Maximalist interior design is a “more is more” style that features many colors, shapes, and textures. It is a “more is more” design style that can elevate your interior by mixing the right textures, colors, and patterns alongside. Maximalist design is bursting with color, from deep jewel tones to bright neons. To create an inviting design, consider the essentials for any road-weary traveler: a comfy mattress (medium-firm beds are crowd-pleasers with…
To create a maximalist bedroom, start with a neutral foundation and balance light and heavy design elements. Use object curation and placement to your advantage, limit visual noise, use negative space, and create a narrative for your decor. Maximalism is the perfect interior design style for collectors and hoarders, as it encourages the use of art, books, and other maximalist decor items.
For those wanting to experiment with a maximalist aesthetic, Mele recommends starting with smaller spaces, including guest rooms. Maximalism is the perfect interior design style for collectors and hoarders, and embracing your love of objects can help you fill your home with art, books, and other maximalist decor items.
In summary, maximalism is a “more is more” design style that features many colors, shapes, and textures. To create a maximalist bedroom, consider bold colors and patterns, ambient lighting, and layered textiles. Showcase personal souvenirs, collections of favorite objects, and art, and set the tone with a signature bed, dramatic accent wall, or built-in shelving. Maximalist design schemes work better when a balance exists between light and heavy pieces, so the room doesn’t feel closed-off or super uniform.
In conclusion, creating a maximalist bedroom is a fun and creative way to create a space that is brimming with color, pattern, and personality. By following these tips and strategies, you can create a unique and inviting space that showcases your love for color and pattern.
📹 How to Decorate Maximalism | Is This the End of Minimalism?
In this video I explain how you can decorate your home in maximalism design style! I am giving you my tips on how to get a …
What is the psychology behind maximalism?
Maximalism is a psychological concept that involves collecting excess of various items, such as money, records, albums, books, crockery, stamps, and toys. This behavior is driven by motivation and preferences, promoting the desire for more and complexity in various aspects of life. The psychology behind maximalism involves a lifestyle that combines quality and quantity, with a desire for a life filled with dullness, boldness, sophistication, chaos, serenity, and richness of expression.
Why does Gen Z like maximalism?
The rise of Gen Z maximalism is largely due to the pandemic, which led to more indoor living spaces and a focus on energy, joy, and personality. This aesthetic goes beyond interior design, influencing fashion and beauty with bold patterns, textures, and colors. Fluent Research explores how digital products empower the creativity of young people worldwide, highlighting the unique ways Gen Z expresses their individuality.
This aesthetic encourages personalization and exploration of various styles, and it is crucial to ensure that Gen Z continues to have access to the latest digital platforms, innovations, and tools to customize and personalize their experiences and express their creativity.
How do I maximize my guest room?
To maximize your guest bedroom’s floor plan, consider the following tips:
- Downsize the bed to create more space;
- Remove unnecessary items;
- Maximize storage with innovative furniture;
- Decorate with light colors to make the room feel bigger;
- Use mirrors to make small rooms seem bigger;
- Keep décor to a minimum;
- Use wall space;
- Add a cozy rug;
These tips can help make your guest bedroom a more spacious and comfortable space for you and your guests. By following these tips, you can create a more comfortable and functional guest room that can host friends and family during the holidays.
What is the mix between minimalist and maximalist?
Maximal minimalism is a style that combines open spaces with a distinctive sense of style. It features bold colors, mirrors, statement pieces, and furnishings with rich textures. This trend is popular among first-time buyers or retirees, as evidenced by the following listings, which feature a three-bedroom, one-bathroom residence.
What is the difference between Cluttercore and maximalist?
Cluttercore is an aesthetic that emphasizes individuality and storytelling in a space. It doesn’t rely on themes, but rather on evoking personal joy through objects like childhood memories, thrifted finds, and travel souvenirs. To achieve the cluttercore aesthetic, focus on displaying your favorite objects and creating personal meaning in your home. To achieve this aesthetic, follow these basic design principles:
- Keep it sentimental: Avoid filling your space with clutter just for the sake of it. Instead, display meaningful items that bring joy and comfort to your space. This will help create a clutter-free and aesthetically pleasing space.
What is the maximalism design trend?
Maximalism is a style that emphasizes bold patterns, bright colors, and eclectic furniture, textures, and decor. It’s not about overwhelming a room with too much stuff; it’s about creating a unique, personality-filled, and cohesive space. To incorporate maximalism into your home, you can paint walls, use neutral wall colors like off-white, and introduce color through furniture and art. Bold patterns and textures, such as stripes, florals, and geometrics, are key elements of maximalism. Mixing patterns like stripes, florals, and geometrics can make a statement and make a statement in your home.
How to do maximalism without clutter?
