As humans we have an inherent need to remain connected to nature as an important aspect to our health (physical and mental) as well as our general wellbeing. We could rattle on until the cows come home about the health benefits of using indoor plants in our interior decorating and design, but using indoor plants and greenery isn’t just good for our lungs and mood it also makes our homes look good!

Using greenery and plants in our interiors is so important that there is a whole area of interior design dedicated to it! Have you heard of biophilic design? Biophilia means ‘love of nature’ and focuses on our innate attraction to nature. Biophilic design ties our inherent need to connect with nature in our modern built environments. 

This month we’re taking a look at how you can work some biophilic design principles into your home décor with some thoughtful homewares inclusions like amazing pots, indoor plants you can buy online, and of course how you can use some of our wall decals as the perfect backdrop!

Hand-painted pots

The pot you use for your indoor plants is just as important as the plant itself. Pots are the décor to the natural element of the plant!

Honey & Ivy have a gorgeous selection of pots they paint by hand from their home studio. The duo spend hours (sometimes days!) painting each pot!

If bright, colourful and inspired by 80s motifs is your thing, you’ll fall in love with Gabby Loves Art’s hand-painted pots! Artwork that balances the discordance between chaos and control.

Mowgli Studio have a great collection of handmade pots and planters, and they also sell We The Wild plant care products – we’ve got to keep our indoor plants healthy too! Pictured above are Mowgli's stunning Sandy Stone Pots.

We are loving Jones & Co.’s range of fun and eclectic pots and planters! There is something for just about everyone’s décor in their latest range!

Super fun and for a planter that’s different you really must check out Living Work of Heart’s range! Seriously fun planters! You’ll also find Living Work of Heart’s range in our Artisans’ Nest store.

Living Work of Heart book planter

Indoor plants online

Local nurseries and garden stores don’t always have a great range of potted indoor plants for us to choose from, but looking online we have SO many more choices!

Interior Jungle have a huge range of indoor plants, including pet friendly plants which are important if you have pets that might be tempted to nibble or sniff anything that looks interesting!

Offshoot offer a carefully curated and considered collection of indoor plants and botanical accessories to enhance your wellbeing and bring joy to your homes and interior spaces. Well worth a looksie!

Kokedama and crystal air plants make beautiful additions to your indoor plant collections. The Indoor Oasis has a stunning collection and we’re sure you’ll find it difficult to choose which you love most!

The Indoor Oasis rose quartz crystal air plant

Adding a ‘greenery’ backdrop

Ok, we know we’re biased here, but our wall decals make a GREAT backdrop to your indoor plants! What you need to keep in mind when considering using Vinyl Designs wall decals in your home: they are removable (great for renters or those who find it difficult to commit), most of our wall decals are available in any of our 28 decorator colours, and if you can’t find something you love (we’ll be surprised!) in our readymade range we love to discuss custom made options too!

Our Tropical Leaves wall decal is one of our most popular wall decals for using as a backdrop to an indoor plant collection. The huge, lush leaves in green add greenery height and depth to your display, or you could choose a rich magenta or gold to add interest beyond the plants!

If you’re looking at something less tropical our Maple Branch wall decal looks very elegant with it’s leaving softly scattered across your wall. Very pretty!

New to our range is our Calla Lily Flower wall decal which looks absolutely amazing … imagine what a spectacular display this wall decal would make in magenta or lime green!

Maybe you’d rather add a quote as a backdrop to your indoor oasis?! Something ‘planty’ or a quote that is motivating or inspiring? We’ve got readymade quotes in our online store (or shop with us in person at Artisan’s’ Nest).

Vinyl Design Monstera Tropical Leaf wall decal

By golly, we could go on forever about indoor plants and how biophilic design principles help us to weave the beauty and benefits of air-purifying plants into our interiors!

Whether you create an eye-catching vertical garden wall by hanging plants in planter boxes that create a green canopy effect overhead, low-maintenance moss panels, or a few simple potted plants placed strategically close to a source of natural light, they all excellent ways to add health benefits to our homes and living spaces!

 

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We’d love you to share how and where you’ve used your Vinyl Designs decals or our Vinyl Living homewares, and any of our blog picks with us – share on Instagram or Facebook using the hashtag #vinyldesignaustralia or tag us @vinyldesign.

Follow us on Facebook or Instagram for more tips and ideas on how to dress up your world with Vinyl Designs!

This month is all about YOU and letting your creative inner self learn something new, and have fun while you're at it! If there's one thing that we all learnt in 2020 it's that we're a little bit more crafty than we thought we were ... DIY crafts, handmade, and dreaming of makers studios! 

