gold up to the ceiling

Gold up to the ceiling.

Handmade moroccan tiles, in spicy tones of gold and bamboo brown, cover the kitchen walls.

The painted pink wall showed stains everywhere. Not surprising, of course, in a kitchen where you work and cook daily.
The 'moroccan pink' wall was repainted several times, but eventually we opted for a practical tile wall, up to the ceiling.

The aim was to create a warm, inviting atmosphere.

I would choose the moroccan pink color again and I will miss it, but after a few years it's time for something else.

What color? not too safe and boring and no green because that's too trendy.
Choosing a color is not that easy, however we quickly agreed; g o l d
Not the shiny gold, but a natural golden brown, mustard, ocher, spicy and different one...
(This color is also my favorite for wool projects, because it combines with everything although is quite a peculiar color.)

So it was a mess in the kitchen for three days, but the tile craftsman did an awesome job and it has become a beautiful wall!

I'm very happy with the result. Especially when the sunlight peeked inside yesterday.
The light, reflection, texture and the shadows of the plants; awesome atmosphere!

Today I am going to clean and redecorate the kitchen.

urban jungle donkey basket

The green donkey basket I found at the local weekly Ourika river market last week.
Actually I bought it for my bike, but soon realized that I do not have a luggage carrier on my bike, haha...
I would definitely find another application, so I decided to buy the basket anyway...
Perhaps as planter in the garden? or wool baskets?
You can not possibly find an even more impractical souvenir to take in your suitcase, but I was facing the challenge and managed to bring it home.

Once at home I knew it right away, it's a plant box! The urban jungle donkey basket.



and the two humorous market merchants from the donkey basket stall (they insisted to have their picture taken)

house of plants

More green.

The [house of plants] is the newest book in our 'green books' collection.
It's a gift from my niece Afra from London. We share our passion for plants :-)

One of the other books, [evergreen] was send to me by Eimear from Ireland. She's one of the Cool Crochet participants in April last year and will join us again on the Green Gardens workshop in Marrakech in May.

Merci beaucoup Afra & Eimear!

We might already have as many plant books as plants nowadays...

they all want to stand in the bay window

The plants all want to stand in the bay window.

spotted

The name of this plant is spotted or trout begonia (begonia maculata).
It was a gift from my friend Marieke and the plant is growing steadily on the bench in the kitchen.
Watering the houseplants has become a Sunday morning ritual.

Now I'm going to pack my suitcase for the trip to Marrakech.

blinds up

Our houseplants all seem to need a lot of light and they prefer to sit in front of the window. A conservatory obviously is the perfect place for houseplants.

The bay window in our kitchen is quite light, but it's impossibly to put all plants on the windowsill.

A couple of plants can stay in the garden during the summer months, but most of them can not be exposed to direct sunlight. I've saved a few 'garden campers' just in time.

The wooden blinds in the kitchen are up, we have enough privacy due to of the overgrown front yard.

The plants florish, so the conditions seem perfect in this bright place.

n o

No stress.

Plants reduce stress and have a positive effect on creativity and productivity.

Grow more plants and enjoy your weekend!

coconut & cover project

Two new projects on the bench. (and a basket full next to it)

Beyond the recent city trips, there is always a crochet project on the hook.

At the moment I'm working on a new harlequin pillow cover, with merino wool that I bought in Antwerp a few months ago. (actually for a warm beanie, whatever winter season is over)

The other project is a coconut palm.

My dear husband came home with this coconut palm last week, apparently he has been infected with the plant virus too. The coconut palm needs loads of sunshine, so I hope it will survive indoors the next few weeks, until it is warm enough to move it to the backyard. No complaints about the sunlight so far...

plants & plates

The spider plant - chlorophytum comosum - has never really been away, because it's so easy to maintain and multiply.

One of the most interesting points of the spider plant is its ability to rapidly propagate itself. A spider baby from the mother plant will often root and within a year it's producing babies of its own, you can give out to your family and friends.

I've send a couple of spider babies to my niece in London and I hope they will survice the journey.

The small green harlequin pot I brought from Anthropogie in Londen and the leafs plate I found at Portazul in The Hague.

conservatory archives

On the way back from the flowermarket on Columbia Road we visited this utterly cool urban jungle shop!
Loved every leaf and corner in this place!
Conservatory Archives, where old goods and plantae beautifully diversely combined, 493-495 Hackney Road - London.
My niece Afra is working just around the corner of the shop and joked she could spend her lunch breaks here.

I saw so many amazingly beautiful house plants that I would love to adopt, but unfortunately you can not bring 'botanicals' on the plane.