A maximalist room balances clutter and organization by intentionally using décor items. Group items together and arrange them in eye-catching ways, using small display shelves or cabinets to showcase collections. Varying heights on surfaces add variety to the room. Gallery walls are a staple of a maximalist space, showcasing art and other items. Mix and match frame textures and colors, and be bold in your display. Gallery walls can be a great way to showcase collections and create a variety of spaces. By balancing these elements, a maximalist room can be a visually appealing and functional space.
What makes a room feel elegant?
To add sophistication and elegance to your home, consider adding antique elements such as clocks, vases, and paintings. These pieces can be found at antique stores or flea markets and add character to your space. However, choose antiques in good condition that complement your home’s style to avoid clutter.
Add color, pattern, and texture to your home with cushions made of silk or velvet. These materials add a touch of sophistication and make the space more inviting.
Add a floor lamp in the corner to provide extra light and tie the room together, giving it an elegant feel. By choosing antiques that are in good condition and complement your home’s style, you can create a visually appealing and inviting space.
How do you style a maximalist room?
Maximalist interior design is a style that embraces the more is more mentality, blending bold use of color, pattern, and layering to create a space that honors and celebrates excess. This design style is rooted in a more-is-more philosophy and often blends an eclectic mix of patterns, colors, textures, and objects. Megan Hopp, founder of Megan Hopp Design, explains that maximalism is not just about piling everything into a room and calling it a day; it’s intentional and curated.
Maximalist interiors often emulate the richer parts of life and involve big and bold decision-making when it comes to color, pattern, texture, shape, and form. This style is a fun way to put all of your favorite things together in one room and show them off in a striking and playful way. A bold wallpaper makes a statement in this maximalist office designed by Ashley DeLapp.
What is the philosophy of maximalism design?
Maximalism is a design philosophy that promotes self-expression and joy by embracing vibrant colors, eclectic patterns, and curated collections. It encourages creating environments that reflect personal personalities, passions, and experiences, rather than adhering to rigid design rules. Maximalism acknowledges the complexity of human nature, characterized by layers of textures, colors, and patterns, inviting exploration and discovery.
It celebrates the beauty in imperfection, charm in eclecticism, and magic in the unexpected, celebrating the uniqueness of every individual and creating spaces that reflect the depth and complexity of their identities.
What is the principle of maximalism?
Maximalism, a reaction against minimalism, is an aesthetic of excess in the arts, often associated with postmodern novels by David Foster Wallace and Thomas Pynchon. This philosophy emphasizes “more is more” and can refer to anything seen as excessive, overtly complex, and “showy”, providing redundant features and attachments. Novelist John Barth defines literary maximalism through the medieval Roman Catholic Church’s opposition between “two. roads to grace”. It can refer to anything seen as excessive, overtly complex, and “showy”.
📹 Maximalist Decor Tips for Your Small Apartment Bedroom | Tiny Space, BIG STYLE
What do you do when you have maximalist decor taste, but your small space is anything BUT maximal? Well, I have good news: …
I used to be a minimalist and had only the necessary items in my home. I thought it was the best thing to do for my anxiety. At the time, I was working so much that it didn’t matter what my house looked like because I was never there. Cut to later: I get hired at a different, better (so much better) company and go on a two week backpacking trip to celebrate. As soon as I got back and walked through my door, I almost cried. My house looked like I could have been walking into anyone’s home, because none of my personality was reflected in the space. It felt sad, it didn’t feel like my little corner of the world. After just spending two weeks living out of a bag, I realized that I could have minimalism anywhere, but that my home should be exactly what I want it to be. Funny enough, adding more decor to my home helped with my anxiety. I know people say that’s a benefit to minimalism, but I think having more color, art, decor in my home gives me something tanglible to focus on. When my space was empty all I would think about was stuff that was happening outside of my home. I will say that one valueable thing I learned from minimalism is to be intentional with the things in your home, lucky for me my intention isn’t limited to five items.
I wouldn’t call myself a maximalist, but I definitely concur with the thought that the Covid lockdown made me realise my decor (living room in particular) did not represent my personality. I’m an artist/designer, but it actually featured very little of my own work, and it was all bloody beige. I’ve now gone for deep woodsmoke blue walls, orange sofa/chairs with a bit of deep turquoise throughout. I’ve got all these colours echoing in my own artwork (large oil paint canvases), plus some ceramic pieces designed by me or other local companies who I count as friends. I’ve also designed some cushion covers and had them printed up in really loud patterns that again jigsaw with the existing palette. I’m not really into repeating loud pattern but I’m definitely feeling more confident now I have all my “things” around me and they work in a cohesive way. Thanks for the article Nick!
I think maximalism is really hard to get right. People don’t understand that it’s not just about having a lot of stuff in your rooms. It’s a carefully crafted aesthetic achieved through layering of multiple colors, patterns, and textures that still manages to have visual balance and come off as chic and intentional.
I love this style. In fact, I’ve kinda known this style was “me” even before I knew it had a name. What I struggle with is how to apply this style to my home (that was built in the 90’s). Decor-wise, the maximalist style looks incredible in homes built in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, but can look kind of odd in a 90’s house with a combined LR/DR with a vaulted ceiling and virtually no architectural interest.
