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Two things we really like are coffee and plants. Ok, let us add a third thing that we truly love: nice, personal and green interiors. For our series ‘A World of Plants for USM Haller’ we traveled this time to the German city of Fulda and visited the creative local Simon Zimmermann in his stylish home.

Simon Zimmermann shares quite a few things with us – his love for plants, a cool interior style and he is absolutely passionate about coffee. We admit that his excellent Flat White was alluring, but our real reason for a visit to his Fulda apartment was the plant sideboard by USM Haller – his latest addition to his lounge area. Yet another great example on how to combine plants with the timeless USM design – you might remember our other home stories for our series ‘A World of Plants for USM Haller’ with a planty home office in Berlin, a bright hallway in the south of France and a vintage inspired home in Berlin.

Simon mixes effortlessly iconic design pieces with art. colorful kilim rugs and plants. And USM Haller has been a part of his life for a long time – the new plant sideboard was a new addition from the Swiss design brand. Simon carefully considered the design and color and went for a low sideboard with three elements in the mid grey tone. Two top modules include the plant pots and one is a classic closed top module. This size makes the plant furniture very versatile in his bright and spacious apartment – he can alternatively place it in the sofa are, underneath the window, in the coffee table area (where it is set now) or even somewhere else in the more than 100 square meters big apartment.

When it comes to plants, Simon added a mix of tropicals such as Calatheas as well as cacti or snake plants to his USM plant sideboard, highlighting the versatility of the USM Haller solution as every pot comes with its own water reservoir and water level indicator – hence you can adapt your watering routine according to the plant chosen in the pot.

We didn’t leave Simon without enjoying one (or two) of his excellent coffees. His passion for style, coffee and plants is something that truly fascinated us as it seems so easy to talk with such a guy for hours. But we had to catch a train so it was time to say goodbye to Simon and his plant-filled home in Fulda. We hope you enjoyed the fourth home story for ‘A World of Plants with USM Haller’!

Photography by Jules Villbrandt

We are firm believers in the positive power of plants – plants help us relax, but they also help us to focus, get more creative, and find inspiration. In our book PLANT TRIBE we have delved into the strong power of plants when it comes to being creative. We pledge that you surround yourself with nature in order to trigger your creativity and boost inspiration. Hence, plants in (home) offices are the way to go! And thanks to the new plant modules from Swiss design brand USM Haller you can now combine a piece of design furniture with your love for plants.

To celebrate the launch of the new USM Haller plant modules and their campaign ‘A World of Plants for USM Haller’ we have teamed up with USM to show you four home stories where plant enthusiasts live, create, work, meet and celebrate life surrounded by nature. These features will come over the course of this year to bring you more ideas on how to live happily ever after with plants.

The second home story takes us to the new home in the South of France of our co-founder Judith de Graaff. Judith is the co-author of both our books, Urban Jungle and Plant Tribe, and founded the Urban Jungle Bloggers community together with Igor Josifovic-Kemper in 2013. In Judith’s new home in the Ardèche, the spacious entry and hallway lacked structure and functionality. As a connecting space between entry, living room, kitchen, and all bedrooms of the home, the hallway was mostly used by her cats to play and run around. Lot of precious floor and storage space was left unused as well. Thus, a full shelving unit from USM Haller was the best option to combine design, space for storage as well as display, and a stylish solution for Judith’s houseplants.

The USM Haller shelving unit includes three new plant modules. Each plant module features three integrated plant pots with a watering set, consisting of a pot insert and water level indicator. There is no need for worries about dripping water or soggy plant roots – the simple yet smart watering insert and the indicators help you water your plants when needed without overwatering and without any spilling. Additionally, the plant pots come in two varieties: Basalt or Terracotta, as Judith has chosen for her white USM Haller shelving unit.

The entry and hallway of Judith’s home in the South of France has a bright and sunny vibe. Lots of natural light comes in through the big windows, filtered by striped blinds that add a touch of “holiday” to the space, a hint to the surroundings of the house: a popular holiday destination. Two oversized mirrors reflect the light throughout the hallway and complement the white facades and metal grid of the USM Haller shelves. On the rear end of the shelves, a USM Haller book display unit allows to show off the Plant Tribe and Urban Jungle books, and it also has a convenient storage behind to keep the international language editions of the books.

USM Haller shelves added multifunctionality to Judith’s hallway: there’s a coat rack as well as a wide bench to read or hang out with the cats (or spoil them with cat candy before bedtime). The plant modules are home to nine large plants that match the light situation of the hallway. The Alocasia sarawakensis, Philodendron birkin and Chamaedorea elegans soak up the largest amounts of light on the rear end closest to the windows, as where the Thaumatophyllum xanadu, Ficus robusta and Homalomena get only indirect light and the large Schefflera thrives in semi-shade near the bench. For everyone who lives with plants and pets: the USM plant modules are ideal too: with the big pots neatly stuck into the plant modules, there is no risk of cats or dogs tipping over the pots.

Check out the World of Plants for USM Haller here for further information, ideas, products and shopping opportunities.

Photography by Marta Puglia