URBAN JUNGLE BLOGGERS | A wish for Christmas and New Year

I cannot believe how much time it was since my last post but I am very happy to be back on time to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. And there is no better way to do it than joining the Planty Wishes challenge of the Urban Jungle Bloggers community! We won't be spending these holidays at home as we will join my family in Italy but I managed to get some shots of our essential Christmas decorations for this year (have a look to my holidays inspirations here).

Christmas has always been an amazing time for me since I was very young: I used to put on my wellies and go for hunting in the family nursery and its surroundings and coming back with berries, fresh branches and funny things that I would decorate with ribbons and gold hues. In the older age (oh my..), I shifted from ribbons to a more minimal greenery style but foraging is still the best and funniest part of this. I have to go know for long strolls outside Barcelona ( and get my hubby's car a mess- which his allergy and himself are always grateful for...) but it was so special to do it this year as a family for the first time.

This was such a crazy year and, undoubtedly, the most amazing one as we welcome our little Bianca into our hearts and home. I hope to be able to share with you some moments here soon.

In the meanwhile, let me wish you all a wonderful Christmas time and a 2016 full of love, peace and happiness. A special thanks to dearest Igor and Judith, who created an amazing green hearts community.

Until my next post - that I promise will come much sooner -, let's keep in touch in Instagram!

 All images © facing north with gracia

URBAN JUNGLE BLOGGERS | My green workspace

Here we are with the September issue of the Urban Jungle Bloggers's Back to Work. This month's theme couldn't fit better the atmosphere of my studio that, after the holidays, has been transformed into a real jungle. I really felt an urge for green tones and luxurious plants next to me recently so, before coming back home from the seaside, we stopped at a local nurseries and did some shopping. Placing green plants in interiors, especially in a workplace, is extremely important for the relaxing effects greenery has on our mind and brain.

 

Monstera deliciosa is always a great choice and I was very happy to find a small specimen that could fit our flat: the idea is to let it grow a bit more and later place a grid where it can climb through. We bought also a Rhipsalis paradoxa, an epiphyte cacti, that has been placed on the String Pocket. An epiphyte is a plant that grows non-parasitically upon another plant,such as a tree, and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain etc. Therefore, they can be a bit tricky when grown on soil, like orchids. And last but not least, an Asparagus, one of my all-time favourite for its airy look and woodland memories.

 

All images © facing north with gracia

Our Home #7 | String Pocket love

My love for String System is well documented across the blog since its beginning. The bookshelves have been on my home wish list since I can remember I had one and I was very happy when the RAW String Pocket arrived at home last year. I saw it for the very first time thanks to the images Lotta Agaton published from her collaboration with the Swedish brand and I knew that new version had to be part of our place.

At the moment, the versatile bookshelf is placed in our home studio, just above my place. I love to style it from time to time with small objects and things I find during our walk around, especially with leaves and greenery. The touch of the shelves is very special, warm and almost sensual. Though String pocket has been introduced only in 2005 to provide a smaller and more flexible shelving solution, it has now become a fundamental part of the brand product range.  The kit consists of two panels and three shelves therefore, thanks to its special system, by adding just another kit will allow you to create many different solution, both horizontally and vertically.

As we need some extra storage space, I am considering of adding a FLOOR String System either in the living area or in the kitchen: a pity the raw version is not available for the big ones! I will keep you posted about the choice and would love to know your ideas about your favourite shelving systems!

All pictures © facing north with gracia

Our home #6 | Still life in the studio

We are now in the Alps for the first part of our summer holidays with the Italian side of our family. The weather is not so good this summer but we still hope to do some nice walks up and down the mountains.

I took these shots at home before leaving for our summer holidays and I thought it was nice to post them on the blog, just to keep it updated with something fresh. The pictures were taken in our studio, you can see more pictures of it here. The still life was created with three of the Calabasse vases from Serax and a pile of Kinfolk magazines. Very simple and minimal.

All pictures © facing north with gracia

Our home #5 | New things in

New shots from home with some of the last things that have just arrived. 

I love the double reflection of the Vase Vase designed by Norm Architects for Menu and I think it is perfect for the white flowers I picked up at the beach last weekend: they are sand daffodils and smell deliciously at night-time. On the background, a long-wished item: the HAY paper designed by All The Way To Paris. It took so much to find out where I could get it and I am happy to share with you that German website Connox has the full range and a very good Scandinavian design selection, too.

To see more picture from our home, click here.