I think it’s important when buying bigger ticket items to absolutely love it. I got a washed oak 5 piece wall unit with bookcases. I bought it from Macy’s in 1990. It has worked well all these years- used white wax to lighten it up and changed the hardware/knobs three times. Just recently I put leather pulls on the drawers and doors. It was pricey for me at the time, but in the long run it’s saved me money with it’s quality and beauty.
A friend of mine has the best decorating style of anyone I ever met aside from professionals. She collects art, her hobbies are cooking, plants, and making stained glass objects (the real thing). Any home she lives in has flat white walls, high end modern neutral or wood furniture with a few family antiques, pale tile or wood floors with traditional (usually red) patterned hand-tufted wool rugs, plants, original modern leaded stained glass lamps she designed and made, and lots of original or limited edition art – oil paintings, watercolors, pottery . . . She designed a coffee table to be made out of slabs of black slate and had it custom fabricated. She explained that wasn’t done to be extravagant or showy – it is because slate is the best material on Earth for handling drips and spills with grace and will be beautiful for a lifetime, no coasters required. And the hand made wool rugs are indestructible with occasional vacuuming. Italian leather sofas because they are the best at doing what sofas are meant to do and lasting a long time. Everything is intentional like that, and seems in place. Lots of color from the artwork and stained glass, and she can tell you all about every artist. It’s not that she is throwing money around – she taking the long view and buying a good long-wearing rug to last twenty years instead of ten rugs that get thrown away. I have no idea what to call her style, but it is awesome.
I feel like most people I know and admire for their taste have always just lived this eclectic/boho/world traveler/found object/thrifted/inherited aesthetic for years or decades now. A space can be warm, inviting, fun, colorful, eclectic, and exciting without being cluttered, overwhelming, or nonsensical. In fact, if you look at the people who play life simulation games (mostly the Sims) you’ll see the vast majority are all about “the clutter” and plants… but its moreso about making a space feel lived in and homey and comfortable rather than a staged zillow listing. I’m genuinely looking forward to the time, probably in a a year or two, when we’ve settled into this comfortable and cozy aesthetic that mixes Scandinavian hygge with thrifted/vintage eclectic. I do honestly believe they can inhabit the same space quite well.
Your comment about simpler and more complex patterns also works for furniture. I love some very intricate, detailed furniture styles, like Victorian, Queen Anne, or gothic. But in a room, I find those pieces work best when paired with simpler pieces. It’s often modern (because it’s easily available), but can be any style with clean lines and simple design. It keeps the space from feeling stuffy while making the more intricate pieces pop.
I feel like each piece should have a story. Not “I bought this at Target”, but more like “I had a dream about this piece and I spent ages looking for it. I’d just about given up, when I went to Target to pick up ingredients for paella. I turned around, and there it was, exactly like my dream. It was the only one and had been marked down, and I knew it was just waiting for me to find it.” Or whatever. But it needs a story 🙂
I’ve been WAITING for this article! I would definitely categorize myself as a maximalist who likes hints of Mid-century Modern & Post Modern design styles (including some Danish Pastel). I like a lot of bright &/or pastel colors, along with some modern patterns & animal print patterns. Seem to see this style mostly on Instagram, although I know there’s now a Reddit for people who have or like this style as well. Pinterest has some great inspiration and photos as well. And there’s a FEW articles here on YouTube displaying Maximalism in homes. I understand it’s not for everyone (the same way minimalism isn’t), but those who enjoy it clearly seem to get some mental health benefit from it as well. Some folk need that color & pattern for stimulation. Think of it as art therapy, if you will.
FINALLY, I’m back in style lol! I have always been a maximalist. I’m 50 years old and I’ve seen trends come and go through the years, but I just stuck with my maximalist sense of style lol. I’ve tried to stray and be more minimalist in the past, but it always makes me feel wrong and kinda depressed. I do like my home to tell a story about me as a person and us as a family. When I’m surrounded by things I love and lots of color, I feel so much happier! I do try balance it with not having TOO much stuff because I don’t like clutter, but my husband always jokes that I have to have every inch of wall space covered. 😬 This is a great article with really useful tips for how to make this style work! I really enjoyed so many of the rooms you showed.
Love this Nick! Thanks for describing my maximalist story telling house! Most of my things are passed down, from my travels and thrifting in my home. My neighbor said it was eclectic and I wasn’t sure if I was offended by that comment! Lol! Love that my style fits on the spectrum! 🤭 Thanks for doing this article!
When I was anxious and angsty, minimalist worked for me, but when I retired and bought my own home, I went from minimalist to maximalist practically overnight. I don’t know what came over me, but I’m still looking for stuff to collect, and this winter I’ll probably attack the ceiling. Might just be boredom. I went from anxious to bored, so I went from minimalism to maximalism. LOL!
