designed to suit everything from a contemporary new build to a period property.
The trade-off compared to a Juliet balcony is the planning and structural complexity involved. Walkout balconies almost always require planning permission, and the installation process is considerably more involved. According to the Planning Portal, a Juliet balcony with no external platform would normally be permitted development, whereas any balcony with a floor or raised platform will require a formal application to your local planning authority. For the right property and the right homeowner, however, the result is genuinely transformative.
3. Cantilevered Balcony
Cantilevered balconies are the architectural showpiece of the balcony world. They extend outward from the face of the building with no visible means of support below, relying instead on structural beams integrated within the building itself to carry the load. The effect is dramatic: the balcony appears to float, giving a property a genuinely striking contemporary edge that few other features can match. They are particularly popular in modern architecture and high-specification residential developments where visual impact is as important as functionality.
The main limitation of a cantilevered balcony is that it needs to be designed into the building from the outset or as part of a major structural renovation. It cannot simply be bolted on after the fact, and depths are typically limited to around 1500 to 1800mm to manage the structural forces involved. They represent a significant investment, but for a new build or major extension project, they are hard to beat aesthetically.
4. Stacked Balcony
Stacked balconies are the most widely used balcony structure in the UK, particularly on apartment buildings and multi-storey residential developments. They are supported by vertical pillars or posts that transfer the load directly to the ground, which keeps the structural demands on the building itself relatively minimal. Because they form a self-contained structure that sits alongside rather than within the building, they are simpler and more cost-effective to implement than cantilevered alternatives, and they create a uniform, cohesive look across a building’s facade.
For individual homeowners, stacked balconies are less commonly relevant unless a property has multiple storeys and a specific need for vertical continuity across levels. Where they come into their own is on larger residential projects, where the combination of structural simplicity, ease of installation, and clean uniform appearance makes them a practical and visually coherent choice.
5. Suspended or Hung Balcony
Suspended balconies, sometimes called hung balconies, are held in place by stainless steel cables or rods fixed to the building’s facade at a 45-degree angle rather than being supported from below by pillars or from within by cantilevered beams. The effect is a balcony that appears to hang from the building, giving it a distinctive industrial-meets-contemporary aesthetic that stands out from more conventional designs. Companies like Balconette supply and install suspended balcony systems across the UK, offering a range of cable and rod configurations to suit different property types and design briefs.
They are a less common choice than stacked or cantilevered options, partly because the engineering involved is more specialised and partly because the cable fixings represent an aesthetic that does not suit every property. For a modern building where the design brief calls for something genuinely different, however, a suspended balcony can be a compelling and architecturally distinctive solution that sets a home apart from everything else on the street.
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