Tag Archives: Garden

Japanese zen gardens inspired the sinuous design of this shapeshifting timber table

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Outside In is a multifunctional, shapeshifting table that incorporates hand-carved grooves into its timber frame to resemble the raked ruts of Japanese zen gardens.

Japanese zen gardens have supplied ceaseless inspiration for designers. While the sheer meditative quality of zen gardens is enough to insight some new ideas, the artful design of zen gardens rakes its own creative vision for designers. Melbourne-based furniture, lighting, and object design company Sabu Studio found its own creative vision by way of Japanese zen gardens when designing the minimalist Outside In table.

Designer: Sabu Studio x Samuel Burns

Designed for his collection of personal and bespoke projects, Sabu Studio founder Samuel Burns designed Outside In to be a multifunctional, shapeshifting table defined by its sinuous timber surface that resembles the hand-raked grooves of a zen garden.

While the tabletop’s timber grooves resemble zen gardens’ raked ruts, they also double as rails for hand-carved granite and marble elements to slide between and provide functional flat surfaces. Two halves of a rectangular marble element can separate to create two small flat surfaces. Or, when users need a larger tabletop surface, the two halves come together to form a larger rectangle.

Burns turned to the flow of water and Japanese zen gardens to introduce elements of nature to interior city spaces. Fully functional as a table, Outside In is a crafty piece of furniture that would look right at home in hospitality common spaces or even event halls.

Explaining the piece’s origins, Burns notes, “The primary aim of Outside In was to introduce a sense of the natural world into interior spaces through form and symbolism. The design investigates materials dialogues and the notion of synergy, each object can shift and slide across the surface in a circular motion.”

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This self-watering indoor planter is constructed from porous materials to prevent the spread of mold

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Mate is a self-watering indoor planter constructed from porous materials with a water basin that allows plants to deliver water to their roots at their own pace.

Indoor planters have taken off in recent years, mostly due to how much more time we’re spending at home. While you can’t beat a home garden, indoor planters and gardens offer a unique alternative for those who’d prefer a bit of green to spruce up their living room or access to fresh herbs and vegetables for cooking in the kitchen.

Designer: Umberto Calle

Self-watering indoor planters use a method of irrigation called sub-irrigation that delivers water directly to the plant’s roots, allowing plants to drink water at their own pace. Italian product and industrial designer Umberto Calle found functionality through simplicity with his self-watering indoor planter called Mate.

Comprised of only four pieces, Mate hosts a transparent bottom that functions as the device’s water basin for the upper layers to absorb from when needed. Users need only fill the water basin when levels are too shallow and then the plant’s roots drink from this reservoir whenever necessary. Fastening into this bottom layer, Calle designed an outer pot to cover the main planter, which works to supply the soil with plenty of air.

The main planter locks into the outer pot and carries the soil for the crops. Alternatively, the outer pot can lock into place above the main planter to make room for larger plants, augmenting the device’s size from 1.5 to 15 L. At the base of it all, Mate has a removable button that detaches the non-stick cake pan to initiate the reporting process.

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Many self-watering planters currently on the market are known to cause root rot because of the material used to construct them. Mate is made from porous materials like clay and concrete to allow for breathable plant cultivation. To prevent the widespread mold problem that most indoor planters face, Calle chose porous building material specifically to divide the water and air flows.

Comprised of only four pieces, Mate is built to do the hard of plant cultivation so all you have to do is show some love. 

Mate comes in two sizes, 1.5L and 15L.

The main water basin collects water for plants to drink from and nourish their roots when needed. 

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Hulasol gives you light and shade by your poolside and patio

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If and when I do become rich (or at least better off) someday, one of my dreams is to have a small pool in the backyard where I can sunbathe, take a nap, hang out with friends, journal, read, or do whatever I want aside from swimming. So when I saw this new product called Hulasol, I knew I had to add it to my “someday I’ll own this but first I need to have money” list of things to buy. Well, after I get that pool of course.

Designer: Peter Mortelmans, Lin Bertels, Amandus Van Quaille

The word Hulasol might make you think of a hybrid hula hoop and parasol. Well, the latter is right. It’s basically a sun umbrella with a twist, created by Belgian manufacturer Hulasol. By day, it can serve as your typical parasol to protect you from the harsh rays of the sun while sitting by the pool, garden, or patio. At night, it can turn into a light source to serve as a poolside decoration or if you feel like reading or journaling outdoors, it can serve as your lamp.

Your parasol has a mobile circular base so it can be easily moved to any part of your backyard. When you’ve found your spot, the wheels can lock the device firmly into place. It is also designed to withstand “substantial weather resistance” although I’m not sure if it can withstand a hurricane or tornado. At least for rain or strong winds or even snowfall, you know its aerodynamic designed canopy will be able to withstand it.