Focal point. I like the maximalism style (minimalism is sooo not me) yet when you mentioned having a focal point, I realized that with most of the examples you were sharing throughout your presentation, my eyes were all over the place as was my brain! Sure, something may grab my attention, for a NANO-second, but my eyes went from the wallpaper to the pillows, to the carpet, back to the couch, to the oversized plant to the plethora of books, to the club chairm to the painting. It wasn’t a case of my “taking it all in.” I couldn’t settle on any one thing and then get a sense of the room. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I think decorating to highlight a focal point is helpful for staging a property for sale (fireplace, bay window, freestanding tub…) but in terms of self-expression in one’s own home, if a person loves lots of pattern and/or lots of color, go for it! As you point out and guide, there are ways to incorporate so that you don’t get dizzy or it looks ugly. I will conclude with some of those examples… waaaay too much stuff and pattern all over the place.
For sure I am the Maximalism decor lifestyle person. Mostly my house has been collected over my whole lifetime of being on my own over 55 years. I nailed the color pallet being cohesive. Turquoise and purple from very light to some bits of dark. Lots of white and of course the greens of my jungle of house plants many I have had 30 to 40 years, yes the same plants.I so love to finally be able to put a name to “My Style”. Great article Nick Thanks! HA I can not even imagine shopping for things to create this look though. I believe it comes from within yourself and evolves overtime.
Grew up with hoarders who were children of hoarders, and suffer from a tendency towards hoarding myself, so some of these examples give me anxiety. Like, I grew up with every area around me being full from top to bottom with lots of different colors and shapes, with the onus being on me to 1) not knock anything over, and 2) do all the cleaning with my sister. Clean, open spaces draw me in, with lots of places for my eyes to “rest”. I hate that my home looks like we’re either in the process of moving in or out – not homey at all – but struggle.
One of the most exuberant, celebratory, examples of maximalism I have ever seen are the homes of Johnson Hartig, the founder of Libertine. Your home should make you happy and I think people are finally waking up to the fact that white and grey don’t make them happy. I am SO ready for retailers to get back to offering COLORS, and by colors I don’t mean grey, white, and washed-out blues. Give me some midnight blues and chocolate browns and carnelian reds and rich ambers, etc. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on maximalism, Nick!
For me, I think there’s a happy medium. I do love a minimalist, scaled back look. For my OCD, it allows my mind to just think clearly. I can only function in a maximalist space for so long before I become a sloth and just sit on the sofa. LOL However, a lot of minimalist looks are just too stark and not warm at all.
Nick : as I am growing older, I have realized how much I like empty, warm-natural spaces- very very reminiscent of Restoration hardware CEO’s house. I cannot deal with maximalism. It definitely has to do with my psyche. My mind is so cluttered and chaotic, that I look for relief outside my inner clutters.
As a maximalist I really liked this article, toward the end I did get confused by some of the pictures you were showing and whether you thought they were well done or too much and cluttery. I mean clearly the one with the pink fireplace and ridiculous amounts of rattan and what not was no bueno, but some of the others I was on the fence and wasn’t sure if they were an example of well done or hoarders. I struggle that with in my home so I think I’ll just embrace it and call it well done hoarders. Hahaha! Funny, not funny. Another great article as usual, Nick!
I just wanna say how comforting your articles are to watch. Am I a designer or decorator? Not even close. Am I procrastinating 100% of the time I watch you? Hard yes. I have a mountain of work to do and the Sunday scaries are here with a vengeance. But I always make time for you, Nick; love your perspective 😊
I’m a shameless maximalist. You’ll pull my accent walls from my cold, withered hands, taste-shmaste, but this style speaks to me in a way no other style does. I want to be friends with the people who live in the rooms you featured. I love rooms you could spend a week in, exploring all the mysteries and surprises.
You bring some amazing points for design in general with this article. I think design falls flat when it becomes too manufactured (like farmhouse and later minimalism). Another point is how good design tells a story that’s unique to the person that lives in that space, instead of “I saw this pin/insta post and I copied it”
I’m totally a Maximalist and you hit the nail on the head when you were talking about patterns and you said: allow space for the eyes to rest. The key to having a successful Maximalist look and just having a pile of junk is to have places for the eyes to rest. I always make sure to leave some blank spots, incorporate white objects or trim, blocks of quieter color. Lots of beautiful patterns and objects are fun and stimulating, but you need blank spaces. You are absolutely right that Maximalism is very very intentional and curated. In fact I would say it’s far more curated than Minimalism because you really have to work at it to make a large number to objects and patterns work together. One thing you didn’t mention when you were discussing grouping things together: Triangles and varying heights. The human eye likes triangles so when you group items try to do it in a way that has different heights so that you could draw a triangle around the objects. I’m constantly on the look out in thrift stores for pretty wooden boxes and pillar candle holders that I can use as props under plants and decor objects to lift them up and vary the heights in my vignettes to create those eye-pleasing angles.
