Plants in shops: Bordeaux round-up

This post collates my photographs from my recent trip to Bordeaux – I snapped quite a few ‘plants in shops’ images that I posted on Instagram whilst I was away (my Instagram is ‘_houseplanthouse’). I wanted to use these photographs in a post so that I could write a little bit more about them and where they were taken.

So technically this tree isn’t a houseplant (shame)! I walked past it every morning when I was staying in the Saint Seurin area and at different lights and different times of day, the tree was ablaze with different colours.

These Monstera leaves on display in COS [above right] were on a low level plinth as you entered the store, which worked really well. COS are always super-minimal with their plant displays, there was only two in the whole store that I counted. Perhaps with this in mind, they would have been better with something more impactful like a large ficus or monstera plant. Or for something more minimal to suit their style, a few large cacti.

The photograph on the left was taken in the window [below] and was unintentional …but I thought it looked quite humorous with the reflection of my converse! Above right is a close up of the magnificent Euphorbia Lactea in the same window display. It has such an abstract form it really reminds me of waves swelling in the sea.

Below shows the whole window, with an eclectic array of plants! I couldn’t actually work out what the shop was for though (it was closed) – it looked a bit like some kind of business …either way the display was incredibly impressive and enigmatic.

Below left is an image from an exhibition by Zebra3 / Michael Blazy at a shop space in the Place du Parlement that I took through the glass. See https://www.zebra3.org for more information. Below right was a novel display I noticed whilst having a coffee in La Pelle Cafe on Rue Notre Dame …using a glass teapot as a plant pot! The minimal styling worked really well within the cafe space[photographs above]. On another note, they served great coffee!

The next three photographs are from one of my favourite places – & Other Stories. In all their stores, they have a strong uniform aesthetic which enables them to be easily recognised – an aspect that is key in retail brand development. I’ve visited their stores in London, Paris, Amsterdam and Bordeaux and they all have an enviable collection of cacti, succulents and houseplants!

The photograph below conveys just how striking a plant arrangement can be within a space – I definitely want to work on how I display my plants at home, and think more about grouping them together in this way. I think the consistent use of terracotta pots is a signature ‘look’ of theirs which I like within the minimal white store space.

Above shows part of the display as you walk into the store on the Cours de L’Intendence, which feels less ‘designed’ than some of their spaces – the plants sitting casually on a chair! In other spaces in the stores they do use old school chairs with metal legs, but this was decidedly more casual which suited the surrounding environment.

The photograph below is one I took early one morning before places had opened – there was the trio of plants in front of the shutters, presumably to let them get natural light when the store was closed! The plant pots and saucers look simple but I’ve actually not seen any white concrete containers quite like this – they offer a refreshing alternative to the classic terracotta.

Hopefully this post has given some context to the ‘plants in shops’ photographs I have posted on Instagram from when I was in Bordeaux. I will do this from time to time to offer design inspiration for bringing plants into your space, by looking at places that make plants an integral part of their interior environment.