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Front page Planty Product

Briiv Air Filter Pro – update after 1 year

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Briiv air filter

Plants have special super powers: the benefits of living with plants at home in general, and in bedrooms in particular, are countless. They make a room look more alive, and your bedside table brighter. Taking care of your plants can also help you wind down after a busy day. Studies have even shown that by simply touching the leaf of a plant for two minutes, you reduce your stress levels! For a healthy bedroom regime, don’t rely on plants alone, however: Good ventilation, fresh bed linens, a comfortable mattress, good pillows, and an extra blanket, if needed, help you sleep better and improve your overall well-being. But not all bedrooms are bright enough to grow healthy plants: maybe there is only one small window or you don’t have a window sill, or maybe you don’t like taking care of even more plants. If that’s the case, or if you don’t want to wake up surrounded by plants (really: who are you?), you may want to rely on some help for healthy fresh air in the bedroom. And that’s where Briiv comes to the rescue! Briiv is an air filter that uses plant power to purify the air. Briiv is as powerful as 3,043 medium size houseplants. So you can enjoy the benefits of having plants in your home without the hassle. 

Over a year ago we first discovered the Briiv air filter: a family member who suffers from seasonal/annual pollen has been using the Briiv ever since and we thought it was time for a little update. Especially as there is also news to be shared! Briiv has now launched a new and improved version, called Briiv Pro.

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Briiv air filter

Briiv has took years of testing and customer feedback, building on the tried and tested technology that they have developed and patented. And from all the feedback, they now introduced new features in the new Briiv Pro: improved airflow, smart sensors and new filter materials to make Briiv Pro the most advanced plant powered air filter that will create a safer home for us as users. The new Briiv Pro links together with other Briiv units and enables a full scale smart air monitoring in your home. And when we say smart, we mean smart: it is driven by the latest AI technology and is currently the most advanced air quality monitoring system on the market. Plus there is no plastic to worry about – the new Briiv Pro is made of a unique blend of waste potato and rice husks, and the filters are made of naturally dried moss and coconut husks – all of it completely biodegradable.

The new Briiv Pro features two new modes:

Canary mode automatically senses poor air quality and cleans the air in the space

Hive mode connects and controls multiple Briiv units.Urban Jungle Bloggers - Briiv air filter

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Briiv air filter

We asked our family member how they have experienced using the Briiv, and here’s what they say:
“At first I was sceptic, will another air purifier help me with my allergies, but now after more than a year I must admit it helps me breathe better in my home office where I have setup my Briiv. I changed the filters this spring and it keeps functioning very well. With the new connected Briiv coming out later this month, I will definitely look into that, as an extra Briiv for the bedroom would be useful. Also, I really like the look: unlike my previous air purifier which looked all plastic-y, this one looks beautiful in my home office.”

This is how is easy it is to set up the Briiv:
Urban Jungle Bloggers - Briiv air filter

Filling up the glass Briiv vessel with the sustainable sourced moss is a breeze. It is quick, simple and adds a natural touch to any corner of your bedroom – or your bedside table in particular! One Briiv Air Filter is proven to purify a 6m x 6m space in just one hour, so you would ideally add one unit in whichever room needs a quick air cleanse. If your room is very big, you can add two or more vessels simultaneously. For an average bedroom we recommend one Briiv Air Purifier as in our example case in Judith’s guest bedroom.

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Briiv air filter

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Briiv air filter

Look at how beautiful this fresh green sustainable sourced Reindeer Lichen moss looks. By the way, it’s suitable for home composting:

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Briiv air filter

The finished Briiv Air Filter looks like a fancy terrarium and comes with a sleek black base made of bio-plastic derived from elephant grass and a glass dome that can easily be recycled once not needed. The air is filtered by the Reindeer Lichen moss first: it captures large particulate matter like dust and animal dander from the air. The moss is sustainably harvested in Finland and from managed woodlands where they allow time between each harvest for it to recover. Coconut fibres from the second layer of filtration trap harmful substances from the air. And the final filtrations comes from the bespoke Nano Matrix filter which combines activated carbon and medical grade fabrics.These were originally developed for the medical industry and remove the finest harmful particles from the air and use 95% less plastic than other HEPA filters.

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Briiv air filter

Plants in the bedroom? YES or NO?

