I'm Spotting This 'Floral Resin' Everywhere Right Now — How These Preserved Blooms Got a Seat in the Newest, Coolest Projects

Back in autumn 2017, I was sitting in a wood-clad, warmly lit auditorium in Amsterdam, a fresh-faced university student, when, some 20 minutes into a persuasive communication and mass media lecture, our professor introduced us to the concept of 'repetition priming': the psychological phenomenon according to which the very first exposure to one sensory stimulus — say, a specific smell, visual, or sound — makes it much easier for someone to recognize and process that very stimulus the second, third, and fourth time they come across it. And in the most extreme cases, almost impossible for those who have encountered it at least once before not to — suddenly? — start to notice it popping up everywhere.

Nearly 10 years on, I still refer back to that lesson whenever I spot something that, at first sight, seems completely casual and then turns out to be much more ubiquitous than I would have thought. For one thing, homeware pieces featuring preserved flowers 'trapped' in their body, or what I have just come to know as 'floral epoxy' resin designs. From the first-ever herbal infusion house of the French capital, tucked on a picturesque alley in the Haut-Marais, to a new spirited sushi and cocktail address in the nearby Tuileries district, passing through the science-infused practice of Polish botanical artist and designer Marcin Rusak and his frozen-in-time, functional floral still lifes, so many of the third spaces that have landed on my radar this month are imbued with the same blossoming romance, literally. But what is it about resin and petals that's enthralling so many of our favorite makers and creatives as a design trend?

"I think it's a mix of nostalgia, which is all around us right now, from interiors to film to fashion, and something much deeper. Like the mosquito in amber in Jurassic Park, we're deliberately choosing to freeze time — and there's something reassuring in that in such unstable times: it doesn't move; it's there, still," Romain Casella, founder and director of London- and Geneva-based boutique creative, brand consulting, and communications agency MAY, tells me, having observed the steep rise of resin in the curation of client platforms like Monologue London, particularly "in the form of tables of every kind, consoles, and lighting: pieces that dress an interior and live alongside people."

Among them, Monologue x Paraforma's Gelo side tables stood out. "Hand-cast in thick resin, stacked like a small piece of architecture, the texture of each of these pieces, from glossy to frosted, and their palette, from amber to blush violet, is almost appetizing — you want to eat it, much like a delicious flan," Casella says.

Dutch artist and designer Sabine Marcelis "has mastered the material for as long as I've followed her work," he adds. "Her Totem Lights (captured above) are on show in her first solo museum exhibition, Sabine Marcelis: Light and Color, at Zurich's Museum für Gestaltung between 30 October, 2026 and 4 April, 2027."

Casella has recently met Austrian designer Laurids Gallée at DesignBlok, where he sat on the jury. "His Node 01 light is stunning, with the resin and light held in suspension," says Casella. "His pieces hold time and space still. So beautiful."

That the 'One Decorative Gesture' trend has been named one of the most contagious design moments set to reshape interiors in the year ahead by our just-dropped Style Pulse S/S27 report seems only fair, given I have been noticing this phenomenon taking over myself, whether during Frieze Week earlier this month or simply scrolling after design awakenings on Instagram.

Stumbled upon coincidentally or while expanding my research on floral epoxy resin furniture — a genre originating in the 1940s and revived in the 1980s that's enjoying an unexpected comeback alongside amber-everything — the addresses and resin practitioners spotlighted below each capture the material's ability and that of flowers in turn to "become carriers of knowledge, memories, and emotions," as Marcin Rusak wrote in an Instagram post featuring his Flora Herbarium Clear Amber 152, one of the creations he is taking to next week's Salon Art + Design fair (November 4-8, The Salonny, Park Avenue Armory) in New York.

"I often wonder what someone discovering it a hundred years from now might see in it. Would these flowers tell them something about our relationship with nature, or about what we considered beautiful and valuable? I hope one day the piece becomes a record of the time we lived in," he continued.

Some Like It Hot

Paris's First-Ever Herbal Infusion House, Apoticari, Takes Its Leaves Seriously

At Apoticari's La Tisanerie, Paris's first herbal infusion house in the Haut-Marais and a new contender for a spot in our edit of the best concept stores in the city, the floral-enriched resin bar counter acts as a literal anchor for the space's botanical ethos.

