Where’s The Fire? Find Sanctuary In A Surprising Place, With A $400 Giveaway

It's no secret: City life can wear you down. Not to mention the concrete jungle affords very little solitary space to breathe. A backyard? We can only dream. A balcony? If we're lucky. Most of us city dwellers only have a fire escape to find outdoor solace...if that. So, with that in mind, Pottery Barn challenged us to turn our boring fire escape into a dream escape, perfect for book reading, coffee drinking, and mental decompressing.

Not wishing to break any fire codes, though, we outfitted a typical fire escape with a few portable elements that bring equal parts resilience, romance, and functionality — basically everything we love about New York. Keep clicking to see if it was a mission accomplished, and check out our tips on how to bring a little personality to your outdoor space. Need a little extra moola to fund your decor desires? Click here to be entered to win a $400 gift card to Pottery Barn!

But, with a few small additions, you can bring the inherently drab space to life. Just be sure to keep in mind fire-safety codes, which prohibit storing objects outside that would block any escape routes. That said, use items that you can easily move indoors and out. A small side table, for example, brings dimension to your outdoor space and is easily portable for that 10-minute morning coffee or hour-long nighttime breather. Plus, you won't have to put your books or coffee on the dirty ground.

And, don't forget: Ambiance is everything for an intimate respite. These bronze-finished metal lanterns complement the rusty exterior and bring a little warmth and romance to the space...should you ever want to share it with someone special. Add brightly colored florals inside the lanterns to bring a little whimsy. We coiled metal dry-clean hangers inside the glass to keep the flowers in place and away from the candle. Pretty genius if we do say ourselves!

Okay, so maybe you don't have a green thumb. That doesn't mean you can't bring a little plant life to your space. Resilient, durable plants like cacti and succulents are your best friends. Not to mention they add much-needed pops of color to all that cold metal.