Urban Gardens

Patrick Blanc vertical garden wall behind glass at Marité et François Girbaud shop in Paris

It’s been a week of creative inspiration and as I pack it all up from Paris for my to return to New York, I will be bringing with me a wealth of innovative and eco-friendly ideas that work terrifically in small spaces, both indoors and out.  I know customs won’t let me bring plants back to the US, but I will have some tucked safely away in my imagination.

Here’s a little glimpse, but I’ll report back with more when I settle in chez moi…

Compagnie’s Table-Pot spotted at Maison & Objet 2010

One of my favorites, Compagnie, was a standout for pushing the idea of bringing the outdoors in and for blending the two. I love designer Adrien Gardère’s Table-Pot, a lacquered aluminum table whose cut-out middle portion allows a tree or tall plant to grow either on your terrace or in your living room.

Compagnie’s Console Babylone

Here’s where you can use your verdant imagination. Designer Jean-François Bellemère’s clever steel and aluminum Console Babylone is a potting table cum planted table with sliding top pieces that allow you to vary the amount of space allotted for plants while still leaving you with a flat tabletop area. The base is great for storing your empty pots or for placing other planted ones.

Compagnie’s Cloison Etcetera

Designer Vincent Vandenbrouck’s Cloison Etcetera, which suspends nine pots on metal supports, is intended to bring the vertical garden indoors. You can hang a series of them from your ceiling along a wall experimenting with different plants. You may need some artificial lighting depending on location.

Stay tuned for more cool trend reports from Maison & Objet and Paris!