For the mood lighting feature, there is a smartphone app that can help you control the lighting that you need for the moment. You can even automate when it turns on and what level of lighting you want it to be so you don’t need to turn it on or off every time it gets dark or before you go to sleep. There are four colors to choose from Ivory, Graphite, Taupe, and Bordeaux but for the color frame and base, the choices are white and black.

It comes with a protective cover as well and can fold and be stored somewhere easily, in case you have no need for it and it just stands in the way. But if I had one, I will probably keep it displayed most of the time as it is both useful and decorative.

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This household plant cultivator doubles as a compost bin for users to fertilize their kitchen waste

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Designed to reduce domestic waste, Paradise is an automated plant cultivator and compost bin that uses integrated technology to prompt users when the compost or plants need tending.

As our worlds slowly retreat to the confines of our homes, our time spent outdoors has gradually decreased. While nothing beats the great outdoors, biophilia-inspired household products have come out as a result of the pandemic to turn our homes into glorified greenhouses. Integrating greenery into our interior spaces has never been more popular from vertical gardens to planter cork boards.

While spending more time at home has brought some much-needed rejuvenation to our interior design, it has also contributed to a global increase in domestic waste. Inspired to change that, designer Robin Akira created Paradise, a household plant cultivator with integrated compost bins and an odor-sealing lid to make use of and reduce our domestic waste.

Conceptualized as a rolling cart, Paradise is comprised of modular pieces that work together to provide optimal conditions for growing plants. Starting from its top, Paradise features an LED strip that pours artificial sunlight over integrated planters located on top of Paradise’s first module.

Lined with six different planters, the first module is where all the action takes place. The first module is actually a top lid that lifts to reveal a water reservoir. The water reservoir allows space for extra water to pour into as the plants above are watered.

Just beneath the water reservoir, users can find a status bar that indicates the overall health of each plant. Paradise hosts an internal chip that keeps track of plant conditions, as Akira explains, “[an] internal chip of the machine controls temperature, (35℃-55℃) intelligent constant temperature fermentation, a regular reminder to discharge fertilizer liquid, storage for secondary use.” The fertilizer bin is located just below this status bar.

The deep fertilizing bin stands just to the left of an embedded case for a shovel. There, users can deposit their kitchen waste over the soil before adding fertilizing bacteria to start the process.

Then, once the contents are mixed together, an odor-sealing lid can be placed on top for composting to begin. The machine takes care of the rest, prompting users to discharge the fertilizer liquid and indicating when the composting has finished.

Designer: Robin Akira

Not too big and not too small, Paradise packs a lot of functions into a single product appropriate for any sized home. 

Paradise is comprised of multiple modules for easy assembly and intuitive operation.

The caster wheels afford a sense of portability, requiring only to be plugged in for use. 

The status bar indicated to users when the compost is finished and when plants need tending.

An integrated water reservoir discharges excess water once the internal chip alerts users.

The square container is where users can compost their kitchen scraps and then an additional rectangular container allows users to store their compost. 

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This sustainable forest complex absorbs CO2 and produces oxygen to mitigate the effects of urbanization!

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Easyhome Huanggang Vertical Forest City Complex, comprised of five sustainable green towers, was built to mitigate the effects of urbanization and fight for the environmental survival of our cities.

As our cities become increasingly popular destinations for younger generations, the need to introduce sustainable and biophilic architecture has never felt more urgent. As we face urban expansion and densification, architects are taking initiative to ensure the environmental survival of our contemporary cities. Italian architect Stefano Boeri has found promise in vertical city forest complexes, a form of biophilic architecture that incorporates teeming greenery into the very structure of residential buildings. Easyhome Huanggang Vertical Forest City Complex is Boeri’s latest sustainable undertaking, a forest complex in Huanggang, Hubei, China “intended to create a completely innovative green space for the city.”

Bounded by three streets, Easyhome covers 4.54 hectares and comprises five towers, each of which connects with an open, public space. 404 different trees fill out the layout of Easyhome, absorbing 22 tons of carbon dioxide and producing 11 tons of oxygen over the span of a year. Helping to mitigate smog and produce oxygen, the trees incorporated into Easyhome also increase biodiversity by attracting new bird and insect species. 4,620 shrubs and 2,408 square meters of grass, flowers, and climbing plants are also spread throughout Easyhome’s structure in addition to the complex’s tree species.

