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    Univers :  Flowers and Fragrances

    Flowers and Scents
     
    For a long time, in the West, floral compositions favoured opulence and chromatic density, whereas the Japanese tradition of ikebana developed an art based on a linear construction, where the vase, stems, leaves and branches were as much in evidence as the flowers. The aim was to recreate a fragment of a unified nature. For decades, Western floral art has been strongly influenced by these principles and vases are made to hold flowers and branches according to rhythms and colour schemes. At the same time, the plant has made its way into the home to be integrated not only into bouquets, but also into design objects: it is nature's disciplined, geometrical and stabilised nature, thanks to which the artificial flower blends with the natural flower to create astonishing optical and skilful play of materials. As for the scents of candles and home perfumes, they diffuse the smells that flowers no longer offer, and give us back, thanks to the olfactory memory which is an affective memory, the smell of freshly cut grass, wood fire, mosses and lichens.
     
    New bouquets, new vases
    There are always flower vases made to hold large batches of flowers. Some have the shape of Medici vases, others are reminiscent of Art Nouveau vegetal forms, others still, like those from Lalique in blown glass, have Art Deco motifs. But the most popular vase shape is that of the soliflore, which highlights a single flower, a simple leaf or a bare branch. The arrangements are asymmetrical and point towards the sky, like those in the offerings of the Buddhist temples which gave rise to the "flower path" of ikebana. Other vases in the shape of a pebble, sphere or cup follow the trinitarian structure of the Japanese flower arrangement: based on the three main axes symbolising the sky, the earth and man, it is intended to recreate asymmetry, space and depth. The materials can be wood or stone, which will evoke nature, its plants, trees and rocks.
     
    Vases in their own right
    Made of concrete, metal or glass, the geometric vases with their rigorous, naked beauty are rectangular, to allow the flowers to pile up horizontally, as in the Japanese moribana. The small soliflores to be hung, the wall-mounted vases, finally, in the shape of a sphere, a leaf or a tube, evoke the lightness of a water bubble, a stalactite or bamboo swinging in the wind. According to the principle of ikebana, the vase is no longer a simple container, but must be enhanced to become part of a unified structure which, however small it may be, links heaven, earth and man and represents the whole of nature and the cosmic totality. The vases can also be displayed without flowers and be worthy of their own beauty. The soliflores and vases are grouped together for their colours and for their shapes that stand out clearly in the space: when placed in this way, they will have the strength of a composition with simple volumes, close to Morandi's still lifes.
     
    Walls and plant paintings
    As a consequence of urban living, nature is entering the interiors, while it is becoming scarce outside. The botanist Patrick Blanc's plant walls make it possible to recreate a whole piece of nature in the home. The nature recreated in this way gives rise to real abstract compositions in which verticals and horizontals and geometric shapes, squares, rectangles, circles or spheres, oppose each other. The green squares are no longer topiary art, but design, because it is the object, whether it is an acrylic, ceramic or metal container, that dictates the shape. For example, Chlorophylle created by Racine Carré for the company Décodurable, a ready-to-push grass square to be placed on a table, console or desk.

    Plants decorate our walls
    These greenery squares are reminiscent of the spirit of the French garden. With its flowerbeds and friezes, straight paths and long perspectives, symmetries, groves and quincunxes, it disciplined nature to recreate, with plants, the language of architecture written in stone. At the end of the 18th century, the English-style garden, on the contrary, attempted to imitate the apparent disorder of nature, its abundance and irregularities. With the plant walls, one is guided both by the spirit of the French garden, as the plants recreate friezes, lines and volumes that are part of the architecture, in the tradition of the English garden, as some of these walls show great exuberance, and in the spirit of the Zen garden where water, mineral and plant are combined. Such is the case with the Végét'Ô triptychs designed by François Lantigny for the Etik&Ô company, which are both vertical gardens and great walls of water: the water runs over slate, natural stone or polished white calades, while adjustable lighting adds to the changing reflections of the waterfall. This wall can be laid on the floor, hung on the wall or used as a partition.
     
