Ethan Charalambous
← All work

Vertical Garden

A garden that hangs from the ceiling, for flats with no floor space to spare.

Ceiling garden with hanging plants in front of a large window
Client
Stanley Black & Decker
Type
Interior product
Build
Full-scale prototype
User
Small-flat renters
01 · Product explanation

A suspended frame for small flats

In a small flat, plants take up floor and shelf space, light is limited and renters often cannot drill into walls. The ceiling is the one surface nobody uses.

I designed a timber ceiling frame with trays hung on rods at different heights. Staggering the trays lets light reach every plant, gives trailing plants room to hang, and turns the garden into a layered display instead of a flat shelf.

02 · Concept

Concept idea

Sketch of the hanging frame with trays at different heights
Sketch of the 30 cm tray and how it hangs from the frame
Sketch of a single hanging tray on four cords
Render of a single module: a timber ring at the top, a timber tray at the bottom, joined by four steel rods
Render of the full garden in front of a window

A ceiling-suspended modular system for small urban flats. Oak frame sections connect along the ceiling, so you add as many modules as your window is wide. Each 25 cm × 25 cm platform hangs at its own height, with a slide-in drip tray for easy watering.

03 · Sketches

Sketches

Sketches of the frame, trays and ceiling fixings
04 · Prototype

Building the full-scale prototype

Building the prototype, step 1Building the prototype, step 2Building the prototype, step 3Building the prototype, step 4Building the prototype, step 5Building the prototype, step 6Building the prototype, step 7Building the prototype, step 8Building the prototype, step 9Building the prototype, step 10Building the prototype, step 11Building the prototype, step 12Building the prototype, step 13Building the prototype, step 14Building the prototype, step 15Building the prototype, step 16
05 · Testing

Hung, loaded and lived with

I tested the structure's strength, its scale and how it fixed to the ceiling. The user felt it was solid and safe, and could see it would use space that was not being used, freeing up room in their flat.

Full-scale prototype hung outdoors with planters, and the user testing it
Render of the frame in a living room