Urban Jungle Bloggers: My Plant Shelfie

urban jungle bloggers plant shelfie

I was quite excited for the challenge of this month’s Urban Jungle Bloggers post which was to style a plant ‘shelfie’.

It was also something of a celebration, because I recently had a clear-out in my home office and decluttered the shelves. So now I have room to display some plants and beautiful objects on them.

urban jungle bloggers my plant shelfie

What I especially like about the shelfie concept is how creative you can get with it.

I used it as a way to tell a visual story about some of my current design influences and things that I love. And I very much enjoyed the styling process

I chose to display a selection of succulents on my shelf. I recently developed a real liking for these plants, having gained an appreciation for them thanks to Igor and Judith (as well as other fellow Urban Jungle Bloggers).

urban jungle bloggers succulent in pot

Green and purple succulent

I love the different sculptural shapes and the subtle but diverse colours. Like this grey-green one with purple outline.

Some of the design styles that inspire me right now are Scandinavian meets Mediterranean and Ancient meets Modern – along with biophilic design. So my shelfie references all these elements.

Trailing succulent and glass paperweight

Biophilia of course manifests itself with the plants and is apparent with the natural wood. But it’s also alluded to with blues the colour of the sea, and the glass paperweight.  I like how the paperweight reflects the light and the fluidity of its shape, almost like water. And if you notice the drop pattern within, it’s similar to the drop-shaped leaves of the trailing succulent.

harp vase urban jungle bloggers shelfie

The Harp Vase is an ancient modern design. The birch ply references Scandinavian design. While terracotta and the turquoise of the vase (then echoed on the books) are typical Mediterranean colours. Turquoise also happens to be one of my favourite colours right now.

The books were included not just because it’s a bookshelf; but also because I love books and reading is one of my very favourite things to do.

Another theme I’ve been exploring recently is simplicity and re-purposing.

The grey platform, which adds layer and extra interest, is a box that once held floppy disks. It then became storage for material and colour swatches. But overturned, it makes a great plant platform in contemporary grey.

succulent in plywood plant holder

The small trailing succulent was a bit top heavy so had the idea of using the little plywood box – it fitted perfectly. It was handmade by my husband Samuel to hold paperclips on my desk. But it works so well as a plant holder too!

And the little birch ply platforms are in fact little business card holders that he also made for me. They give the other two little plants some subtle height and definition. And help tie all of them together in a group.

plant shelfie urban jungle bloggers

Samuel pointed out to me that the end result of the shelfie is that it looks rather like a little indoor garden. I think he’s right. How lovely it will be to have a taste of the outside in the office, over the winter months. Don’t you agree?

Urban Jungle Bloggers is a monthly series initiated by two bloggers: Igor of Happy Interior Blog and Judith of JOELIX.com. Every month bloggers from around the world join up and share ideas to create an urban jungle through styling ideas, DIYs, green tips and tricks. For even more inspiration, you can visit the Urban Jungle Bloggers website, Pinterest or Facebook Page.

[Images: Sarah Ansbacher]

Comments

  1. A wonderful plant shelfie, Sarah, but what I like above all is your detailed explanation of the styling process and why you chose the elements and plants. Great post and thanks again for joining our Urban Jungle Bloggers movement!

    • Thanks for having me and for your kind comments. So pleased you liked it 🙂 I really enjoyed the process of putting it all together, and then telling a story through styling, photography and words.

  2. So nice to hear about all the references in your styling, Sarah! I like that the detail of the paperweight echoes in the plants! Thanks for pointing it out, I would have missed it 😉 And your husband is right: it really looks like a little indoor garden, just lovely. Thanks for playing along again!

    • Judith – so pleased you liked it, and thanks for your lovely comments. Once again I really enjoyed being a part of Urban Jungle Bloggers, and learnt a lot along the way too. It also gave me a lot of inspiration, thinking about the idea of little indoor gardens for winter …