Every time we post a picture of a beautiful bedroom filled with plants on Instagram, we get some concerned comments from readers who believe sleeping in a bedroom with plants is not healthy. Here’s why we feel differently: Plants respire as humans do, emitting carbon dioxide at night (the reverse of photosynthesis) and converting carbon dioxide to oxygen (by photosynthesis) during the day. Carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) are often confused. The names sound similar, both compounds are colorless and odorless gases, and at high concentrations both can be deadly. In small amounts, carbon dioxide is relatively harmless, whereas carbon monoxide is extremely dangerous. Maybe this is the basis of the misperception.
The amount of CO2 that most plants produce at night is far less than the amount people and pets do. You could even say that sleeping with another person, in the same room or in the same bed, is less healthy (oxygen-wise) than sleeping in a bedroom filled with plants.

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Briiv air filter

The Briiv Air Purifier will increase the wellbeing of any room and of yourself, too. We love the idea of purified air in the bedroom done with the help of plant power. Now how about some clean air with the power of plants for your home? Get your Briiv Air Purifier HERE. What you’ll notice when you first turn on your Briiv, is that the moss smells a little bit, well like moss: this disappeared after the first sequence of purifying. We turned the Briiv on for one hour, with the windows closed, as we didn’t want the Briiv to clean the air coming from outside as well. It felt fresh and nice and we were surprised by how quiet the air filter is compared to others. We recommend turning it on during the day when you’re not asleep, unless you like some white noise to fall asleep, Briiv can help you sooth to sleep as well 😉 Another thing that we like about the Briiv is that you can fully control the Briiv via the Briiv app on your phone, you can schedule the purifying sessions, turn it on or off, lower or up the level of purification. It’s intuitive and very easy to use.

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Briiv air filter

While the Briiv looks similar to a beautiful terrarium, it is not recommended to water the moss: the moss which is part of the filter and will start to compost when you make it wet. Depending on the level of pollution of your space, the natural filters will last you up to 12 months. You can order a new set of moss, coconut coir and nano matrix filters to last you a year, directly from Briiv, like here.

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Briiv air filter

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Briiv air filter

We love how Briiv fits in so well into an urban jungle style home and at the same it is also a sustainable choice when you’re looking for an air filter. Instead of bringing more plastic into the world to keep our indoors healthy, this air filter is 100% more biodegradable than other air filters, and consumes a minimum of low power energy. And even the packaging in which Briiv is wrapped is fully recycle. No unnecessary plastics or foam chips. Well done Briiv!

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Briiv air filter

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Briiv air filterPhotography by Urban Jungle Bloggers and Briiv – Blogpost created in collaboration with Briiv.

Categories
Planty Product

The power of plants with the Briiv Air Filter

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Briiv air filter

Plants have special super powers: the benefits of living with plants at home in general, and in bedrooms in particular, are countless. They make a room look more alive, and your bedside table brighter. Taking care of your plants can also help you wind down after a busy day. Studies have even shown that by simply touching the leaf of a plant for two minutes, you reduce your stress levels! For a healthy bedroom regime, don’t rely on plants alone, however: Good ventilation, fresh bed linens, a comfortable mattress, good pillows, and an extra blanket, if needed, help you sleep better and improve your overall well-being. But not all bedrooms are bright enough to grow healthy plants: maybe there is only one small window or you don’t have a window sill, or maybe you don’t like taking care of even more plants. If that’s the case, or if you don’t want to wake up surrounded by plants (really: who are you?), you may want to rely on some help for healthy fresh air in the bedroom. And that’s where Briiv comes to the rescue! Briiv is an air filter that uses plant power to purify the air. Briiv is as powerful as 3,043 medium size houseplants. So you can enjoy the benefits of having plants in your home without the hassle.  Urban Jungle Bloggers - Briiv air filter

Filling up the glass Briiv vessel with the sustainable sourced moss is a breeze. It is quick, simple and adds a natural touch to any corner of your bedroom – or your bedside table in particular! One Briiv Air Filter is proven to purify a 6m x 6m space in just one hour, so you would ideally add one unit in whichever room needs a quick air cleanse. If your room is very big, you can add two or more vessels simultaneously. For an average bedroom we recommend one Briiv Air Purifier as in our example case in Judith’s guest bedroom.