Designed by Paul de Saint Maur and crafted by Bankal et Decker, the surface encases hand-picked flora directly into its structure, transforming a high-traffic hospitality surface into a permanent archive of real vegetation.

Designed by Paul de Saint Maur, the space features a breathtaking, floral-enriched resin bar counter. It is an immersive piece of art that brings the beauty of nature right into the heart of the city.

Expect premium, hand-picked botanical infusions like verbena, linden, and mint, all beautifully paired with indulgent treats designed to elevate your afternoon break.

By trapping perishable leaves and petals within the durable, clear medium, the design ensures that the transient beauty of a single season's harvest is preserved for years to come. It offers city dwellers a tactile, unmoving connection to nature, elevating a standard afternoon tea break into an experience that feels entirely suspended in time, and the menu is just as great.

Expect creative, caffeine-free alternatives like a roasted barley coffee substitute, a vibrant Nettle Latte, and 12 organic French herbal infusions served hot or cold. To eat, you can look forward to wholesome, earthy treats including blueberry-oat muffins, a honey and vegetable charcoal energy bowl, and hazelnut lentil-flour biscuits.

A Transformative Approach to Art and Design

Marcin Rusak Bridges the Gap Between Aesthetics and the Botanical World

Long before the floral epoxy resin furniture moment caught my eye and, clearly, swept through the contemporary interiors scene, Marcin Rusak was pioneering the art of floral encapsulation, officially debuting his technique in late 2015 with his first-ever Flora collection. Unveiled at London's Future Heritage exhibition during Decorex, the series — comprising an intricate screen, lamp, and table cast in dark resin — won him the Research in Making prize and international acclaim the same year.

During his studies in London, Rusak began collecting discarded flower waste from local markets. This turning point allowed him to rediscover his botanical heritage, transforming trivial, overlooked organic waste into high design.

Left: a detail of CWG2318, a coffee table design obtained from selected and processed real flowers and leaves, resin, and patinated bronze, part of the artist's Resina Botanica series.

Rusak's lifelong obsession with the natural cycle of growth and decay sinks its roots in his childhood in Warsaw, where he spent years curiously exploring his family's overgrown, abandoned greenhouses. This early playground deeply influenced his design philosophy, transforming his artistic practice into a poetic, personal quest to salvage the ephemeral from local flower markets and make it, at once, tangible and eternal.

Through his acclaimed Vas Florum: Resina Botanica solo exhibitions at Carpenters Workshop Gallery, Rusak has delivered some of his most breathtaking masterworks to date. Iconic creations like his Flora Sister Tables pair sleek, brushed brass frames with dark, complex floral-infused tops, while his spectacular Flora Credenza and Flora Cabinet 190 Clear Amber juxtapose organic, vividly hued flower petals suspended inside a stark, snow-white and amber resin body. Something just as remarkable happens in his Flora Sister Tables 91 & 110 and a new Inventive Cabinet / Credenza, all of which will be on display at the latest edition of Salon Art + Design from 4 November, 2026.

One More Blossoming Hotspot

Tom Ducarouge's Bar Nomo Gives Floristry the Late-Night Treatment

In the heart of the 1st Arrondissement, Bar Nomo has arrived as a bold new addition to Paris's most beautiful, design-forward dining destinations. Inside, custom furniture pieces featuring floral-enriched resin details serve as a captivating focal point, immediately establishing a surrealist, electrifying ambiance.

Conceived by industrial designer Tom Ducarouge and meticulously brought to life alongside the artisans at Atelier Roma, the venue's striking clear-acrylic chairs and tables trap real, delicate blossoms within their structure, either breaking with delicate whites and pastels or, instead, feeding into the red bar's moody chromatic theme.

The mood is intentionally intimate and cinematic, bouncing off the deep cherry wood surfaces present throughout and warm cast bronze accents. Illuminated by low lighting in a wink at traditional Japanese kissaten cafés, Bar Nomo's cohesive atmosphere lends itself naturally to the hyper-focused, raw culinary concept, which swaps standard sit-down courses for a high-end, late-night handroll bar experience. Et voilà.

Digest our latest Style Pulse SS27 report for a comprehensive rundown of the biggest design trends for the year ahead, or head to our lifestyle pages to continue your exploration of all things hospitality, art, and aesthetics.

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