This was one amazing article, thank you for making maximalism sound less scary. As an indian, my heart is originally maximalist and an ideal space for me that sparks “true” joy would be full of colour, nostalgia and bold statement pieces that mirror me. But as an urban metropolitan indian, I gravitate towards minimalism, especially scandinavian with a touch of bohemian which I consider classy and overdone at the same time. I find macrame and dreamcatchers beautiful but also hate how it somehow feels mass produced because every home has it and I see the same designs everywhere. I love the indian handicrafts too but I am a little scared that it might look a little too “picked-up-around-the-corner”and may feel a little dated. It is a real dilemma, I hope you won’t judge me for that. It would be amazing if you could do a article on the ‘global desi’ design style or any asian culture specific design styles so that people like me can apply the same principles and make our homes not copies of our grandma’s but still remind us of that charm in a subtle way.
My grandma had a very beautiful appartment furnished for really cheap with inherited items and things she got on many travels and working abroad in Egypt and Lybia with grandpa. Bedroom was in sort of Marie Antoinette style and livingroom with sort of egypt thematic with a tropical plants in it. I always loved her appartment much more then everybody else’s! At least now i know how its called and starting to dream about my own take 😛 !
Having lived in a maximalism household as a kid,I have to say,do what you want. BUT. For me, sometimes it felt that the focus fell too much on things instead of functionality/living space. A happy medium between expressing yourself but keep it functional is ideal. PS: especially in a household with kids,minimal things/inventory combined with fun,cohesive decor is perfect.
I am actually between minimalism and maximalism: I like the part of “telling your story” in your decor but in a very curated way that showcase your pieces. In maximalist spaces there is too much going on and in minimalist ones not enough!!! and the objects you choose cannot come from Target or Ikea but carefully thrifted or bought on trips or handed down by family or friends: real stories!!!!
I love that you did a Maximalism one. That is fun. One of the things I hear people say about minimalism is that they think that have to play by a set of rules. That’s just silly. As someone with a bright yellow kitchen and back deck, I say, do whatever make a person happy. Less, more, somewhere in the middle. It’s all fun.
Well done maximalism can be beautiful. I could visit it briefly, but live with it?! Too much maintenance. And if you chose minimalism as a design style because it was trendy, of course you’ll get sick of it, but if you chose it as a lifestyle and the decor came from that choice, you made the decor your own and can live with it for a lifetime. My sofa is red because I love red (plus it’s easier to keep clean). A red sofa doesn’t fit the minimalist decor palette, but it fits the lifestyle.
Nope, sorry, just not for me. Nearly every one of the photos of these rooms and spaces makes my eyes hurt, let alone actually being in them. I went to a showhouse last fall and many of the rooms were exactly like some of the photos in this article. I could spend only a few minutes in them before my blood pressure started to go up and my senses started to shut down. I can aesthetically appreciate a maximalist space done right–and Nick is spot-on about the rules that must be followed to keep it from just being visual diarrhea. But to me it ultimately doesn’t matter how cohesive, edited–and, indeed, beautiful–a maximalist space is, I cannot RELAX in maximalist rooms. The world outside is crazy and chaotic, my home (small condo that it is) is my sanctuary, my quiet place. It needs to be calming, soothing, and peaceful, as well as quiet and relaxing. And, sorry, but to me NONE of those adjectives are applicable to maximalism.
Maximalism is me! My color pallette is very tight with a base of cream/tan and pastels layered in. Everything has a story. Many are family “heirlooms” that were passed down to me. My working rule is, “If you can’t walk through or find a place to sit, it’s not maximallism. It’s just a mess.” I truly love my house. Thanks, Nick! This was a fun article.🌸
Also, as much as I love art deco and industrial/steampunk, I’d love to see a resurgence of Art Nouveau design. But how? Tiffany lamps, dragonfly wallpaper, flowers and…? That would be such a cool article to see your thoughts on that. Edit: I framed my grand bookcase with two Japanese screens that are very Art Nouveau ackshually Also a article delineating “kitsch”, “camp”, “corny” and “cheesy” in design and a article on Tiki Bar design.
I just realized, I live in a Maximalist Space. MCM mixed with 19th Century Chinese vernacular pieces, showcase full of First Nations Art, Zuni fetishes standing guard over the books in the overflowing library, art on every available wall, even the exposed brick walls, I’ve been told that my home looked like well curated museum, a compliment I’ll take.
I try to put the same things into the same room, so blue objects go into my dining room, while green goes into my lounge etc. I don’t have just blue or green, but it’s a starting point to add other colours to it. Then I have this multi-coloured material that I upholstered my dining chairs in, plus a couple ottomans and about to do some cushion covers, so the rooms get linked in a small way.