Easyhome’s rhythmic, modular facade also lends itself to increased biodiversity by mimicking the incongruent, wild look of nature. Rising 80 meters in height, two of the five towers are residential buildings, while the other towers remain in use as hotels and large commercial spaces. As Boeri is no stranger to vertical green complexes, he has worked on many urban forestry projects. Everywhere, from Milan to Cairo, Boeri has designed forest complexes to help mitigate the harmful effects of urbanization. However, Easyhome is a new type of vertical forest.

Describing the building’s difference in his own words, Boeri writes, “the floors have cantilevered elements that interrupt the regularity of the building and create a continuous ever-changing movement, accentuated by the presence of trees and shrubs selected from local species.” In addition to the building’s undulating facades and rugged appeal, Easyhome implements a combination of open-air balconies and closed-off terraces to blue the transitional boundary between nature and human-centered environments. This incongruent configuartion of the building’s exterior also allows the greenery to grow freely in height and foliage, the way it would in natural forests.

Designer: Stefano Boeri Architetti

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This hanging light fixture doubles as a planter to bring nature indoors

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Jungle is a one-part light fixture and one-part planter that can be suspended from the ceiling by two lengthy fabric straps.

Ever since we started working from home, biophilic design has been our saving grace. Created from the intersection of nature and the indoors, biophilic design typically combines some aspect of nature with interior design or architecture.

Designer: KABO & PYDO

Most commonly in homes across the world, indoor gardens are a form of biophilic design. Interpreting biophilia in a similar way, Jungle, designed by Poland-based KABO & PYDO design studio, is a planter that can hang from the ceiling and also function as a semi-flush mount light fixture.

Comprised of only a few parts, the beauty of Jungle lies in the design’s simplicity. Defined by a bulbous, capsule-shaped centerpiece, Jungle is a half-planter and half-light fixture. The capsule-shaped planter emanates a warm, golden light that’s diffused with an opaque body. The opaque body softens the light and accentuates the plant life by offering an unassuming canvas for teeming greenery to drape across.

 

As the designers describe, “The simple form of a glowing vessel is a perfect background emphasizing the beauty of the main actors – plants. The lamp emits a soft, silky-smooth light that creates a relaxing atmosphere, ideal for places such as the chill-out zone. Light and nature will help you relax.”

Hanging from the ceiling, the light fixture is suspended by two lengthy fabric straps that merge with the ceiling for a seamless look. Watertight by design, the opaque, plastic lampshade keeps a simple, modern look that fits right into any living room.

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This recycled concrete brick features small cavities, creating a safe nesting site for solitary bees

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The Bee Brick Bee Home is a concrete brick with built-in cavities that provide safe nesting sites for solitary bees in your garden or community park.

There’s nothing more complicated than our relationship with bees. We admire them from afar and certainly can indulge in the fruit of their labor, but all bets are off once they get too close. Once they decide that your home’s shingles provide the perfect conditions to build a nest, let terror reign.

Designer: Green&Blue

For all that they might provoke, our fear can be misguided and even unwarranted. Bees are some of the most important and hardworking caretakers of our planet’s ecosystems. Solitary bees, in particular, are known for being non-aggressive as they have no hive or queen to protect, so they won’t sting potential threats.

Creating a means for solitary bees to have a nesting site and to help our declining bee population, Green&Blue designed the Bee Brick Bee House, a concrete brick, made from 75% recycled material, with built-in cavities for red mason and leafcutter bees to have a safe nesting site.

The Cornwall-based design studio, Green&Blue devotes the bulk of its designs to wildlife and nature initiatives–the Bee Brick Bee House is no different. Designed for gardeners, and wildlife enthusiasts alike, the Bee Brick Bee House can be integrated into any garden, brick shelter, or outdoor space where bees frequent. In fact, a new planning requirement in Brighton and Hove calls for all new buildings that rise above five meters to integrate bee bricks into their build, as well as bird nesting boxes suitable for swifts.

Since the Bee Brick Bee House is a functional, concrete brick, it can be integrated into any brick structure the same way a traditional brick is used for building. The brick’s cavities provide a safe space for solitary bees to nest and populate. Speaking to this, Green&Blue designers suggest, “Bee houses can be a simple way to do something to help our declining bee population, alongside bee-friendly planting and other wildlife-friendly measures.”

The cavities vary in size to accommodate all kinds of bees. 

The concrete brick can be integrated into any building’s structure. 

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This multifunctional wall organizer comes with modular planters to add some greenery to your WFH office!

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Fahredin Kosumi’s Wall Organizer and Mess-Free Planter is a WFH multi-functional, organizational wall accessory that allows users to organize their office and add some greenery in the process!

Working from home has changed the way we approach interior design. Functionality has never been more important and that means space-saving, multifunctional design pieces have taken center stage. Space-saving designs typically have an organizational edge to them that keeps our heads screwed on right and makes the most of our available living areas.

