Urban Jungle Bloggers: My Plant Gang & Airbnb Apartment In Bordeaux

This month's Urban Jungle Bloggers topic comes a bit earlier than usually. Which included a major challenge for me - I was on vacation until last Sunday in France. Consequently I had no time to style up and shoot my plant gang at home. But you know, challenges trigger creativity, right? So instead of making night pictures at my home, I simply decided to share my plant gang at home away from home - in the fantastic airbnb apartment where I was staying in Bordeaux, France. So today's Urban Jungle Bloggers post is about my Bordeaux-bound plant gang and a little home tour. On y va!

The idea to set my plant gang into the airbnb apartment in Bordeaux was triggered the very first moment when I entered the apartment. I loved its light flooded rooms, the minimal styling, the magnificent old wooden flooring and there was one large plant in the living room - a big and healthy Pachira tree. But one plant is not a gang, right? On the other hand, an Urban Jungle Blogger is not a simple tourist, but one that visits plant shops too, right? Thus one morning I found myself exploring a plant shop in the neighborhood and doing my way of 'souvenir shopping' - I got myself some nice plants.

I was beyond happy to find two plants that I had on my wish list for quite a while (I mentioned them in our interview on The Sill) - I bought a cute pink Sedum rubrotinctum and an Aeonium cyclops (both of which I brought back to Munich). I also bought a tiny Lithops plant, a Nerium oleander and what I think to be a Gilt Edge plant. Voilà my plant gang at home away from home!

The airbnb apartment in Bordeaux was a perfect choice for my city trip. It is located in the city's old town overlooking a lively square, the Place du Palais with magnificent building. The apartment features an airy living room with an integrated kitchen, a bright bedroom, a small corner room and a second mezzanine bedroom plus a bathroom and restroom. I loved all the old details in the apartment: the already mentioned wooden flooring with its outstanding pattern, the high ceilings and plastering, the beautiful windows, the old brass window handles - in one word, this will be my place of choice again if I return to Bordeaux one day. Soon I will share more about this beautiful city in the southwest of France. In the meantime I am off to see all your plant gangs!

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!

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Swinging Plant With Tina Frey Designs

Recently I said in a video that I have around 30 plants in my apartment of around 30 square meters - thus one plant per square meter. Admittedly, it gets a bit tricky to find a place for new plants so the only solution I have is to go up high - with hanging planters. In one of the past Urban Jungle Bloggers posts I showed you some of my hanging planters but as of today I the happy owner of a super nice hanging planter made of resin. This swinging beauty is the handmade work of San Francisco based Tina Frey Designs, the place for all happy things made of resin.

My Pothos plant has found a very happy and joyfully swinging home - the new hanging square vessel, hand sculpted by Tina Frey in San Francisco. This hanging planter is part of the new Urban Garden Collection by Tina Frey Designs launching this spring.

I love the simplicity of this planter, its wonderfully smooth resin surface and the handmade shape with slight imperfections. Moreover I think this hanging planter has a cool mid-century modern vibe. If you like it too, how about if I tell you that I have one more hanging planter just like mine to give away?

The hanging planter is perfect for all kind of cascading or vining plants. But it also works for small plants that can swing up in the air - your choice! I've opted for a Pothos plant, one of those hard-to-kill plants that has hardly any requests. It can grow in a bright place as well as in shady corners, it thrives in dry soil as well as in water - simply put, it is perfect if you want some growing greens without being stressed about plant care. Now if you feel ready for a Pothos plant, join the giveaway and with a bit of luck you'll call this cool Tina Frey Designs hanging planter your very own.

To win one Tina Frey Designs hanging square vessel 15 in white just leave a comment below and follow me on Instagram as well as Tina Frey Designs. For an extra chance visit JOELIX.com to win a large Tina Frey Designs bowl. The winner will be announced here on April 27th, 2015 and is open worldwide. Good luck and happy (green) week!

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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Urban Jungle Bloggers: Happy Green Easter!

The March topic of Urban Jungle Bloggers is basically a reedition of last year's seasonal topic - a green Easter styling with plants. To be honest, this month it was pretty tricky for me. First of all I was on holidays and had not prepared anything in advance and second, this year I will not be in Munich for Easter so I have not prepared anything regarding Easter decoration. However, I couldn't miss out the opportunity and had to come up with a very quick and easy green styling.

So what was my idea at all? I wanted to bring in some colours with my plants and use some blossoming plants for a change. I went to the local market last Saturday and found a lovely and delicate Fritillaria meleagris - also known as chess flower because it has chess patterned blooms. I also got a little bunch of catkin twigs because they belong to Easter like the Christmas tree to Christmas. I also added a cactus paddle I brought back from Sicily last week and potted it in my new blue planter from 'Small Spells' and prepared new tableware from the range 'Nordic Sand' by Broste Copenhagen for an Easter table setting.