Honestly, you can make any design style sound reasonable and interesting. But oh my, some of those rooms just make me twitchy. I am more of a minimalist in the lifestyle but less so in my decorating. I really love warm rich colors, furniture passed down through the family, and art that I’ve got back from travels. All the crazy patterns and bright colors of Maximalism just do not feel peaceful to me I don’t want to feel on edge in my own home. An aside: I so love how gentle your snark is. In spite of saying that collecting dolls is a fine thing to do, clearly you find that thought appalling. As do I. Dolls are just miniature clowns.
I think it’s also a response to people being home and doing a lot of online shopping, then supply chain delays… so killing time as we all waiting with carefully thrifting unique secondhand pieces.. before we all knew it, we had “more” but it was all really carefully curated for the space so it all manages to go together.
I realize I made all of my dorm rooms like this (at their best). I looked around and I realized I have slowly gotten object thats so taht a bold color looks intentional. I will say it’s a hot mess because exams and not enough time to tidy my small space, but when I had it fully clean everything some how seemed right even tho it’s different colors and patterns. (Only thing ruin it is the darn pale yellow college dorm room walls, which I got a poster that somehow makes it ducking work and I don’t understand how) But each item has a meaning to me. I have a collage of postcards I collected during events, travels, and posters from college fairs. Also stickers and art I made as well. Also sorry for the rabble and bad grammar, brain tired.
I really don’t care what is “fashionable” or this year darling…..I have things around me that gives me comfort, happy memories and reflect my interests. If you had to lable my “style” it would be restrained victorian/gypsy/Celtic/boho/new age. I have my small crystals all over in places that you don’t think of. I have them sitting on top of lamps, picture frames, and inside small wicker bird cages….this is just a example of how I decorate.
Watching this is literally giving me anxiety. It’s to overwhelming with the extra patterns and colors and things… So many things!🤪 I have family who’s homes are like this, and I can only be in there home for short periods of time, and if I can’t go outside do to weather, then I don’t go at all.🥴 I’m sorry, I love simplicity and I love a place where I can relax and for my eyes to land. This is definitely not the look/style for me.🤷🏻♀️ Thanks for sharing.👍🏼❤️
I love Scandinavian style because it has white walls, and is more minimalist, but is also cosy and individual eg Scandinavian does use colour, it’s not just white and mixes new and old decor/furniture. All my decor/art work are objects I have collected on my travels around the world and from childhood/family. But with these art objects and use of colour, I don’t consider myself a maximilist.. I definitely couldn’t relax in those colorful, mixed pattern, “full” “busy” rooms you showed.
Very interesting article. However, after five minutes in most of these maximalist homes, I would go running out screaming. Too busy, too much going on, too cluttered. I think I would feel like I was suffocating. I’ll stick with a neutral, uncluttered home. But to each his own. Nice to see the different styles. You do an excellent job explaining them.
The minimalism I aim for is Scandi type, still lived in and cozy while still clutter free I don’t like having excess things, I rather spend my money elsewhere, I also hate dusting around so many things. I do know many people fell into minimalism simply due to monetary restrictions, but I don’t really care for maximalism, just reminds me of my grandma and mom’s houses and I hated having to help them clean.
I’m going to coin a new design style title: Big Budget BoHo. I think that style is getting confused with what most people think of as Maximalism. For me, traditional Maximalism can embrace a lot of styles but requires something high-end. It can be a champion piece of furniture, or you can put that hundred dollar a yard fabric to use. The response you’re looking for is a gasp and rushing into the room to participate in it. A floor to ceiling wall of digitally printed art in IKEA frames on a pink wall with a hard wooden chair in front of it doesn’t do that. Art visibly trying to be quirky is not it. Jarring colors and incongruent patterns striving to make a point – that’s all Big Budget Boho. It’s creative, it appeals to Bohemians (as the name says), you’ll find it in the homes of artists and celebrities, but it doesn’t resonate with most people. it gives maximalism a “bad” name as being unrelatable on the high end, and on the low end, the place Oops paint goes to die. Mama don’t mean no harm! 😂
Minimalism will never go away, and we’ll probably shift back to it later on down the road as trends come and go. People just took minimalism too far as usually happens with trends and it started to resemble a parody of itself. I still think it’s possible to do tasteful minimalism that doesn’t look sparse, and I’ll probably decorate my next apartment in a similar fashion.
Thank you for this! I had never heard of it but I definitely picked it up over the pandemic. I have these special edition vinyls with colorful jackets designed by different artists just hidden in a record cabinet so I decided to create a MCM style media center and display them on the wall. It’s a great place to read or listen to music and is a perfect use for an odd unused space just off of the living room.
Some of us have evolved into maximalists after 40+ years of Mother’s Day, Fathers Day, birthdays, Christmas, work parties & family vacation souvenirs. You always have great grandma’s quilt made from cast off polyester kids clothing. And we have the faux Chinese tea pot Auntie gave you in 1994 which has to be on display when she comes to visit. I love my family but I think I am ready to devolve into a Moderatist (somewhere in between maxi & minimal)?