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Briiv air filter

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Briiv air filter

Look at how beautiful this fresh green sustainable sourced Reindeer Lichen moss looks. By the way, it’s suitable for home composting:

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Briiv air filter

The finished Briiv Air Filter looks like a fancy terrarium and comes with a sleek black base made of bio-plastic derived from elephant grass and a glass dome that can easily be recycled once not needed. The air is filtered by the Reindeer Lichen moss first: it captures large particulate matter like dust and animal dander from the air. The moss is sustainably harvested in Finland and from managed woodlands where they allow time between each harvest for it to recover. Coconut fibres from the second layer of filtration trap harmful substances from the air. And the final filtrations comes from the bespoke Silk Matrix filter which combines naturally occurring carbon and silk nanofibers. These were originally developed for the medical industry and remove the finest harmful particles from the air and are 100% biodegradable unlike their HEPA counterparts.

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Briiv air filter

Plants in the bedroom? YES or NO?

Every time we post a picture of a beautiful bedroom filled with plants on Instagram, we get some concerned comments from readers who believe sleeping in a bedroom with plants is not healthy. Here’s why we feel differently: Plants respire as humans do, emitting carbon dioxide at night (the reverse of photosynthesis) and converting carbon dioxide to oxygen (by photosynthesis) during the day. Carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) are often confused. The names sound similar, both compounds are colorless and odorless gases, and at high concentrations both can be deadly. In small amounts, carbon dioxide is relatively harmless, whereas carbon monoxide is extremely dangerous. Maybe this is the basis of the misperception.
The amount of CO2 that most plants produce at night is far less than the amount people and pets do. You could even say that sleeping with another person, in the same room or in the same bed, is less healthy (oxygen-wise) than sleeping in a bedroom filled with plants.

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Briiv air filter

The Briiv Air Purifier will increase the wellbeing of any room and of yourself, too. We love the idea of purified air in the bedroom done with the help of plant power. Now how about some clean air with the power of plants for your home? Get your Briiv Air Purifier HERE. What you’ll notice when you first turn on your Briiv, is that the moss smells a little bit, well like moss: this disappeared after the first sequence of purifying. We turned the Briiv on for one hour, with the windows closed, as we didn’t want the Briiv to clean the air coming from outside as well. It felt fresh and nice and we were surprised by how quiet the air filter is compared to others. We recommend turning it on during the day when you’re not asleep, unless you like some white noise to fall asleep, Briiv can help you sooth to sleep as well 😉 Another thing that we like about the Briiv is that you can fully control the Briiv via the Briiv app on your phone, you can schedule the purifying sessions, turn it on or off, lower or up the level of purification. It’s intuitive and very easy to use.

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Briiv air filter

While the Briiv looks similar to a beautiful terrarium, it is not recommended to water the moss: the moss which is part of the filter and will start to compost when you make it wet. Depending on the level of pollution of your space, the natural filters will last you up to 12 months. You can order a new set of moss, coconut coir and a silk matrix filters, directly from Briiv, like here.

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Briiv air filter

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Briiv air filter

We love how Briiv fits in so well into an urban jungle style home and at the same it is also a sustainable choice when you’re looking for an air filter. Instead of bringing more plastic into the world to keep our indoors healthy, this air filter is 100% biodegradable and consumes a minimum of low power energy. And even the packaging in which Briiv is wrapped is fully recycle. No unnecessary plastics or foam chips. Well done Briiv!

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Briiv air filter

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Briiv air filterPhotography by Urban Jungle Bloggers – Blogpost created in collaboration with Briiv.

Categories
Planty Inspiration Uncategorized

Stay Home with Plants – April challenge

Stay home with Plants - April challenge by Urban Jungle Bloggers

Now that nearly half the world’s population is under some form restriction as governments move to stop the spread of coronavirus, we’re launching the Stay Home with Plants challenge on Instagram. Our daily routines completely shifted and we all try our best to adjust to the new situation of working, cooking, exercising, keeping in touch with friends and family via Face Time, Skype, Zoom or Houseparty… from the comfort of our own home. Never before have we all spent so much time at home. Together with our plants! Yesterday we kicked of the first daily topic “Plants & Coffee” and it was an overwhelming success. Hundreds of Urban Jungle Bloggers shared their coffee & plants ritual on Instagram and in Instagram Stories.

Start your day with a quiet moment in the company of your plants. Have your coffee, tea, or even breakfast quietly with your plants. Slowly welcome a new day of opportunities and changes, because life is in constant flux. Observe the changes in your plants and embrace the changes in your life. This will be beneficial for your plants, too, as they will enjoy the daily moment of your presence.

