Is a metal plant shelf the best choice? Interior stylist Masato Kawai creates the perfect plant room

BRUTUS's guide to creating a plant-filled room for stylishly displaying greenery in your everyday space. We spoke with a plant-loving interior stylist about how to coordinate LED lighting and greenery-friendly display methods.

photo: Satoshi Nagare / styling: Masato Kawai / text: Masae Wako / edit: Shogo Kawabata / special thanks: Ada Lab / plant&green: BABABA

"If you're decorating with the popular paludarium, you might want to add some potted plants as well. This will add movement to the landscape and create a richer space."

So says interior stylist Masato Kawai. He says that metal plant shelves with a coated surface are ideal in terms of lighting, ventilation, weight-bearing capacity, and ease of maintenance.

"This time, we used neutral colors for the shelves so that the colors of the plants themselves would stand out. To avoid an inorganic feel, we incorporated natural materials such as wooden pots, which blend naturally into the everyday space. LED lighting, which is essential for indoor cultivation, can be used by replacing the bulbs in your regular designer lighting to make it blend in with the interior. If the plants have a unique appearance, you can create a well-balanced look by adding accents such as brightly colored accessories, books, or pop objects."

1. Magnetic LED for a neat display

Magnetic LED for a neat display
When arranging paludariums on shelves, we recommend a magnetic type LED light that can be attached to the back of the metal shelf or frame: "Magnet Light G Slim." The egg-shaped case on the top shelf is "Glass Pot SHIZUKU." The plants include Nepenthes on the left and Torymbope japonica on the right. The dome-shaped case on the bottom shelf is "CELL." The plants are Opuntia cricaria on the left and Bromeliad on the right. Both the LEDs and the case are from Aqua Design Amano (ADA Service Center: support@adana.co.jp).

2. Create a unique paludarium using laboratory containers

Create a unique paludarium using laboratory containers
Specimen bottles and other scientific containers are perfect for paludariums. Choose ones with wide openings that are easy to clean. The photo shows specimen bottles (two on the left) and reagent bottles (two on the right) from Koizumi Glass Manufacturing. The plants are, from left to right, Lasinaea crispa, Pleurothalis, Anubias, and Philodendron. A rail-shaped LED light, "BAR LIGHT L610" (HaruDesign harudesign.shop), is installed behind the shelf, illuminating all four at once. The tank on the bottom right of the bottom shelf is "Neo Glass Air" (ADA Service Center).

3. Grow with style using well-designed lighting

Grow with style using well-designed lighting
A desk lamp with a wide range of arm movement is used to illuminate and display a wide range of plants. Using LED plant growth bulbs that can be attached to ordinary lighting fixtures, you can grow plants with well-designed lights. Kyocera LED light "CERAPHIC bulb" (CERAPHIC inquiries: info_cera_sh@kyocera.jp). The bookshelf is a "Pantone Wire" system shelf made of steel wire that can be freely combined with dice-shaped shelves. The plant on the left is a philodendron, paired with a voluminous wooden pot. The one on the top right is an asplenium.

4. Pair it with dynamic art

Combine with dynamic art
Large plants are displayed on a modern console table, paired with art that exudes vitality. The paludarium on the left uses the System Paluda 300 case with a door at the front and the Aquasky RGB Basic 300 LED lighting (both from the ADA Service Center). The glass pot on the right is planted with a mandarin fern. The one on the top left is a staghorn fern. The console table is Zeus' Atrium Console, 399,300 yen (BUNDLESTUDIO bundlestudio.jp). On the wall are photographs of hand-held fireworks by photographer Great the Kabukicho.

5. Decorate with wild flowers in an artist-made glass jar

Decorate with wild flowers in an artist-made glass jar
It's also fun to create a miniature paludarium using glass jars with lids used to store coffee beans, pasta, etc. The photo shows a blown glass jar made one by one by popular glass artist Peter Ivey. In a small space about 20cm high, I planted Yakushima snowbell, aquatic plants, moss, and other plants. By casually displaying it on a kitchen shelf where everyday dishes are lined up, the usual view will become much more lively.

6. Paludariums are ideal for humid bathrooms

Paludariums are ideal for humid bathrooms
If you're displaying it in a bathroom or washroom, choose a paludarium that is resistant to moisture. The paludarium uses the Glass Pot MARU 130 (ADA Service Center support@adana.co.jp) and is displayed on a wooden shelf attached to the wall. It is lit with a NEMO clip light, which can be angled. Next to the washbasin is a paludarium with a dynamic arrangement of neoregelia and billbergia on a glass base made by LSA. Although not visible in the photo, the bulb in the ceiling-mounted spotlight has been replaced with a Kyocera LED light for plant growth.

7. Arrange your living room for a bird's-eye view

Arrange your living room to look at it from above
A paludarium, placed next to the sofa, can be displayed on a low living room table that can be enjoyed from above. The paludarium case, which features a landscape centered around arid zone plants such as cacti, is made of Neo Glass Air (ADA Service Center). It is complemented with the elegant masterpiece, the Anthony Desk Lamp, by Serge Mouille. The sofa is a 1970 design by Italian designer Gastone Rinaldi. The wooden speakers from Koya Mokko, which are displayed alongside the ferns, are priced at 330,000 yen a pair (BUNDLESTUDIO bundlestudio.jp).

8. Create a study with plants that are fun to care for

Create a study with plants that are fun to care for
I also boldly placed a plant on my desk in my study. After concentrating on work, taking time to care for it is sure to be a great way to refresh my mind. The philodendron is planted in the large glass pot (right). On the left is a paludarium that has had its dome removed and is currently being tended to. The case is CELL (ADA Service Centre). Pruning tools such as tweezers and scissors are stored in a tool rack from Danese. The large pot in the back left is an anthurium hookeri. The black table lamp is a masterpiece called Attoro, designed in 1977 by Italian master Vico Magistretti.
The heavy-duty USM Haller shelving system allows for a tasteful display of plants.
The heavy-duty USM Haller shelving system is used to display plants in a stylish way. The plants are aspleniums on wooden stools.

On the top shelf, from left to right, are Epiphyllum, Neoregelia, Euphorbia, and Aechmea. A magnetic LED light is used to complement the paludarium, which uses egg-shaped and dome-shaped tanks. The potted plant on the right of the shelf is Dracaena Draco. The black floor lamp on the left is "Sirio," 189,860 yen (BUNDLESTUDIO bundlestudio.jp).

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