This is my jam. I’ve curated my living room into maximalist boho eclectic kinda kitsch with animal prints, random furniture (sofa and loveseat are a set in grey) with a color palette of warm browns, bright greens, deep purples and some grey, black, white and a very little blue. Wall tapestry of a lion in brown, funky/kitschy throw pillows, floor pillows, soft white string lights, electric candles, red light floor lamp, Himalayan salt lamps, a hidden tv, shelves in black industrial and gnarled dark wood with books and DVDs displayed to showcase covers, artificial flowers, skulls, matchbox cars on my coffee table, jade stones…. I should submit for your review/roasting…it is wild and at night, it’s magic.
Please STOP. This is Maximalism by someone who doesn’t like and doesn’t understand it. You can have a beige/white maximalist farmhouse space. You can have a minimalistic space and use color. Max is about embracing your things and turning away from glorifying empty spaces. Most of what Nick shows are eclectic spaces, but that’s not maximalism. It’s not a style, it’s a mindset. And don’t try to adopt a trendy style. You do you and embrace what makes your home yours. It will come around again and when it does, you’ll be ready!
In the end your “style”, your room has to suit you. and your needs. People tell me, my rooms look cozy, but at the same time, like noone would live there. Because I have less stuff, but I like colours, if they match. All my furniture was used when I bought it, because I could not spend much on them. They are random, but I try to make them work. I personally can’t stand maximalism, but this is because I get distracted easily. I have trouble to concentrate on things. I always search my keys phone, my everything…emagine me, living in a maximalist home…and all the work to dust and clean with a chaos mind.🤣 So the mixed furniture and colour show one part of my personality. The less stuff makes it livable for me and shows another part. I like all these interior articles. I can’t afford to buy any furniture at the moment or expensive stuff, but I like the estetic I see and I can use some tips to change minor things or to decide what colour to choose…even if I only need new towels for my bathroom. Make it work for you…maximalist minimalist…all are great, if you feel good in it. And if you feel like something looks kind of “wrong” for you, use the tips from the articles in the way you can do and afford. It is fun to change and it’s fun to watch his articles. I like his kind of humour. 😅 Greetings from Germany.
I have art, books, plants. I use solids on my walls, floor, furniture. Even clothing. With so many loved items, additional prints overwhelm me. I have been seeing books separate by color, without dust jackets… not by subject and author. But they never seem to read their books! Mine are read, and many are reference books. I wonder if getting rid of covers would tone them down. But kept by subject matter and author so I can find them.
For some reason, I associate maximalism with Trump so… ick. When he got into office is when I started seeing things shifting to lots of gold and lots of materialistic excessiveness. I’m not crazy about extreme, no-personality minimalism either. I’m all about a common sense, happy medium (in politics… and my home, lol!)
3 cheers for maximalism! I’ll take a space with personality, soul and history ANY DAY over the bleak dreariness of minimalism…and don’t get me started on the ‘tude that “Minimalist People” have. They’re second only to Vegans in letting the rest of us mere mortals “How Enlightened and Moral They Are”. If we can’t make our homes our natural habitats and reflective of ourselves, then where on earth CAN we be ourselves???
I love antiques and inherited family furniture and European furniture accessorized with some oriental porcelain. I think it’s so chic, warm and elegant too. Love my black and white marble. I would get bored with the mix of colors and patterns all over the house like you showed here. It’s looks to clown like.
I’m finding that Maximalism isn’t about having a lot of stuff, or visual clutter, as much as it is about having a flair with what you do have. There’s definitely a need for editing, and curating. I would like to see a article that talks about layering the maximalist style. As in how to choose the bold paint colors, where to find inspiration, and then how to go about assembling the room so that it doesn’t become chaotic. I’m finding that I love all of the bold colors but I do not know where to start – as in “should I start with wallpaper? What about the room sized rug, or paint color? What do I do about ceiling color ? Artwork?” What comes first?
I’m not minimalist or maximalist although I use to be both at one time or another. Now my style is curated. I’m talking cut throat curated. If it isn’t 100% perfect object of affection (in my eyes) that makes drool every time I look at it… I don’t want it. I’d rather go without and save and wait for exactly what my brain imagines.
Great tips. I thought some of the spaces you showed were too dark, or too cluttered, and I’m a maximalist. I moved into a 520 sf space, and I’m struggling to find places for all my things, so I’m having to admit that I just need to get rid of some of them. In my head, I still want to find a place for everything, but that just isn’t possible, and my bedroom looks like a storage space with a bed. I want a place somewhere between minimalism and cluttered.