Designer: Fahredin Kosumi

No matter the size of your living space, multi-use furniture helps to keep both the floor and our minds free from clutter. Adding his own multi-functional, organizational WFH design to the mix, Fahredin Kosumi created a Wall Organizer and Mess-Free Planter to form a magnetic, modular garden to mount on any vertical surface.

Defined by an assembly system close to LEGO building blocks, Kosumi’s Wall Organizer and Mess-Free Planter come with base grids that attach to walls with 3M strips, requiring no hardware or tools in the process. Once users form their base grid on their chosen vertical surface, the fun begins. Stocked with over 20 different modules, Kosumi’s Wall Organizer and Mess-Free Planter come with hangers, magnetic clips, transparent storage containers, planters, and cubbies.

From there, users can choose between different modules, from cork pinboards to planters, and begin adding to their Wall Organizer. Constructed from PAFCAL, Kosumi’s Wall Organizer and Mess-Free Planter is produced in Japan and is entirely recyclable. PAFCAL is a ground-breaking material that originated in Japan, made from 70% air and 30% water, and allows users to have plants without worrying about watering them.

 

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Tiny ceramic planters that can be pinned create fun, customizable planters for WFH offices

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Flora is a WFH wall accessory that combines an organizational cork pinboard with hanging planters molded from jesmonite.

With WFH orders sending us to the far reaches of our bedrooms-slash-offices, there’s never been a better excuse to accessorize. New designs for organizers, stationary, and desks have redefined what working from home could look like.

Designer: Préssec Design

Over recent years, designers have created multifunctional WFH appliances by integrating elements like hidden storage units and organizers into appliances like chairs and desks to make the workday at home feel just as efficient as it feels in the office. Today, designers from Sydney-based Préssec Design have developed Flora, a wall garden system that combines a cork pinboard with hanging planters.

Molded from jesmonite, Flora features specks of color for a modern take on terrazzo, a form of composite material originating in 16th-century Italy. Conceived as a passion project during the lockdown, the designers at Préssec Design first made Floria from concrete casting. Once they achieved their desired look for Flora, they turned it up a notch and gave jesmonite a try.

The team of designers chose to work with jesmonite to give the wall garden system a seamless look like each planter was bulging from the corkboard. Merging each planter with the wall behind it, Préssec designers looked to thumbtacks to latch the planters’ corners to the corkboard. These thumb tacks are made up of different colors for users to customize the look of Flora.

While jesmonite gave Préssec designers the chance to experiment with the overall look of Flora, maintaining the concrete casting’s crisp edges was a challenge. Following periods of research and prototyping, the team of designers settled on a silicone mold for the jesmonite casting.

Explaining their process, Préssec designers describe, “It took a lot of experimenting with the ratios of the different aggregates but we got it to a point where we maintained the structure and kept the crisp edges of the design.⁠”

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The smart flower system with climate control automatically helps grow plants sans human involvement

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Arguably, greens inside the house spread healthy, positive vibes to relax the body and mind. But caring for these plants inside the house is not everyone’s piece of cake. Some people try very hard but to no avail. This is where smart planters step in. Using high-tech monitoring and growing techniques – with minimum human effort – these planters can water, care for the soil, and automatically adjust the environment to intensify plant growth.

Smart planters are available dime a dozen. While some options rely on artificial light to help grow greens in shadier parts of the house, there are others that keep the plants happy and healthy autonomously. In the already crowded, but high-demand segment, designer Evgeniya Burmistrova has introduced a smart flower system with climate control that takes care of the plants independently and leaves you with a green, inviting environment at home.

Designer: Evgeniya Burmistrova

This smart planter can monitor the condition of the air, soil and the plant to ensure it receives the right amount of water and light to grow healthier. Designed with the working population in mind (who have less time to care for their plants, but love to have them in their indoors), the plant pot can artificially control humidity, air temperature, and more to ensure plants do not die during the user’s long absence. This endeavor can be further beneficial for the users, who can through a mobile app, control, monitor and see the plant’s performance from anywhere.

This flower system comprises three elements: a pair of smart flower pots and a stand. While all components are designed to work independently, they are best used together, with the two pots hanging from the stand. The stand is as versatile as the planters; it is usable in both vertical and horizontal orientations and can rotate 360-degrees. The pots and the stand all have their own LED backlight that works as the light source to provide natural light for Photosynthesis.

This means, no matter the type of plant you’ve got, this smart flower system will take best care of it even when you can’t. A planter like this is bound to look good at home and make indoor gardening pleasurable for all (irrespective of an individual’s time or knowledge).

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