  All pictures © facing north with gracia

Our home #4

Some new shots from our home from last week-end. I like it minimal, you know that, don't you? The little fern leaf I collected last week is still doing great: I like it on display inside of the glass cylinder, like a contemporary version of the Victorian botanical collections. Talking about this, a urge of going back for another stroll in the Kew Botanical Gardens in London is getting stronger and stronger everyday. And also a bit of good shopping down-town, of course.

Remember to join the GIVEAWAY here!

I wish you all a lovely day.

All pictures © facing north with gracia.

Our Home #3

Today I want to share with you some inspiration from our home. As you probably already know, the bedroom is my most favourite place. I love its all white interior because it gives me lots of tranquillity. Also, it is the perfect background to play around a bit with new ideas and little props, like I did last weekend: inspired by the moodboard workshop took with Gudy Herder last month, I decided to add some twist to our bedroom. A simple metallic paper, some black clips and my last crushes matched perfectly with the Diamond chair by Harry Bertoia. 

Greenery is another important part of my everyday life: I really enjoy to go around Barcelona picking (gently) small leaves and branches to bring home, like the little fern from our Sunday stroll in Collserola, the mountain at the back of Barcelona.

Josefin Hååg's home as pictured in a earlier issue of Residence magazine is always an incredible source of inspiration. And I love this outdoor patio design: a white wall, dark grey gravel and lots of greenery. Check here for more green interior and outdoor ideas.

 

To see more shots from our home, check the link here or go to my Instagram account. 

All picture ©facing north with gracia.

HAPPY WEEKEND | Collection

A selection of pictures from my Instagram feed from last month: whites, greens and a touch of black details for me.

There are many things going on this weekend: it's the Barcelona Design Week here and today the Architecture Biennale in Venice opens its doors to the the public with a new curator, Rem Koolhass: we go back to the Fundamentals to define the future of the art. Happy weekend!

All pictures © facing north with gracia

SKANDINAVISK | Scent of Scandinavia

Far from being weak and unimportant, the sense of smelling is considered the most powerful one to re-evoke memories, so much that when we associate a certain emotion to a particular smell, just smelling it in the future will make those emotions come alive again. I experience this very often, last time when I received my new candle from Skandinavisk.

Skov (forest in Danish) is part of the Scent of Scandinavia collection and a real treat. I still remember the feeling  of opening the box  in my living room and, suddenly, finding myself lost in the calm of ancient forests in the Polar circle. It is like a free ticket to the deep, comforting embrace of nature.

Skov was one of the three founding scented candles of the collection, which has been recently enriched with the floral scent of a Swedish summer (Sommar), the breezy scent of the archipelagos (Ö), the scent of Scandinavian tranquillity (Ro), the urban bliss of  (København) and the drama of the Norwegian fjords. 

So, are you willing to create some magic and take a trip with me?

Images © facing north with gracia

URBAN JUNGLE BLOGGERS | Greenery on the balcony

Spring is struggling a bit this year with this unpredictable weather and cool nights but my plants are actually enjoying this humid, warmish situation a lot. I managed to bring them all outside at the beginning of March and I couldn't resist to add some new entries to the collection. 

I have to confess it is quite hard for me to have only a small balcony here in Barcelona because I was used to a lot of space in Italy, like a whole nursery and several glasshouses where to make experiments...Sigh! Some of the plants you see here actually come from Italy: I always try to bring one back with me when I go there for work. 

The first picture shows one of the plants I most fond of: it is a Fockea, a Caudiciform plant that my father gave me some years ago. My dad passed away not a long time ago so it is a very dear memory of him and his great passion for these plants ( the small two-leaved-one in the Playtype mug was also part of his collection).

Another great passion of mine are Platycerium but they are hard to keep alive: either they find the perfect micro-climate or they die fast, leaving me furious.  And eventually our last acquisition: a Moscatel vine we bought here in Barcelona. Vines are great for balconies because they grow abundantly and can transform a small space very quickly. The idea is to create a square structure at the top to train in into an umbrella shape - getting too technical, amn't I?

I grew up among plants and "plantsmen" and probably for this reason I have such a strong emotional bond to these green creatures and I struggle to stop talking about the...like today!

Could this be my longest post ever?!  Urban Jungle Bloggers, hope you enjoyed it!

| Props | Playtype mugs | Ikea Glasshouse | Custom-made pots from Italy |

Thanks again to Igor from Happy Interior Blog and Judith from JOELIX.com!