All photos courtesy Horticus Living.
Having a large collection of plants is amazing, but it can get a little crowded with our floor space disappearing pretty quickly. This is particularly true for city dwellers.
43 percent of Londoners live in a flat, the most of any region in the UK, promoting the move of our gardening skills to our balconies and our living rooms. With the mean average UK one-bedroom home being 46 square meters ( or 495 square feet), according to Riba, space is one of the issues these horticulturalists face.
By focusing on a desire to nurture carefully grown fauna, UK company Horticus Living has rethought the living wall, made it more flexible, and kept the practice of cultivation while keeping a minimalistic lifestyle.
Horticus is a modular living wall system that can grow in keeping with your botanical demands. You choose the size and layout according to your preference and it doesn’t have to be all plants either. Use an empty planter for mementoes or select from pods with different functions.
You can grow your living wall at your own pace. There is no need to get a lot of plants straight away to have the impact.
Horticus Living’s small kit consists of 1 powder coated steel frame and 3 terracotta planters and can add a touch of jungle to a bathroom, bring fresh herbs to a kitchen and a sense of calm to a living room. Planters are made from terracotta and can be lifted in and out of the frame. Even better, the planters can be watered from above through a grid of watering holes.
The combination of powder coated frame with terracotta brings a natural feel to interiors while offering a fantastic contrast to the greenery.
Are you looking for a way to help out this new year? Rest easy with these new sheets.
The Good Sheet, a luxury bedding brand based in Tasmania, Australia partnered with non-profit organization, One Tree Planted, is planting five trees in its home state of Tasmania with every bedding set sold.
The ability to allow customers to make a positive environmental impact with their purchase is in harmony with a recent change in business direction towards sustainably produced bedding, which draws inspiration from the beauty of Tasmania’s nature.
Founder of The Good Sheet, Kamila Scholz said, “We are absolutely thrilled to have found a partner in One Tree Planted who shares our values and helps make our business a force for good. We’re very happy that beyond creating beautiful bedding, we can also do something positive for our local environment, right here in Tasmania. We want our customers to sleep even better knowing they helped plant a forest while they sleep.”
Over 80-percent of native species in Australia are not found anywhere else, and Tasmania is where many of the country’s threatened species can find refuge. Some, like the Tasmanian Devil, Eastern Quoll, Eastern Bettong and Eastern Barred Bandicoot are virtually extinct on the mainland so protecting their last remaining habitat in Tasmania is critical. The Good Sheet will work together with One Tree Planted to help restore vital wildlife corridors in the midlands region of Tasmania which has experienced significant habitat depletion.
This project will not only help protect and restore Tasmania’s biodiversity and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere but also revitalize local farming and create jobs. “When you think about tree restoration, it’s not only about fighting climate change it’s also about maintaining ecosystems,” says researcher Jean-Francois Bastin from the Institute of Integrative Biology in Zurich.
Trees planted through this project are chosen for their suitability and benefit to the local environment. They include several types of Eucalyptus and Acacia trees and sometimes others, depending on the specific needs of the local habitat.
Photos courtesy of The Good Sheet
Cuba’s capital, Havana, is celebrating its 500th year anniversary in November this year, a legacy that has led to a delightful cultural atmosphere, one that has drifted into the design sector. The style of Havana decor is a wonderful, bright and fun, as well as easy to replicate with a few simple touches. Here are some key trends that easily bring Cuban decor into your home.
Cuban decor is nostalgic and charming — a trend that is likely here to stay. With a few easy touches, a room can be transformed into a bright and fun haven to enjoy a mojito in as if you were in Havana!
Whether it’s using bold colors or finding new ways to embrace the sunshine, here are a few tips to brighten your home in time for summer.
By Alyssa Gautieri
Add Pops of Color
Summer is the perfect time to bring bright colors into your home to create a fresh look. From throw pillows and cozy blankets to candles and vases, there are endless ways to bring new color into a space without a complete renovation. Sunny yellow, water’s edge blue and tropical pink are among the top shades of the summer, according to HGTV.
Swap Out Dark Curtains
Embracing natural light is important year-round, but it is especially important for homeowners in the summer. Natural sunlight creates a brighter and lighter feel, which parallels the ambiance of summer. Dark curtains trap natural light from entering a room, which can make a space feel dark and cold. Meanwhile sheer, bright-colored curtains help to bring the outdoors in.
This garden floral pillow from MacKenzie-Childs embodies summer with its cheerful colors — available at $295.
Freshen up your space with Safavieh’s Ivey’s hand-knotted rug, offered at $1,799.
Offered at $26,000, Jay Strongwater’s leaf and flower mirror can brighten any space.
Don’t Fear Floral
Although floral patterns have been around forever, they never seem to go out of style. Whether hoping for a vintage feel or a modern look, bring personality into your home with new curtains, a rug or tablecloth. If you’re feeling bold, a floral chair or lampshade can completely transform a room. While floral prints may seem intimidating, Real Simple reminds us not to be afraid to mix floral with floral.
Get Creative with Mirrors
In addition to their obvious function, mirrors can help to prepare your home for summer. Using mirrors creatively in your home can help to capture light and project it into dark corners. Depending on the angle and placement, mirrors can create illusions to make a space feel bigger and brighter, according to Country Living.
Embrace Plant Life
Whether living or faux, greenery and flowers bring life into any space. Resembling the outdoors in the summer, the bright yet soothing greens, pinks and purples of plant life can bring a summer-like feeling into your home.
This hand-carved wood log filled with silk succulents and cactus, by T&C Floral Company and priced at $625, is the perfect addition to any living area.
Photos courtesy of Neiman Marcus