Living With Flowers

Description

Nico De Swert's fantastic floral arrangements are anything but traditional bouquets. They are more likely to resemble the bustle of an haute couture evening gown, an art installation, or an abstract explosion of colors and textures. Shunning traditional romantic floral design and instead striving for gorgeous artifice, De Swert challenges the viewer to see flowers and plants in a new light: as a medium, much like fabric or paint, for creating art. In Living with Flowers, the accomplished floral designer and interior stylist offers a dazzling collection of new ideas for extraordinary floral arrangements: a sphere of tightly packed crimson roses overlaid with perfectly flat dark green leaves, mimicking a watermelon; or a dome-shaped tower of tiny mauve and lavender blossoms rising out of a pewter bowl. With color as its organizing principle, this exquisite book provides captions listing the wide range of flowers and plants used, as well as tips on how to extend their life and show them off to best advantage. A source guide for the best flowers and materials rounds out this exceptional volume.

After graduating from the Royal Academy of Fine Art in Antwerp, Belgian-born Nico De Swert moved to New York City where he has lived and worked for the past six years as an accomplished floral designer and interior stylist. His floral arrangements and designs have appeared in leading magazines such as Martha Stewart Living; Martha Stewart Weddings; O, the Oprah Magazine; and In Style. He has appeared four times on Martha Stewart's television series Martha Stewart Living demonstrating fresh and innovative arrangements for a variety of events and celebrations. De Swert is frequently commissioned by luminaries of the film and fashion world to design and decorate events. He plans to open a floral boutique, called Nico De Swert, in Spring 2005 in New York City. Martha Stewart, through her award-winning magazine, bestselling books, Emmy-award-winning television show, website, syndicated newspaper column, national radio show, mail-order catalogue, and product lines, shares the creative principles and practical ideas that have made her America's most trusted guide to stylish living.