    The reign of artifice
    Thanks to innovative materials, the artificial plant has become a creation in its own right, less illusionistic than poetic. There are stabilised plants, semi-natural plants that combine a natural trunk and artificial foliage and artificial plants, whose trunk is made of thermoplastic polymer and whose foliage is made of tergal. Indoor topiaries, cacti, bonsai, pines, boxwood and bamboos that have been treated against UV rays can withstand outdoor conditions and can therefore be mixed, in a garden or on a balcony, with natural plants, for astonishing games of illusion reminiscent of those of Italian Renaissance gardens. The great innovation is that of stabilised plants that achieve a perfect naturalistic illusion. A plant is stabilised over time thanks to a conservation process that consists of substituting the sap with an ecological substance specific to each species. The plant will thus keep its original aspect, its suppleness and greenness.
     
    Artificial trees
    Other creators imagine fairy-tale trees, made of a wooden trunk and translucent white porcelain leaves. For the company Décors Nature, Geneviève Mathieu, plant sculptor, and Barbara Billoud, ceramist, have created unusual and poetic trees. Monumental, the tallest can reach up to 4 m high; the smaller models have beautiful raku pieces as their base. In a bedroom or a living room, these trees will create a dreamlike atmosphere, which is reminiscent of trompe l'oeil and cinema decor. Bamboo canes, natural or dyed, are also decorative elements in their own right, like the tall bundles of wheat, fragments of nature, small corners of the countryside in our town houses.
     
    Candles and home perfumes : an evocative witchcraft If amber balls are primarily used to protect clothes, if hoover powders give a pleasant scent to carpets and pillow mists pleasantly perfume the linen, if essential oils or capillary diffusers are used to cleanse the air, if some candles have anti-smoking virtues, the main purpose of home perfumes and scented candles is first of all to recreate an atmosphere and to raise images by awakening the sense of smell. There are three main families of fragrances that are the most appreciated today: floral, fruity and woody. The latter are currently the most successful, as they are invigorating and transport us on their own to a garden or a forest. The house of Diptyque offers for its candles the scents "Juniper", "Hazelnut tree", "Cypress", "Moss" and "Berries", while the company "Ambiances des Alpes" offers the scents "Woody leather", "Moss and lichen", "Génépi", "Gentian", "Cut grass", "Fern" and "Spring water". A last trend is emerging which favours domestic scents or childhood fragrances from the emotional memory: "Au coin du feu", "L'heure du thé", "Pommes cuites", "Bâton de réglisse". These candles often come in old-fashioned containers, verrines, jars or jam jars that add to their retro charm.

    The scents
    The indoor spray will be the complement of the scented candle. It precedes the scented candle, immediately exalting its fragrances, while the candle gradually heats up. Scented burners and lamps are always beautiful decorative objects, with their openwork structure in hammered metal or kaolin. Practical, compact and refined, the cubes of perfume which, once they have liquefied, can solidify again, compete with essential oils and incense. You should always use pots-pourris or rose petals to perfume your home. But electric diffusers are very popular, because they scent as well as sanitize. The most beautiful models affect both sight and smell by combining the opalescent LED lighting with the fragrance diffuser. The electric mister is based on an ultrasonic system that transforms water into a light mist. Used for the diffusion of essential oils and perfume extracts, it allows a cold diffusion that does not alter the active agents of the oils. It brings freshness in summer and acts as a humidifier in winter. Equipped with LED lighting that diffuses a coloured light that plays with subtle gradations, it combines the virtues of aromatherapy with the play of light of the LED.
     
    Recreating whole areas of nature or small squares of greenery in our interiors, flowers and scents stimulate all the senses and play with all the
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    La Forge  de La Maison Dieu Alterego-Design Addex Design Rosemarie Schulz Miller et Bertaux Baccarat DEGRENNE Paris

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