My favorite piece | flowers and music

We all have our favorite place at home. People make us discover the work they love.

By their own admission, Diane and Daniel didn’t immediately fall in love with their typical 1960s bungalow.

“The sun came from all over the dining room,” recalls Diane Legros, still spellbound by the moment ten years later. “Three walls are made of glass. The room is sunny at any time of the day. When I saw this, I immediately said to myself: “This is our home.” »

At the time, this posh fifties had just sold her Rosemont home to live with her new husband in Beloeil. He loved his coquette shoe box, where she lives with her daughter for 13 years, for her comfort and privacy. But this small house had a terrible flaw: natural light was extremely rare. It is unfortunate that Diane even had to part with the indoor plants she had nurtured for years.

“It was a big loss for me. My African violet was given to me by my ex-mother-in-law when I was at university in Sherbrooke. My plants have always followed me in every step of my life, in every move. They were part of my story,” says the manager of this school publishing project.

“That’s why I wanted to live in the light from now on. This was my first house hunting benchmark. All that sun allowed me to get back into growing my plants,” he continues.

The result is spectacular. Today, her dining room looks like a real indoor garden. On the sills of the large windows, Diane’s magnificent orchids, spathiphyllums, anthuriums and geraniums rub shoulders with her lover’s crassula, cacti, hibiscus and begonia maculata. Indeed, the latter also discovered a love for the green plant.

“I water his plants and he waters mine. The kids think we’re really funny,” laughs Diane.

Generous fenestration not only nurtures all this beneficial nature. It also offers visitors an unstoppable view of the bucolic green surroundings. A large yard surrounded by high hedges is decorated with tall fir trees. Three vegetable gardens provide fresh vegetables during the warm season.

Inspiration within four walls

This sunny home has another favorite spot: a piece of music for Daniel Pickard, an amateur bassist and professional inspector of metal structures. Originally intended as a rehearsal room, the room has become a space for artistic exploration.

“When I step there, even if I leave the door open, I feel that it is closed behind me. This room calms and inspires me,” says the 58-year-old man in the center of a small room whose walls are covered with old musical instruments found at an auction, especially string instruments.

Does he play these instruments? No, the collector replies, particularly those antique pieces that appeal to history and aesthetics rather than utility.

“I bought a banjo from a man who gave me chills when he told me about his experiences with this instrument. Mother-of-pearl keys that have yellowed over time speak for themselves. They represent the spirit of the instrument,” he emphasizes.

Beautiful and silent, the soul of all these instruments becomes transcendent. It exudes a zen, perhaps monastic atmosphere that inspires Daniel with artistic curiosity. Having always played music by ear, he felt the urge to learn music composition.

Then, without asking why, with the intention of repaying all the favors, he still bought himself a lovesick sitar at the auction. A luthier found online in India served as his mentor. The parts needed to repair it cost him hundreds of dollars.

Is he playing? No, Daniel answers again. But whatever. In his eyes, the whole interest of an object lies in the experience it inspires.

He felt the urge to sculpt unbridled in the same artistic impulse. Isn’t he a structural expert? So, on one of the walls of his favorite room is a blasted electric bass, each piece hanging in the air, separated from the body and neck.

“Daniel lives music as mathematics. A set of notes will make her shiver,” says Diane.

“A lot of my inspiration comes from music,” confirms her boyfriend, who is a big Rush fan. “This room is a classroom for me. Always evolving. When I’m there, my mind calms down. Here I am available to explore and learn. »

Do you have a favorite story that deserves to be told? Write to our staff. alaroche.pro@outlook.com