• Hi, I am the owner and main administrator of Styleforum. If you find the forum useful and fun, please help support it by buying through the posted links on the forum. Our main, very popular sales thread, where the latest and best sales are listed, are posted HERE

    Purchases made through some of our links earns a commission for the forum and allows us to do the work of maintaining and improving it. Finally, thanks for being a part of this community. We realize that there are many choices today on the internet, and we have all of you to thank for making Styleforum the foremost destination for discussions of menswear.
  • This site contains affiliate links for which Styleforum may be compensated.
  • We would like to welcome House of Huntington as an official Affiliate Vendor. Shop past season Drake's, Nigel Cabourn, Private White V.C. and other menswear luxury brands at exceptional prices below retail. Please visit the Houise of Huntington thread and welcome them to the forum.

  • STYLE. COMMUNITY. GREAT CLOTHING.

    Bored of counting likes on social networks? At Styleforum, you’ll find rousing discussions that go beyond strings of emojis.

    Click Here to join Styleforum's thousands of style enthusiasts today!

    Styleforum is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

Nectar

New Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2014
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
If it helps, I picked them up at an estate sale along with other similar type pieces
puzzled.gif
 

Nectar

New Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2014
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Thanks for the information Loathing.

I've got a 4th stool that is different from the other three that is not listed on the HM website. I presume it's not manufactured by HM.
 

apropos

Distinguished Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2008
Messages
4,461
Reaction score
402

I think I need a plant in my living room. I'm envisioning something about 1½ meters in height, so a large plant or a small tree. I haven't started looking yet, but I assume some of you have given this some thought and have experiences with what's good. So, any recommendations on what to get or not to get?


Hey kap, I may be able to help with this. What sort of light and ambient temperatures do you have where you intend to put the plant?

When I say sort of light I mean direct vs indirect, bright (able to read comfortably by) vs dappled, and the rough direction the window faces. E.g. A north facing window with bright indirect light all day.

Do you want flowers, a more sprawling or more narrow growth habit?

I know it's a pain in the proverbial but the reason why so many people fail with house plants is that the environment was never suitable to begin with.

And then the predictable result is that everyone ends up with mother in law tongues, iron plants, or parlour palms which are pretty much indestructible.
 
Last edited:

Kaplan

Distinguished Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2008
Messages
5,241
Reaction score
4,556

Hey kap, I may be able to help with this.


Thanks.


The room this will go in have west facing windows and the plants will be getting almost no direct light, but the indirect light is good enough to read by for as long as the sun is up. Temp is pretty steady around 21 degrees celsius year round.

I'm not looking for flowers and not something too sprawling. Some volume and height would be nice. Image searching all of imatlas's suggestions, I find that I'm no big fan of most of the potted dragon trees I found, that the Australian tree fern would be too sprawling, most of the parlor palms look a little boring (though I kinda like something like this as maybe a second plant) and the potted ponytail palms mostly look sad. Of the 5 suggested, I think the weeping fig might be best, even though I find the foliage kinda dull. Something like this has the size and volume I'm looking for.

The more it is or resembles a small tree, the better for what I have in mind.
 

apropos

Distinguished Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2008
Messages
4,461
Reaction score
402

Thanks.


The room this will go in have west facing windows and the plants will be getting almost no direct light, but the indirect light is good enough to read by for as long as the sun is up. Temp is pretty steady around 21 degrees celsius year round.

I'm not looking for flowers and not something too sprawling. Some volume and height would be nice. Image searching all of imatlas's suggestions, I find that I'm no big fan of most of the potted dragon trees I found, that the Australian tree fern would be too sprawling, most of the parlor palms look a little boring (though I kinda like something like this as maybe a second plant) and the potted ponytail palms mostly look sad. Of the 5 suggested, I think the weeping fig might be best, even though I find the foliage kinda dull. Something like this has the size and volume I'm looking for.

The more it is or resembles a small tree, the better for what I have in mind.


Most people on SF don't know that I'm a amateur (to quote a movie) horti-*******-culturalist, so here goes.


Ficus benjamina is a solid choice. It is common, yes, but much less so when trained to standard (i.e. looks like a small tree - distinct single trunk, bushy top) form. I think the photo posted by medwed has two benjaminas trained as standards, so you get a good idea of what is possible. Think plain vanilla submariner vs big crown gilt dial submariner - the details can elevate a plant from common to special. It is relatively hardy, and should do reasonably well.

