Urban Jungle Bloggers: Hanging Planters

Green love is in the air! I can feel it, I can see it! It is end of February and spring is approaching - slowly but surely. This month's Urban Jungle Bloggers theme encouraged me to create a tiny hanging garden in my minuscule apartment. Luckily I live in a rooftop apartment with pitched roof areas serving as the perfect basis for some hanging planters and floating plants. As I opted for a hanging garden above my bed, I had to make sure I also create a good energy vibe. But let's start from the beginning.

Maybe some of you remember my Urban Jungle Bloggers post a few months ago when we shared our green and cosy bedrooms. I had hung my little hanging planter with an airplant for the first time then and this served as a starting point for this hanging garden. I am no DIY-er so I had to come up with another idea and I wanted to only use things I have at home. Luckily, I had three hanging planters and adequate plants to go with. Even though one of the hanging planters is a handmade piece from my beloved London based Atelier Stella (the cute face), I felt this is not enough. This isn't it.

That's how I started to think about good vibes, good energy and the plant's ability to purify the air. If my hanging plants purify the air in my bedroom, then I need something more to purify the energy and disperse good vibes. I had not to look far: I brought two handful of quartz crystals from my last US trip and I had a Greek 'Evil Eye' that serves as a talisman and protects from any kind of evil. I got it from a hotel manager in Athens a few years ago. I knew instantly: I have everything to create a very good atmosphere in my home!

The rest is as pragmatic as hammering nails into the wall. One, two, three - after six nails I was ready to hang everything, arrange and rearrange and voilà, here it is: my little hanging boho garden with good plants and good energy. Spring can come - I am ready. Just a few more breaths of fresh, purified air and a few rays of good energy from my crystals. Let's rock'n'roll!

Urban Jungle Bloggers is a monthly series initiated by 2 bloggers: Igor (Happy Interior Blog) and Judith (JOELIX.com). Every month we share ideas to create an urban jungle through styling ideas, DIYs and green tips & tricks. You can find additional inspiration on our Urban Jungle Bloggers Pinterest board and keep up-to-date on our website and Facebook page. Want to join? Use #urbanjunglebloggers on Twitter and Instagram. Or let us know and we'll share the badge and upcoming topics with you. Let's bring some green into your homes and blogs!

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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Plant Of The Month: Calathea

Last month I introduced my new bilingual mini series called 'Plant of the Month' in collaboration with Pflanzenfreude.de. After the succulent Echeveria I am presenting the September's plant to you - the wild beauty Calathea. This beautiful, lush plant stems from the Amazonas jungle and comes in a fascinating array of leaves - their remarkable patterns make the Calathea very decorative. But this wonderful house plant is not only a great decorative element for your home: this wild jungle beauty is beneficial for a healthy living environment - it is a natural air purifier and reduces stress levels. These facts make the Calathea the perfect green cohabitant.

I particularly admire the beneficial effects of the Calathea for the home and its dwellers. It is one of the most important facts why I love house plants. Yes, they are very trendy at the moment, yes, most of them look very decorative. But above all plants are healthy for us. They make our home not only beautiful but healthier by purifying the air we breathe, regulating the level of humidity and lowering our stress level. No wonder that on weekend all I want is to relax next to my house plants and read a book - this has a soothing and calming effect on me after a busy week.

The Calathea loves a warm and humid environment in semi-shaded interiors. Keep the soil of your Calathea humid without dammed-up water, clean the leaves regularly from the dust and - if it's too dry - sprinkle the leaves with water from time to time. The Calathea will thank you with big and vibrant leaves with purifying abilities. Another specialty of this plant: during night its leaves are rolling up for rest while at daylight they unfold themselves to their full glorious beauty.

Letzten Monat habe ich eine neue monatliche Mini-Serie in Zusammenarbeit mit Pflanzenfreude.de ins Leben gerufen: 'Pflanze des Monats'. Im August haben wir uns der tollen Echeverie gewidmet und in diesem Monat steht alles im Zeichen der wilden Schönheit der Calathea. Die ursprünglich aus dem Amazonas stammende Pflanze hat auffällig gezeichnete und gemusterte Blätter in verschiedenen Farbtönen. Die Calathea ist aber nicht nur dekorativ als Zimmerpflanze - sie besticht vor allem durch gesundheitsfördernde Faktoren: Sie ist ein aktiver Lufterfrischer und reduziert nachweislich Stress. Somit ist sie der perfekte grüne Mitbewohner für die eignen vier Wände.

Gerade diese Faktoren für ein gesundes Wohnklima begeistern mich bei der Calathea. Ja, Zimmerpflanzen sind gerade wieder absolut im Trend und ja, Zimmerpflanzen sehen sehr dekorativ aus. Aber vor allem sind Zimmerpflanzen gut für unsere Gesundheit und unser Wohnklima. Sie reinigen die Luft, regulieren die Feuchtigkeit and verringern unser Stresslevel. Gerade am Wochenende liebe ich es mich mit einem Buch an der Seite meiner Zimmerpflanzen zu entspannen - das hat eine unglaublich beruhigende Wirkung auf mich, besonders nach einer stressigen Arbeitswoche.