I played along by swapping plants and adding my growing little cactus (a cutting that I sneaked out from a restaurant) under a glass cloche and another time I added my playful Oxalis triangularis plant with its butterfly like purple flowers. And to be honest, the only real Easter decor item are some chocolate eggs that I brought back from Sicily too. Well I am afraid that's it with my Easter styling for this year - nothing fancy or special. But after all I won't be here anyway.

Now I am off to get inspiration from all other Urban Jungle Bloggers posts with their Easter styling and I will eat up my only Easter decoration simultaneously - I am already at chocolate egg number three. Happy Easter dear Urban Jungle Bloggers!

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!

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Go Green With IKEA!

Today I am very excited to announce a fantastic new collaboration between the Urban Jungle Bloggers and IKEA Germany! Judith and I have teamed up with the German IKEA team for their new outdoor campaign and we want to encourage you all to go green together with us and IKEA Germany. In order to inspire you, both Judith and I have styled a few pieces of the beautiful new outdoor collection in our homes.

What I love about the new outdoor collection of IKEA is its versatility - it is made for any kind of homes. Whether you live in a spacious house or a tiny apartment, whether you have a balcony, a rooftop terrace or just a windowsill - the new outdoor collection will give you plenty of ideas and opportunities to add green into your own home.

My personal favorite is the new self-watering planter SÖTCITRON from IKEA. I love the simple yet smart solution - in fact I shared this idea with you as part of an Urban Jungle Bloggers post quite a while ago, do you remember (see it HERE)? The planters are Scandi minimalistic, typical for IKEA and ideal for all kinds of interiors. They have a lower part to fill up with water and an upper planter with soil and the plant. Both parts are connected by a nylon string that slowly transports the water from the lower to the upper part. With this pot you can literally go on long holidays and your plants will stay happy and healthy!

But we do not want to only show you our ideas, we want to see your green ideas and therefore we have come up with a green Instagram styling challenge that is packed with amazing goodies from IKEA Germany that you can win. Feel inspired to go green?

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:
How do you use IKEA products at home, in your garden, on your balcony or windowsill? How do you create that green jungle feeling? Share a picture of any kind of IKEA product and a plant(s) on Instagram with the hashtag #IKEAgogreen (for international participants) and/or #IKEAmachgrün (for German participants) as well as #urbanjunglebloggers. The first 50 pictures will win a nice little IKEA prize. From all entries, Judith and I will choose 3 favorites that will win a very special IKEA surprise package. Next week we will reveal what's in the surprise package on the Urban Jungle Bloggers website. You have until April 5th, 2015, to post your picture(s) with the hashtags on Instagram. Go green!

Styling by Igor Josifovic, photography by Lina Skukauske 

This blog post has been brought to you in collaboration with IKEA Germany

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Giveaway: Win One Urban Jungles Terrarium

We Urban Jungle Bloggers love plants and planters. We love our plants in pots, in crates, in hanging planters and in terrariums. And when an Urban Jungle Blogger meets a brand named Urban Jungles - it is a match made in plant heaven! And to make this heaven like feeling perfect, I am inviting you all, my dear readers, to rejoice in plant love because you can win one of the Urban Jungles terrariums for your home!

Urban Jungles is a Dutch brand specialized in plant terrariums with a small range of beautiful examples in the typical geometrical design. These little beauties are perfect for any plant lover - they make a cool urban appearance in any corner of your home.

I've filled my terrarium with dry, sandy soil and planted just a few little succulent babies I had in other pots. I added some of my rock crystals for good (plant) energy and left the main space for a lovely Tillandsia better known as airplant.

I experimented with the placement in my tiny home but I realized it makes a great appearance everywhere - on my sideboard in the bedroom where I created a little vignette, on my windowsill accompanied by the other plant siblings, on piles of books in my living room as a little visual highlight.

If you feel like your home is ready to host an Urban Jungles terrarium, here's the easy way to join the giveaway and win one terrarium of your choice. All you have to do is the following:

1. Leave a comment under this blogpost stating which terrarium model you want to win. Choose your favorite model in the webshop of Urban Jungles. 

2. You will find my Urban Jungles terrarium on my Instagram account too. Follow me on Instagram and leave a comment under the image to double your chance!

3. Hop over to my friend Judith's blog who is giving away one terrarium too and leave a comment there to triple your chances!

The giveaway is open worldwide and closes on Sunday, February 15th, midnight CET. Good luck!

Photography Igor Josifovic

This blog post and giveaway have been brought to you in collaboration with Urban Jungles

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