Parlour palms (Chamaedorea elegans) are good accent, not focal plants IMO. They have a generally upright habit, but IMO their main advantage is that they can tolerate relatively low levels of light and are sort of "classy" looking if you get a nice specimen. For example, the one you linked is OK, but a "better" specimen would have less congested stems, and look a little more "layered". Hard to explain, but this is what I am referring to:

700


Of the palms, parlour palms would do best inside IMO.

Another (more expensive) less commonly seen option is the Kentia palm, but the light requirements for that one is a little higher, and from a distance they look similar to plain vanilla parlour palms. Kentia palms were actually the archetypal Victorian era indoor (i.e. parlour) palm, not the palms sold today as parlour palms. The origins of the leaves are a little more closely spaced off the stem and the actual leaves a little broader than your chamaedorea parlour palm. This is the Kentia palm:

700


Two other suggestions come to mind for impactful plants that have volume and height. Ficus elastica (rubber plant) and Ficus lyrata (fiddle leaf fig).

Ficus elastica is colloquially known as the rubber plant, but AFAIK is not actually used commercially for natural rubber. It has beautiful big leaves that are thick and almost vinyl-chair-covering like in feel, and comes in several varieties, the most commonly available being a variegated leaved version, a burgundy leaved version, and then your plain green leaved ones. The variegated ones require a lot more light, so scratch that one off your list. The burgundy ones are nice and unusual, as the growing bud at the tip of branches are a bright scarlet red and the leaves are dark green with burgundy central veins. The regular ones have lighter green leaves and the growing tips are a much less intense shade of red. They are sometimes found trained as standards. The burgundy one requires a tiny bit more light than the regular green ones, but will adapt to lower light levels by having their leaves be less burgundy and more green.

Burgundy vs regular:
700
700


Elastica standard:
700


I've saved IMO the best for last.Ficus lyrata is quite popular with the interior design crowd, and with good reason too - it's an absolutely beautiful plant, "architectural" even. It has large distinctive leaves, is a beautiful glossy emerald green, and can be found with single stem (cheapest), multi stems (most common), and even as standards (most expensive, by far, we are talking >$200).

Lyrata single:
700


Lyrata multi:
700


Lyrata standard:
700


This plant can grow big and tall, I have 4m tall ceilings and expect mine to eventually reach them if I don't prune it. Drawbacks? Needs a little more light, though it will definitely tolerate bright-ish indirect light. And expensive - well, expensive for an indoor plant anyway. It has a reputation for being finicky, but that's mostly because people overwater them. Yes, overwater. I water mine once a month, and only a modest amount. Training a single stem into a standard is dead easy, so don't despair if you don't want to drop $300 on a houseplant. I think Ikea sometimes has single stemmed plants in stock.

An honourable mention is the dwarf Strelitzia reginae (dwarf bird of paradise) - I know you mentioned that you didn't want flowers, but the foliage and natural form are quite striking and the flowers infrequent but long lasting. Grows to ~1.2m only. The non-dwarf version can top 2m and get a little unruly looking, which is why I think the dwarf is better.

700

Olive and citrus trees will definitely not do well indoors as they both require bright direct sunlight. Nearly all succulents should be avoided unless you have direct sunlight or very bright indirect light. If you have a tall shelf by a window and are open to the idea of having foliage "cascade" down instead of stems/leaves growing up, English ivy or Pachira aquatica (money plant) are hardy options. All ferns require higher humidity than what most would consider comfortable at home to look their best and most do very poorly with cold drafts - which needs to be considered if they are being placed near windows.

Hope this helps.
 
Last edited:

Find Finn

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
Sep 10, 2010
Messages
12,040
Reaction score
3,395
Have you guys seen this?


Isay Weinfield - Bar Toto
1000

1000






And Skinny still looking for a daybed.

1000
 

mbaum

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 23, 2013
Messages
994
Reaction score
2,522
The bar is too gimmicky in my book. The day bed on the other hand is delicious. Who's done it?
 

twistoffat

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2009
Messages
487
Reaction score
109
Actually got a Panton barboy myself. This one look a bit too untidy
[ATTACHMENT=9630]Panton (72k. jpg file)[/ATTACHMENT]
 

Featured Sponsor

How important is full vs half canvas to you for heavier sport jackets?

  • Definitely full canvas only

    Votes: 45 40.5%
  • Half canvas is fine

    Votes: 44 39.6%
  • Really don't care

    Votes: 5 4.5%
  • Depends on fabric

    Votes: 18 16.2%
  • Depends on price

    Votes: 25 22.5%

Forum statistics

Threads
504,444
Messages
10,573,995
Members
223,707
Latest member
adegggguuuub
Top