Our Artisans' Nest shop in Newtown now has a makers studio where each month we'll be welcoming some very talented craftisans and artisans to share their skills and craft.

Have you ever wondered about trrying your hand at watercolour painting, quilling, or brushlettering? Maybe crochet is something you watched your nanna do but you were never able to master? Jewellery making is always popular, and how awesome will it be to say "I made it!" when your friends compliment you on your fab new accessories?! 

Each weekend in May we've planned a different workshop in the studio at Artisan's Nest - make a commitment to give yourself a few hours each weekend in May (at least once!) to learn a new skill! All the materials you need for the May workshops are provided, so really all you need to do is book your seat and turn up. 

If you're looking for a really special gift for the mum in your life ... here it is! The PERFECT fun gift that you could do together and that's something that makes it an extra special gift! Which of our May workshops do you think your mum will enjoy most?!

We only have a limited number of places for each workshop so it is essential that you book in ASAP to secure your seat at the table.

 

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We’d love you to share how and where you’ve used your Vinyl Designs decals or our Vinyl Living homewares, and any of our blog picks with us – share on Instagram or Facebook using the hashtag #vinyldesignaustralia or tag us @vinyldesign.

Follow us on Facebook or Instagram for more tips and ideas on how to dress up your world with Vinyl Designs!

This year Australia Post have advised that posting your Christmas gifts (or posting anything) should be done earlier than usual and delivery times will take longer.  This means that if you’re posting gifts for Christmas birthdays, or a “just because…” gift you’ll need to get your skates on to not just purchase the gift, but to get it mailed.

So, what is a good gift to post and what is possibly best to leave off the gift list?

Cost-wise sending letter sized parcels will be more friendly on your wallet than a parcel and the Australia Post size regulations for letters is a ‘package’ that weighs less than 500g, has a rectangular shape, is not larger than a B4 envelope, and is no thicker than 20mm.  This gives you lots of options for posting small items including books, wall decals (we’ve got you covered with those!), jewellery, stationery gifts, or even chocolates or sweets.  Of course, you can send larger items as a parcel, which will cost you a bit more but with the new standardised parcel rates (up to 22kg within Australia, or up to 20kg for international post) you can easily choose lighter gives and send more of them for less than you would have been paying previously to post!

Wall decals (of course!) – our wall decals and wall stickers are a perfect gift idea for anyone!  You could choose from one of our ready-made wall decals, or we can work with you to create something personalised and unique.  We’ve got a great range of colours from metallics to pastels to brights so we’re certain you’ll find just the right colour to suit your design and décor!  Our wall decals are made from a super high-quality vinyl that will leave no sticky marks or residue and will stay put on just about any flat and smooth surface (like magic!).

We’ve also got our Vinyl Living range of homewares that are light to post – cushion covers, tea-towels, and canvas bags and pouches of all sizes.  We’re sure that you could find something for every person on our list in our Vinyl Design and Vinyl Living online shops!

Handmade leather goods are a popular choice for people of all ages.  Dear Dagger intertwine craftsmanship, colour and premium leather to produce timeless, versatile and gender-neutral products such as wallets, pouches, coin holders, keychains, laptop sleeves and more.

Francisca Rendic’s handcrafted jewellery is made from the heart and so it makes sense that gifting such beautiful pieces is a gift from the heart too.  Francisca creates meaningful jewellery; each piece embedded with strength and energy.

Koskela always have a beautiful array of gift ideas for everyone (so good it’s hard to give them away!).  One product in their range that struck us as a great ‘feel-good’ gift idea is the Life Cykel Bee Pollination Grow Kit.  Saving the world, bee by bee!

And now for something sweet… Loco Love Chocolates Holy Cacao Hot Chocolate looks amazing in it’s packaging and tastes DIVINE!  What a perfect gift and oh so sweet!

If you’re needing to shop in person and have a penchant for Aussie handmade, we’d love to see you at our Artisans’ Nest popup shop in Newtown!  Our store is open from 10am daily and we’ll be at our 216 King Street Newtown (NSW) store until the end of the year … you don’t need to gift shop!

So, there you have it, just a few gift ideas for posting to your loved ones this gift-giving season.  We know there are literally thousands of other ideas for lightweight gifts to post but we hope we’ve given you a few ideas to get your shopping started!

We’d love you to share how and where you’ve used your Vinyl Designs decals and any of our blog picks with us – share on Instagram or Facebook using the hashtag #vinyldesignaustralia or tag us @vinyldesign. 

Follow us on Facebook or Instagram for more tips and ideas on how to dress up your world with Vinyl Designs!