January 27, 2026, 4:38 pm | Read time: 3 minutes
With the right furniture and plants, a roof terrace can become an outdoor living room for the summer months. How to go about furnishing it.
Not quite a garden, but still outside—that’s how you live on the roof terrace. With the right furniture and appliances, you can create an oasis of well-being. If you pay attention to a few things in advance when designing. These include sun protection, flooring, planting and irrigation, not forgetting the design.
It All Depends on the Planning
The purpose of the terrace ultimately also determines the design. Do you want a quiet retreat, or should children be able to play on it? It is also essential to plan the locations for furniture, a pot garden, a parasol, or a barbecue in advance. The only remaining question is the style in which the roof terrace should be designed: Mediterranean, exotic, cozy, or avant-garde?
The Right Flooring for the Roof Terrace
The future use is not only important for the design of the terrace, but also for the choice of flooring. Natural stone creates a Mediterranean feel, wood a rustic look, and plastic or raffia mats with an eco-seal can be laid for children.
If you like it cozy, you can choose an outdoor rug and move the living room outside. If the patio is to have a water basin or fountain, this should be planned in at the same time as tiling so that rainwater can run off easily.
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Designing a Roof Terrace With Plants and Furniture
When planning and designing the roof terrace, pay close attention to where the seating area and plants are to be placed. It would be annoying if everything is blocked up afterwards and you can’t move around. It’s best to take graph paper and draw everything to scale.
Plants take up more space than you think. Chairs also need space to be moved away from the table when you stand up. Allow a distance of one meter from the edge of the patio. In winter, when the furniture has been put away, the plants are responsible for decorating the patio. Winter planting with evergreens can also be included in the planning.
Different Designs for the Roof Terrace
You can create a lot of privacy on the roof terrace with shrubs and perennials, and make it cozy with the right furniture. If you prefer a more modern look, place fewer plants and some designer furniture, for example, made of steel, glass, or concrete. A Mediterranean roof terrace design is created with natural stones, herb plants and lavender, blue and white striped awnings, and wooden or bistro furniture.
(Annette Bauer)