Go through the door of the house Carol Nobrega e Antonio Jotta is to be taken by a series of sensations. First, wonder, followed almost immediately by a feeling of peace.
And it’s not just because they are passionate about plants — and more than that, after all, they are the names behind the FLO botanical atelier —but because they were able to conquer a connection with the space that goes beyond the choice of furniture or color palette. The illuminated aura, dominated by raw tones, reverberates through the angles of the modernist architecture house, built in the mid-1970s.
The house’s original closet, designed in the 1970s, contrasts with the lightness of the decor (Wesley Diego Emes/CLAUDIA)
Above, the painting is the work of @johnnybetti: “Once chosen, he changed the main brush for a Japanese model, because he knows our love for this culture”
Despite the atmosphere of an art gallery, Carol and Jotta managed to transform the space into a home, which houses, in addition to the two of them, the bulldogs, Fiona and Luna, and, in the future, the couple’s baby. “Since it’s a house with character, it already feels like we’ve lived here for a long time. It’s not that blank canvas you don’t know what to do with. It has its own soul”, says Carol about the change, which took place in February of this year.
The emblematic Togo sofa, by Michel Ducaroy, collaborates with the atmosphere of the 1970s house (Wesley Diego Emes/CLAUDIA)
“This house has a soul of its own, and we connect a lot with that. I feel it is an honor to live here”
Carol Nobrega
Kindly nicknamed a spaceship by locals, the structure is covered by a curved roof. Its interior, filled with the smoothness of rounded lines, contrasting with the concrete finish, still gains drawings on the floor by the light that enters the retractable windows of the room. A true work of art.
Carol takes advantage of the sunlight for a peaceful read. Her favorite ranunculus flowers were placed in a handmade ceramic vase for FLO. The container is commonly used in Japan in the art of ikebana (Wesley Diego Emes/CLAUDIA)
Continuing along the living room corridor, a bright burgundy door hides the small room with an air of refuge. It’s where the couple finds time to relax — Jotta with the guitar and Carol with the crystals, another plentiful item at FLO.
1/4 Details of the modernist architecture of the house, built in the mid-1970s (Wesley Diego Emes/CLAUDIA)2/4 Details of the modernist architecture of the home of Carol Nóbrega and Antonio Jotta, from FLO botanical atelier (Wesley Diego Emes/CLAUDIA)3/4 On the left, a piece by the authorial ceramist @rosalva.arte. Next to it, a piece by the master craftswoman Neguinha (Wesley Diego Emes/CLAUDIA)4/4 On the left, ceramics from @casa.daily, beside it, the vase and the jackfruit are works of @rosalva.arte. The tapestry is a Mexican design by MA Estudio. (Wesley Diego Emes/CLAUDIA)
This room also features a piece of furniture full of history: the old pharmacy cabinet that has been with them since the studio was still operating inside the couple’s old apartment. There, a glass door reveals another paradisiacal setting: the backyard. There, the two reserve space for house plants.
The antique pharmacy cabinet has been with the couple since the beginning of FLO (Wesley Diego Emes/CLAUDIA) Continues after advertising
“Imagine over the years how many plants we have collected! But since we live in several houses, many were fixedly planted. And so glad they were part of our life. Now, they’re going to be a part of someone else’s life,” she explains. Despite the smaller number of species, all are iconic.
The view from the back of the house: the garden space reserves an area for the pool and more plants and vegetable gardens (Wesley Diego Emes/CLAUDIA) Details of the garden at the house by Carol Nóbrega and Antonio Jotta, from the FLO botanical atelier (Wesley Diego Emes/CLAUDIA)
LOOKING FORWARD TO SPRING
In 2020, the plant and flower sector moved BRL 9.6 billion across Brazil, according to the Brazilian Institute of Floriculture (Ibraflor). However, long before the hype of the urban jungle in decoration, Carol and Jotta envisioned in botany the possibility of a business, started in an unpretentious way.
Founded in 2013, FLO emerged from the couple’s desire to change areas, as they both worked at a content agency focused on fashion and beauty.
“I was pretty tired of the mechanical task in front of the computer. I missed something, but I didn’t know what. This will was discovered during a trip to New York. The unscheduled trip came from an award given by Instamission, a project created by Instagram, which, at the time, gave users photo missions in exchange for rewards — the chosen click was a wedding record. “We took the opportunity to get to know less touristy neighborhoods and discover incredible stores and restaurants. All decorated with terrariums, like we had never seen before”, he recalls.
The leisure room receives abundant natural light, which comes straight from the house’s garden (Wesley Diego Emes/CLAUDIA)
And this was not the first insight delivered by chance: during their honeymoon, in Paris, they came across very particular flower shops. “The shelves were covered in moss, it looked like an enchanted garden. That stuck with us,” he says. Jotta came back with the fixed idea of making a terrarium. “We always had plants, which was something different among the friends. We thought it strange to go to people’s houses and not see vases. I think it’s a habit inherited from our families”, reports the fashion designer.
However, they knew that creating one from scratch would not be an easy task. “We went to Ceagesp and discovered a new world, which we hadn’t seen up close yet”, recalls Carol about the successfully executed task. A short time later, with no idea what to give a friend at a party, the couple decided to present her with a terrarium.
Of national design, the mirror is from @pistacheganache and the tapestry is the work of @__alexrocca (Wesley Diego Emes/CLAUDIA)
The reaction from the hostess and other guests could not have been better, and the gift resulted in dozens of orders. The idea was professionalized and arrived at what is now FLO, a studio in Vila Madalena, in the São Paulo neighborhood, with an immense catalog of plants and also opportunities to get closer to the botanical universe.
Carol Nóbrega and Antonio Jotta with the bulldogs Fiona and Luna (Wesley Diego Emes/CLAUDIA)
“The business grew and grew… Until we understood that we needed to stop and plan. The idea was not to go out making terrariums, we wanted the person to feel, in some way, the enchantment that we feel in our travels.” The concept store offers arrangements, indoor plants, courses and even mentoring. In addition, availability is plentiful and immediate, and it is possible to acquire them not only by order. After all, “flowers cannot be something just for special dates”, points out Carol.
The enterprise’s anniversary is celebrated, by a happy coincidence, always in the spring. This year, it’s already ten, and the couple knows exactly how the milestone will be celebrated. The end of September is also the expected period for the arrival of the new family member. “Before we moved here, we were in an apartment. It gave me such a great relief to know that I would be a mother here!” For sure, the springs on the ship will be special.
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