Deck out your tiny balcony

Having a tiny balcony or iPad-sized deck shouldn't stop you from spending time outside.

“There are a lot of options to maximize the space you have,” says Marta Calle, director of CB2, Crate and Barrel's specialty store for urban chic. Here are some big ideas for small spaces.

1) Cave people ate outside in nice weather, too. Emulate Cro-Magnons with a boulder-like Pebble Side Table ($149, at West Elm stores and Westelm.com), which is cast in concrete and will withstand extreme temperatures — or repeated blows with a club.

2) Beanie, baby! CB2's updated take on the iconic 1970s bean bag chair comes in waterproof polyester. Additional chairs or a matching ottoman ($99, at www.cb2.com) can be tied to it to form a sectional, depending on the square footage of your deck.

3) Softer than those plastic outdoor rugs but more durable than a plain cotton one, Pottery Barn's corded-stripe carpet ($49-$299, Potterybarn.com) adds spice to screened-in porches or covered decks. Its slightly trad vibe cries out for a vintage rattan sofa or a pair of Adirondack chairs in a bright hue.

4) Modernist curves, rendered in powder-coated aluminum and PVC-treated polyester fabric, mean John Kelly's sleek Rho lounge chair and tray table ($575 and $390, 2modern.com) will impress your Dwell magazine-reading pals. That you can order the stuff in zillions of color combos — want a lime-green frame with hot-pink upholstery? — means it would appeal to any children or Rainbow Brite fanatics you invite over to your place for summer barbecues.

5) Guests can grab a seat to lounge on your balcony with Target's outdoor floor cushions in bright colors ($15 each, Target.com). They'd also make deck chairs comfier or serve as sweet dog beds for your pack of toy poodles.

6) Half the point of sitting out in the heat is cooling off with a frosty beverage. Chill down your brews or sodas with a powdered-coat steel ice bucket ($30, CB2) in ketchup red.

7) A pop of jungle green and curvy legs give IKEA's metal Lacko table ($50, Ikea stores) a lot of style for the money. Plus, it folds away easily for storage when it gets cold again.

8) Reclaimed wood (from what seems to be Martha Stewart's Hamptons cottage) turns up as shabby-chic planters ($129-$229, Potterybarn.com), which could go out on a townhouse deck or inside by your loft condo's sunniest window.