As I continue to grow and develop as an individual, as an adult, and as a half of a relationship, my sense of style and design continues to change as well. In the past my interior design patterns haven't made much sense or gone together the best, it has all been very eclectic. While I continue to make designs and styles my own, I am pushing towards making the overall look cohesive, expressive, and welcoming.
Something my boyfriend and I have been attempting recently is creating things we want instead of spending absurd amounts of money to match our vision. This started last summer when it was time to bring the main bathroom into this era, in a way that was unique and special but matched what we were both thinking. I picked colors and gave opinions, but he took this project and made a wallpapered, small, boring bathroom into a teal, art-deco adjacent, beautiful escape.
I had mentioned a few years ago that I wanted a Blooming Table as an accent piece that is all about making an environment beneficial and beautiful. As a gift, he gave me iron leg pieces with the promise that he would use them and build a growing table. We picked a location, compared stain colors, set up design plans, and bought the supplies. With his love of Mid-Century Modern style, the table has smooth angles, gorgeous lines, and plenty of grain showing throughout the wood.
This table encapsulates all of the simplistic beauty of Mid-Century Modern style with the natural beauty of greenery. I love the concept of combining furniture with a very structured feel with vines that curve and wind without rhyme or reason. He did an absolutely amazing job creating this table that could have easily sold for a pretty penny on any mid-century furniture store.
Once he completed the build, it was my turn to take my creativity and my green thumb to turn my vision into reality. Using mostly plants that I already owned, I went to work in three different sections of the table, utilizing vines, succulents, and low growing plants. Here are the steps I took to set myself up for success:
Line the table!
When planting in a recessed table, especially one made of natural materials, using a liner is important to prevent mildew and moisture build up. I took a plastic garbage bag, made out of recycled materials to satisfy my desire to help the environment, and cut along the seams. This already fit the inside fairly perfectly so I didn't need to do much trimming, but taking a box cutter around the edge of your preferred soil line works incredibly well.
Add your soil...
I used two different soil types. With the table separated out into three equal sections, I poured succulent soil in the middle and the outsides contained a houseplant mix of my own making; 2 parts soil, 1 part orchid mix or redwood chips, 1 part activated charcoal, 1 part perlite, and .5 part peat moss. So far this mix has treated me well and my plants have thrived. Taking the time to mix my own soil allows me to know that my plants have all the nutrients and variation in texture that they need.
With the succulents in the middle, piled up slightly higher than the outsides, any excess water can move to some deeper roots of houseplants. While the table was being built I ordered a pack of 12 succulents off of etsy and those that survived were able to be transported to the table. The smaller of the succulents were propagations off of plants I already owned. I am so excited to see them grow and develop in this new environment.
For the outer two portions, I split up a pothos, took some polka dot plant seedlings, bought a hoya, and added some trailing succulents into the mix. At the point I am currently writing this, about three months after planting, I have already had to take a few plants that were outgrowing the table and give them their own pots.
Plan and plant your greenery!
Over just a few months my table has grown and developed a great presence in my office. I added a clip-on grow light to maintain the proper amount of light. Unfortunately, some of my succulents are still stretching so I need to look into that and find a solution. At the end of the day, I have a beautiful table that meets my boyfriend's Mid-century Modern aesthetic and my desire to turn into Poison Ivy (minus the whole being a villian thing...)
Current State of my table:
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