Die Calathea ist eine recht unkomplizierte Zimmerpflanze. Sie liebt es feuchtwarm und halbschattig. Sie mag stets feuchte Erde ohne Staunässe und die großen Blätter sollten immerzu mit einem feuchten Tuch vom Staub befreit werden. Falls es in den eigenen vier Wänden zu trocken ist (gerade im Winter), genügt es die Blätter der Calathea von Zeit zu Zeit mit Wasser zu besprühen. Die schöne Calathea hält aber auch noch eine weitere Überraschung parat: Am Tag erstrahlen die Blätter der Calathea in voller Pracht, während sie sich am Abend knisternd zusammenrollen für die Nachtruhe. 

Photography by Igor Josifovic, image of leaves via Pflanzenfreude.de

This post was supported by Pflanzenfreude.de

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Why This Room Caught My Eye

Today's post is a great example to showcase that it doesn't take loads of furniture, numerous design pieces and an impeccably styled interior to catch my eye - and hopefully your eye too. The latest house tour over on Apartment Therapy is a couple's home in Portland, Oregon, and it stands out because it is full with character: with the owner's obvious love for nature and greens and a liking of mid-century design and a easy-going interior style.

I've consciously picked a shot of their home that is rather unspectacular in the sense that it doesn't clearly show a specific room - it is just a peek-through through a door into a room which seems to be the bedroom. And yet it captures my attention with a few simple elements:

• House Plants: The selection of robust, easy-to-care house plants like the monstera deliciosa and the rubber plant is a great way to add visual interest to a room. They look very sculptural and cause the least plant care. Plus they are smartly places - one to the left-hand side leading the eye to the rear of the room with the wild monstera cascading down from a closet.
• Kilim Rug: You must admit - a colorful kilim rug always catches the eye's attention. Place a long, rectangular vintage kilim rug as seen here to give visual guidance and invite the eye into the room.
• Wooden Floor: This 'basic' is a safe eye-catcher - wooden floors always get my attention as they create an instant homey and warm feeling. After many years in an apartment with real wooden parquet, I can not imagine myself in a home with laminate or other synthetic flooring. I just can't. 

Are you the 'simple interior' kind of person or do you prefer a more styled home? I am curious!

Photography by Jaclyn Campanaro via Apartment Therapy

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Urban Jungle Bloggers: One Plant - Three Styles

House plants not only create a more healthy and natural living environment, they add also to your personal interior styling. Recently we can see more and more green additions to stylish interiors - on blogs, in interior magazines, in shops. In order to show you the wide range of possibilities when it comes to green stylings, we have decided to dedicate this month's Urban Jungle Bloggers series to styling with plants. The challenge for all our participating bloggers was easy: Pick one plant and style it three ways!

Whether you prefer a monochromatic space, colorful interiors, ethnic accents or a modern home - plants perfectly fit into every style and inject the fresh vibe of nature into your home. 

But I need to admit one thing: Styling was pretty challenging for me this month. I was very often traveling and the rest of the time working in the office. The result was that I lacked time and natural light for my self-inflicted task. However, there was one single Sunday that gave me the opportunity to play around with my plants. And today you can see the result.

First challenge was to pick one of my house plants. After some pondering and trying, I've opted for my Sansevieria Cylindrica also known as Cylindrical Snake Plant or African Spear, a succulent plant native to Angola. I picked it for its sculptural look as I felt it might be the ideal shape to style around with a few props I found at home.

As for the three stylings I felt a bit desperate at the beginning - after so many design fairs in January I felt overexposed to stylings but I had to get a grip of myself, right? I looked around on my shelves, in my drawers, under my sideboards and I rounded-up a few props that I felt could work for my task. Now it was time to decide what goes with what and what's the theme? Here come my three plant stylings:

Styling 1: The Playful Gentleman

This styling was inspired by geometrical shapes and a very reduced colour scheme. I chose a black, cubic plant pot and kept the vignette rather clean and simple. A black and white portrait adds visual impact and the watch in the front implies that the playful gentleman has just arrived at home. This vignette has a playful yet adult look-and-feel with a slight Scandinavian touch.

Styling 2: The Savvy Traveler

Inspired by my busy period earlier this year, I wanted to visualize my love for traveling with this styling. The colour scheme is rather calm too with blue-grey nuances but it gets a more vibrant touch through the use of a natural clay plant pot. The book refers to the yummy food I discover on my trips, the illustration shows the streets of a foreign city, the little packed box symbolizes my luggage and the seal recalls border crossings. All this is topped with a candle saying 'Love' - cause after all I love traveling.

Styling 3: The Paris City Boy

Yup, that's me too - almost. Paris has become my second home and this styling is dedicated to my Paris life. A more colorful vignette with fresh greens and yellows, music for the ears, my favorite books in a treasury glass box and a candle for the cosiness in a Paris rooftop apartment - young and urban.

Now I am wondering: What do you think of my three plant stylings? And even more interesting: which one is your favorite? Please let me know in the comment section!

And thanks to all bloggers who participated this month in our Urban Jungle Bloggers series!

Urban Jungle Bloggers is a monthly series initiated by 2 bloggers: Igor (Happy Interior Blog) and Judith (JOELIX.com). Every month we share ideas to create an urban jungle through styling ideas, DIYs and green tips & tricks. You can find additional inspiration on our Urban Jungle Bloggers Pinterest board and keep up-to-date on our Facebook page. Want to join? Use #urbanjunglebloggers on Twitter and Instagram. Or let us know and we'll share the badge and upcoming topics with you. Let's bring some green into your homes and blogs!

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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