How much furniture actually fits on a small apartment balcony?
Summary
On a balcony about three feet deep, a 24-inch round table with two chairs beside it is about as much as fits. In a row, that setup runs close to five feet wide. Whether a grill can go out there has nothing to do with size: the model fire code bans open flames on combustible balconies, but Seattle, for one, does not adopt that section and leaves balconies to the landlord.
Two sets, measured
Best Choice Products (this site is paid a commission on sales there) sells several three-piece bistro sets marketed for balconies. Two of them show the range.
| Small Folding Patio Bistro Set | Bistro Set w/ Glass Table | |
|---|---|---|
| Table | 23.5 in across, 27.75 in high | 23.75 in across, 28.25 in high |
| Each chair (L x W x H) | 18.5 x 16.5 x 32.25 in | 18 x 17.75 x 31.5 in |
| Total weight | 41 lb | 26 lb |
| Table / chair capacity | 110 lb / 300 lb | 88 lb / 265 lb (manual) |
| What folds | Whole set folds flat, arrives assembled | Chairs |
Neither listing gives folded dimensions, so the only way to know whether a folded chair clears your balcony door is to measure the chair when it arrives.
The arithmetic for your floor
Chair, table, chair in a line: 16.5 + 23.5 + 16.5 = 56.5 inches for the steel set, and 17.75 + 23.75 + 17.75 = 59.25 inches for the glass one. Facing each other instead, the same three pieces need two chair depths plus the table, about 60 inches front to back. A balcony three feet deep only works with the chairs side by side, or with one chair.
Weight decides whether the set lives outside. Carrying 41 pounds in and out every evening gets old; 26 pounds is easy to move and also easier for a gust to push around. The glass set's manual says to recheck all bolts, screws and knobs every 90 days and not to stand on any part of it. Neither product page says whether the sets should come inside for winter.
Grills are a code question, then a lease question
Section 308.1.4 of the 2021 International Fire Code says charcoal burners and other open-flame cooking devices "shall not be operated on combustible balconies or within 10 feet of combustible construction." The exceptions are one- and two-family dwellings, buildings and balconies protected by automatic sprinklers, and LP-gas cooking devices whose container holds a nominal 1 pound of gas.
Seattle's fire code prints 308.1.4 and then states, "This section is not adopted." The Seattle Fire Department's handbook for apartment owners says outdoor grill use in apartments and condominiums is not regulated by current Washington state law, and that property owners and managers can set their own rules for balconies. In Seattle, then, the answer is in your lease.
Sources
- Best Choice Products: 3-Piece Small Folding Patio Bistro Set w/ 2 Chairs
- Best Choice Products: 3-Piece Bistro Set w/ Glass Table, 2 Foldable Chairs
- Best Choice Products: Glass bistro set manual
- 2021 Seattle Fire Code, Chapter 3 (IFC 308.1.4 text, marked not adopted)
- Seattle Fire Department: Fire Safety Handbook for Multi-Residential Building Owners & Managers