Stay home with Plants - April challenge by Urban Jungle Bloggers

Stay home with Plants - April challenge by Urban Jungle Bloggers

Stay home with Plants - April challenge by Urban Jungle Bloggers

Stay home with Plants - April challenge by Urban Jungle Bloggers

Stay home with Plants - April challenge by Urban Jungle Bloggers

Join us during April with your interpretation of ‘STAY HOME WITH PLANTS’ on Instagram and we will be sharing our highlights on our Instagram feed and in our Instagram stories. Let’s make staying at home as good as we can! Keep your plants happy and they will keep you happy too. Promised! For more about the positive power of plants, check our new book PLANT TRIBE which is all about this magic phenomenon!

Stay home with Plants - April challenge by Urban Jungle BloggersPhotography by Jules Villbrandt for Urban Jungle Bloggers

Categories
Planty Product

Telling Plant Stories with Design Within Reach

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Design Within Reach Story Planter and Story Shelves

We as the PLANT TRIBE always keep our plants in mind when we take any interior decisions. Whether it is rearranging the room, buying new furniture or adding new home accessories. We always ask ourselves: will this be ideal for my plants in that room? Can I use it for the plants too? Urban dwellings tends to have space limitations so our decisions must be wise. We do not want to compromise on quality and design either. Bringing all these points together can sometimes lead to tricky and long searches for the ideal piece for your plant-filled home.

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Design Within Reach Story Planter and Story Shelves

US based furniture brand ‘Design Within Reach’ came into play when we kept our eyes peeled for a smart, space-saving and plant friendly bookshelf and a nice and matching planter. What seemed to address all our needs and actually ended all our concerns were the Story Bookcase and the Story Planter. Both products are DWR exclusive designs and have the plant-loving urban dweller in mind – in other words, these seem to be made for us plant tribe members. Why? Let us tell you a bit more about both products.

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Design Within Reach Story Planter and Story Shelves

The Story Bookcase is the design of Stockholm based design duo Afteroom. The wife-and-husband design team wanted to create something long-lasting with a quiet and sculptural appeal. The bookcase offers multiple design options. Shelves can be mounted facing different directions, to the front or to the sides: we opted for the “swirly mount” but if you prefer a more minimalistic look: attach them all facing to the front. Books can be stacked horizontally and – yes – you can add also potted plants or simply use it as a sleek, vertical plant rack.

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Design Within Reach Story Planter and Story Shelves

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Design Within Reach Story Planter and Story Shelves

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Design Within Reach Story Planter and Story Shelves

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Design Within Reach Story Planter and Story Shelves

The Story Bookcase comes in two sizes (short and tall) and three color options (coal, tomato, and white). Even though we have installed only one, this bookcase is actually quite a versatile fellow and you can combine a few of them and create a book or plant forest. Imagine various sizes, the shelves positioned differently and lots of books and plants displayed on the shelves. Now we got inspired…an indoor plant forest…why not!?

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Design Within Reach Story Planter and Story Shelves

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Design Within Reach Story Planter and Story Shelves

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Design Within Reach Story Planter and Story Shelves

The Story Planter is definitely a 100% urban jungle approved item! This planter is perfect for any apartment as it is truly a space-saving solution for your plants. You can stack five to nine plants vertically playing with foliage and growth to create your sculptural urban jungle. The heavy-weight base provides strength and stability and will keep your plants safe – even if you have pets, this planter can not be tipped over that easily!

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Design Within Reach Story Planter and Story Shelves

We opted for the white planter with five plant pots and decorated it with a Hoya carnosa tricolor, a Rhipsalis, a Pothos, a Dracaena warneckii, and a little Parlor palm on top for the extra jungle effect! We love the look for now and actually we like the idea of putting plants further up that are toxic to pets so they stay out of reach for them.

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Design Within Reach Story Planter and Story Shelves

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Design Within Reach Story Planter and Story Shelves

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Design Within Reach Story Planter and Story Shelves

The Story Planter comes in two different sizes with 5 or 9 pots that you can slide in and out from the main pole. There is no drainage hole in the pots, but you can simply place your potted plants in the bowl, or get some extra Story Planter Strainer that allow you to grow plants directly in the bowls. Like the shelves of the Story Bookcase, you can mount the bowl facing different directions according to your needs.

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Design Within Reach Story Planter and Story Shelves

The Story Bookcase and the Story Planter are built on the same stem. If you have both a bookcase and a planter, you can mix and match shelves and bowls to create literary gardens and libraries that grow. Now isn’t that cool! We are never short of books and plants, so yes please!

