6 Ways To Decorate With Plants
Want to learn 6 great ways to decorate with plants? Before our guest authors share 6 fabulous tips, I simply must tell you about their beautiful new book for plant lovers called Wohnen in Gruen (German) and in English, Urban Jungle. Who wrote it? Igor Josifovic (from The Happy Interior blog) and Judith de Graaff (from Joelix) with photography by Lina Skukauskė and illustrations by Saar Manche! What a great team! This lush, green beauty came about three years after Igor and Judith initially formed their online community, "Urban Jungle Bloggers" with a blog under the same name. Maybe you've heard of it?
Urban Jungle (the book) is fabulous guide to decorating with plants and the focus is really on the plants - from the best to use to proper care, DIY projects and so much more. If you love plants this book is definitely going to make you smile. I have the English copy and it's a beautiful book filled with green inspo for every corner of your home and office. The 5 European homes inside are so fresh and very natural, not fussy, and don't intimidate - the focus isn't on fashionable high style or over budget decor and properties - it's on the plants and how people use them to create a home filled with the beauty of plant life.
In Urban Jungle, you'll meet the homeowners for each of the five stories who are based in Turkey, France, England, Germany and the Netherlands, and tour their homes to see how they style and live with plants. There are 18 bloggers who also took part in the book sharing their own nooks filled with green style. AND, if that isn't enough, you will also learn all about (and how to care for) Cactus, Succulents, Aloe Vera, Monstera, Oxalis Triangularis, Ficus elastica, Calathea, Palms, Sanservieria and Pilea Peperomiodes under Plant Portraits along with 6 crafty DIY projects and loads of plant styling tips throughout from 18 bloggers who contributed to this book, too.
Here are some of my favorite images from the book with tips on living with plants beneath each from authors, Igor and Judith.
1. Airy and playful: The plant arrangement in the living room of the French blogger and creative professional Morgane Frimane in Toulouse features a charming Oxalis and Pilea plant in hanging planters among other houseplants in this green corner.
2. Mix your pots. Dutch blogger and vintage expert Marij Hessels waters her plants in the hallway. Marij loves to combine vintage plant pots with contemporary versions and adds her own twist with DIY-planters.
3. Across a window. Labofem is the lush plant studio of Istanbul local Fem Güclütürk who runs her plant business close to her home and both, studio and home, boast with an eclectic mix of plants of all kinds and sizes, such as these wonderful hanging plants in her studio. It's a great way to use the vertical space for hanging plants when your room is too small for bigger plants.
5. Mix plants & matching art. In the home office of German blogger Pepper Schmidt in Heidelberg, her style aesthetic mixes Scandinavian influences with ethnic patterns and handcrafted items. Extra visual effect for your plant styling: Match your plant with the adequate botanical illustrations!
6. Go Non-Toxic for the kiddies. The bright kids room at the home of German blogger Pepper Schmidt features among soft toys a few plants too. In kids rooms opt for non-toxic plants without spikes or keep the cacti out of reach of your toddler!
MEET IGOR AND JUDITH: Watch Igor and Judith present their book and do a signing at Meet The Blogger in Amsterdam on October 1 (tickets available here).
Good job Igor and Judith, thank you so much for sending me your book to review and I can't wait to see your presentation at Meet The Blogger!
(Photography: Lina Skukauskė with permission, Book cover photo: Holly Becker for decor8)