Maximalism: The Everything-Brings-Me-Joy Trend
Come in close and let’s get honest with one another for a moment. Did anyone else feel the opposite of relaxed in the face of the minimalist/purging movement of the past five years? I mean, sure, it’s good to get rid of things we don’t use or need any more or the things that “don’t bring us joy” but what if you truly like a lot of your stuff? What if you want to hold onto it, or display it for others to enjoy? Just the thought of having to decrease possessions by a significant margin can bring hours of distress.
Is there a counter-revolution for people who shun the sparse room for the sake of treasures and keepsakes galore?
Why, yes! And what sweet relief it is!
The concept of maximalism is the answer to the unease many of us experience when gifted a Marie Kondo book. A design approach, maximalist interior design embraces things like color, patterns and knickknacks. Lots of different colors and patterns and knickknacks, actually. All in one space. Yes, I know just the sound of it sends chills down some people’s spines, but maximalism is a beautiful way to express yourself and it’s coming back as an aesthetic with a vengeance. It’s considered glamourous, expressive, and surprisingly intimate – a way to feature your own personality within your home.
The Curated “More” of Maximalism
Maximalism is about “more” – more colors, more textures, more visual stimulation. But it’s important to distinguish between more for more’s sake and the specific type of “more” maximalism encourages.
The “more” of maximalist design is highly curated. It not only highlights things like color and keepsakes but highlights the selective nature of the designer (you) and what you choose to feature in your home.
Some people are not attracted to maximalism because they associate the term with “clutter” or “busyness” and think maximalism just means cramming as much as one can into a room or space. But maximalism can be highly ordered and, if done well, doesn’t evoke a sense of clutter. It can be a hard line to walk, so we’ve got you covered with a few tips on how to make maximalist décor a key part of your home style look.
Maximalist Color Inspiration
The color trends of maximalism are a far cry from the muted tones of the past decade. Say goodbye to grays, beiges and whites and make way for 70s-inspired jewel tones or the rich hues found in biophilic design. The word to embrace is “color” (as opposed to its absence) and beyond that, you can’t really go wrong. When considering color for your room, don’t forget to look to the floors and ceilings as an additional canvas and a place to feature your eclectic maximalist design palette.
Find Your Base
If you’re looking to embrace maximalist design or realize you’ve been there for some time but want to get more conscientious about your maximalist stylings, make sure to find a base for your room. By base, we’re referring to one color, one overarching pattern, or one feature. Whatever it is, it will set the tone for the rest of the room and become the foundation on which you build everything else.
Say you love a particular wallpaper or area rug. Use that as the starting point for your room and incorporate other pieces (yes, even more rugs or wallpaper) with your base in mind. Everything should align with your base in some way and work together with this starting piece to create a feeling of cohesion. The cohesion you create by starting from a base will keep the room from seeming clashy, disorganized or cluttered. Once you have your base, use it to move on to the following steps.
Both books and music are excellent mechanisms to help us escape from the demands of daily life and destress. Now more than ever we are prioritizing our health and wellness within our own homes with emotional escape rooms. If you’re ready for getting away from it all without going anywhere, you may be ready to create a relaxing room of your own.
Select Your Major Pieces
It could be furniture, a piece of art, or your grandmother’s piano. After all, true maximalists are all about incorporating the things that have meaning into their home décor. As you select items to include, keep your base in mind. The idea here is not to go for matchy-matchy, but to create some semblance of connection. Think of it as a piece of jazz music. The horn solo sounds very different than the drum solo and the bass solo, but it all fits together into a song. Throwing in an accordion or an ‘80s rock guitar riff distorts and confuses the whole thing. It’s not a song anymore, it’s a random collection of music and sounds. Your maximalist décor should all belong to the same song, but it can sound and feel very different from other pieces in the room at the same time.
If you are a recovering minimalist, you may need to restock your home with a few pieces and items. Go shopping in your storage unit for things you loved and couldn’t get rid of but didn’t feel there was a place for in your current home. Or consider repurposing or upcycling some of the items in your storage unit to fit your maximalist design. Reupholster a chair to incorporate additional color and texture or paint that piano from grandma to make it even more you. But don’t get rid of that storage unit! Maximalism is about swapping pieces and updating rooms to feature who you are in a particular moment. Keep things on hand – and a place to store the things you want to replace – in storage.
Showcase You
The central aspect of maximalism, and let’s face it, the primary attraction to this design trend, is the freedom it allows us to showcase who we are and what we love. It’s about individuality and for some of us, that can be hard. What do we like? What things really reflect us?
This can be especially true if you’ve looked to interior design magazines for inspiration. Not only has minimalism been the predominant approach to home design for the past few years, but it’s also encouraged us to strip our homes of the things that make us feel most like ourselves in favor of a pared-down aesthetic. Returning to the opposite of minimalism and a more personal approach to decorating can feel daunting.
One tip for finding your design voice and aesthetic again is to think about what you tend to bring home with you when you travel. Do you go for things that represent the landscape and natural elements? Is your suitcase packed with local art? When we travel and want to remember our experiences, we are often highly selective. Our suitcases can only fit so much! What we gravitate towards therefore tends to reflect what we truly like, admire, and want to continue to experience.
Embrace the Adventure of Maximalist Design
Sure, the tips above are helpful, but make sure you really have fun with maximalism and embrace the adventure maximalist design can offer. Selecting items to feature should be a bit like revisiting old memories and picking out a few favorites. It can be a wild ride and in some ways, maximalism embraces and reflects just this sentiment.
Don’t be overly concerned with design rules. When it comes to maximalism, breaking the rules is half the fun! Maximalism is a trend with a lot of history and a lot to say about who we are individually and as a larger society. If you’re ready to explore this new-again approach to home design, we’re here for it!