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Design Within Reach Story Planter and Story Shelves

Both the Story Planter and Story Bookcase come delivered in nicely crafted boxes with numbers and text to guide you through the mounting process. Quirky detail: one box even said: Think outside the box, especially when it’s empty. Clearly this was an empty box that was needed to keep all the items in place. The cardboard boxes look pretty and can be reused to store all kinds of trinkets. The different parts of the Story Planter and Story Shelves are very easy to assemble, and the result is a very sturdy construction. We were pleasantly surprised by the high quality of the finishes of the laquer. Despite the small footprint, both keep in place really well because of the construction and heavy weight (39 pounds).

Urban Jungle Bloggers - Design Within Reach Story Planter and Story Shelves

This blogpost has been brought to you in collaboration with DWR. As always all opinions and photos are our own. Thank you for supporting the brands who support this blog!

Categories
Book review Plant Tribe Book

New Book: Plant Tribe – Living Happily Ever After with Plants

The word is out: We are happy to announce our brand new book “PLANT TRIBE – Living happily ever after with Plants”. Our new book PLANT TRIBE hit the stores on March 17th, 2020. With PLANT TRIBE we invited the global tribe of plant loving people into our 240-pages book. We traveled through the US, Brazil and Europe to bring inspiring people and their emotional and personal plant stories to all of you.

With PLANT TRIBE we are going one step further: After our first book Urban Jungle, we are now delving deeper into the many ways that nurturing plants help nurture the soul, with inspiring advice for using plants to increase energy, creativity, and well-being, and to attract love and prosperity into the home.

Plant Tribe Living Happily Ever After with Plants by Igor Josifovic and Judith de Graaff

Plant Tribe Living Happily Ever After with Plants by Igor Josifovic and Judith de Graaff

The book PLANT TRIBE guides the reader through five highly emotional chapters and a practical room-by-room plant guide: “Love your Plants” is all about the importance of our emotional connection to plants: We look into ways how plants teach us self-care and how we can bond with plants. Additionally, we have a closer look on living with pets and plants, both of whom we love dearly.

Plant Tribe Living Happily Ever After with Plants by Igor Josifovic and Judith de Graaff

Good Energy with Plants” sheds a light on how we can raise the level of positive vibes in our homes with the help of plants and crystals, how we can purify the home with plants and how to optimally place plants in our home for a better energy flow.

Plant Tribe Living Happily Ever After with Plants by Igor Josifovic and Judith de Graaff

In “Happiness with Plants” we focus on hands-on tips to make your plants and your life happier: We look at how to keep your green buddies happy and healthy, we suggest creative plant care routines, we speak of botanical joy, growing your own plants and sharing the happiness.

Plant Tribe Living Happily Ever After with Plants by Igor Josifovic and Judith de Graaff

Plant Tribe Living Happily Ever After with Plants by Igor Josifovic and Judith de Graaff

Well-being with Plants” puts a focus on plant ideas for your mind, body, and soul. Get ready for some practical advice on slow living with plants and horticultural therapy!

Plant Tribe Living Happily Ever After with Plants by Igor Josifovic and Judith de Graaff

Plant Tribe Living Happily Ever After with Plants by Igor Josifovic and Judith de Graaff

Plant Tribe Living Happily Ever After with Plants by Igor Josifovic and Judith de Graaff

Get creative with Plants” highlights the potential of plants to boost our creativity and how plants drive a business. Moreover, we share creative ideas how to dress your plants, start creative plant projects, and execute simple plant styling tricks at home.

Plant Tribe Living Happily Ever After with Plants by Igor Josifovic and Judith de Graaff

Last but not least, a handy room-by-room plant guide helps you select the ideal plant for every room of your home.

Plant Tribe Living Happily Ever After with Plants by Igor Josifovic and Judith de Graaff

Every chapter is beautifully illustrated with photographies by our friend Jules Villbrandt who joined us on our global plant trip. 17 home stories from around the world will give you inspiring peeks into beautifully styled, creative, plant-filled and above all real homes of the global plant tribe. Come in, take a peek, become a member of the global PLANT TRIBE! The book is available now and you can order it from your favorite retailer HERE.

Plant Tribe Living Happily Ever After with Plants by Igor Josifovic and Judith de Graaff

Photography Jules Villbrandt (except last photo)
Find more details about Plant Tribe here.