Why we should give terrariums another shot
Courtesy of homemade-nyc.com
Once a marvel of the indoor plant game, terrariums finally reached peak Pinterest saturation in 2014 along with mason jars to make way for 2015's obsession with fiddle leaf figs and Scandinavian design – a New York designer is on a mission to bring back the rein of terrariums.
Taking his love for plants and the Big Apple, Brooklyn-based designer Huy Bui has cultivated a way to shed a new light on terrariums. His co-founded project Plant-in City “takes Terrariums to the 21st century. It's architecture for sustaining plant life,” he said in an interview with freundevonfreunden. Plant-in City is a collection of MINI stackable terrariums. The concept stemmed from the dis-comfort of space constraint and living in a city like New York where everything is arranged one top of another to save space.
Fusing plants with a polished wood and metal, these modern-day terrariums are a reflection of art, sanctuaries to house plants and testaments to urban living. “These units are like pre-fab homes, but for plants” he told freundevonfreunden.
Each of the terrariums are unique according to their architectural elements and composition. Using off-cuts of only NY state wood that has been sustainably harvested, each of the pieces interlock in the same way as Lego, while features such as cross-bracing and cantilevered beams make-up the rest of this stunning mini structure.
The Steel terrariums which include the ‘Air Terrarium’ - one Bui’s most popular pieces that features a steel frame with a delicately hand crafted wired web that holds an air plant, are formed using a steel fabricator with a number of finishes including a natural polish, black patina, oxidized and a trending cooper-plated finish. The steel terrariums like the wooden reflect the same dimensions however have both structural advantages and disadvantages.
BLACK PATINA AIR TERRARIUM
Plants are resilient, responsive and purify the air around us. Bui has helped encourage us to give these indoor sanctuaries in this elegant, classic and modern approach another shot in place of the moss-filled jars and vases.
Here's three new school takes on the terrarium to try at home:
Rodger Stevens Thin Wire Terrarium, Double Bubble by West Elm