Great tips. My partner of 23 years recently passed and I am in the process of going from traditional to maximalist. He was more traditional and that was fine. I however, am NOT. So, I am now comfortable with this redesign after a couple of years. My biggest conceren is everything is NEW with the exception of accessories that I have picked up in my travels…..I have not started the re-design. I have been curating all of the pieces and will be having new floors installed and the room painted soon and then all of the furniture put in place. My statement will be the 3 large painting on the turquoise wall. Should I get something used/thrifted to ground this space to not make it so new? I am worried this will take away from the focus of the art wall. I just dont think I could live with an entire room in turquoise so my art wall will be the only wall with that color. I have a few months…..
I don’t think minimalism is going anywhere. Personally, every single one of the examples you showed of maximalism made my eyes bleed and made me feel so overwhelmed and anxious and that’s just from the pictures. I don’t think I could stay very long in any of those rooms. I think minimalism can still be personnalized; I don’t think the two have to be mutually exclusive. It doesn’t have to go to the extreme of having nothing other than a bit of furniture; it is still possible to decorate while keeping it simple.
I’ve seen maximalist rooms that I really love, but most of the examples here hurt the eyes. It seems one should either pick a style that follows with different patterns and prints, or a color that cuts follows with different styles. But the combination, especially the one with the Ottoman cubes, we’re very unpleasant. You just couldn’t relax in them. I’ve seen some great ones on Pinterest with velvet sofas and lots of books and a collection of different prints, most of which were vintage, with the faux Persian rugs and eclectic details. I would like to see more of that.
After years of feeling pressured (which stressed me out) to fall in line with the minimalists because for some reason they always want to tell others what to do and that they should also be minimalists 🙄 I’ve found that I’m in fact a maximalist, I’m an artist and my creativity is all over my house showing my personality, what I find beautiful, and telling a story. I’ll always be a maximalist. 🥰🖤
I am a maximalist by default because I love art and I collect and hold on to things that have meaning for me. I still have my firat bookcases that are simple solid pine that I bought here in NYC back in the early 1990s. I kept them because they are well made in a very simple style but over the years I have elevated them. I now have my collection of clear tall vases on them that almost touch the ceiling and It gives them a cohesive look, not chochkies all over the place. I also have a huge gallery wall with only the pieces that I love but in black frame. The minimalist style, while appealing to some, always made me feel like I was in a will kept lobby of a fancy hotel. My color scheme is simple because I want my art to stand out. All my walls are white and color comes in from the slipcovers and pillows. I have no window coverings because I have a view of the entire Manhattan skyline and it just glitters in the night and I enjoy the nightly changes of the empire state building lights. My greatgrandfather worked building it. I do edit what I have on display and just rotate my items.
I feel like a good way to tell if your space is too cluttered or has too many conflicting patterns is to take a picture of your room and switch it to black and white on your phone. if you can’t “read” the shapes of the couches, chairs, if you can’t tell where one thing ends and another begins, it might need to be reworked. I love love love maximalism, but keeping shapes and spaces well defined is a must. You don’t want everything to blur into a muddy mess. Bold colors make for good separations between spaces.
The problem with both minimalism and maximalism is people thinking these terms are in reference to how much stuff you have in your house, rather than design and curation. Hoarding isn’t maximalist. A house that contains nothing but a futon you hide in the closet isn’t minimalist. They’re design philosophies, not an inventory.
Totally agree that the accessories/tat should be collected over time, rather than bought off a sort of maximalist shopping list. But then I think that in general, not just for maximalist design: a set of 3 blue glass bowls bought in one day from IKEA will look naff and souless compared to an individual’s collection of blue coloured glass – all slightly different sizes, tones and design styles. EDIT: to clarify, I’m referring to displayed items – consistency in things like tableware is understandable and practical 😊
I guess I would consider my space to be maximalist, but only in terms of color and pattern. I do not like bric a brac, tchotchkes, or clutter. I even find coffee table books to be unnecessary dust catchers lol. Just wanted to give a shout out to all the people that also love pattern, color and texture, but not so much accessories and extra decor items. Thanks for making a article that didn’t diss the concept being a little less timid and boring 😏☺️
I always assumed you would have no appreciation for maximalism haha. This has been the style in my head forever and now is the time that it should be easy to pull off but my struggle mostly comes with how to incorporate it throughout the house. My planned living room palette is nearly identical to the photo with the green chairs and pink pillows except I accented the warm tones (but now I see I can mix warms and cools!). If each room was similar to this with entirely different wallpapers and palettes, it seems like it might become a little goofy. Even without wallpaper, and just dark paints like the one on the back wall, is it off-putting for all rooms to be dark but different colors or more odd for one dark and the rest not? Help, lol. Can you just come over? It would be much appreciated 😛 Though with that particular photo, I actually can imagine other rooms coordinating by pulling from the same palette because there are so many accent colors to choose from.
I hate that minimalism got stuck in a grey black and white aesthetic in the past 7 years you can be minimalist but not have it sterile and bland looking. I like something inbetween lived in but not “junked up” as my artsy scrap booky friend says of spaces and things over layered and clutter looking. To me maximalism is to “junked up” I do like layering but my non typical brain needs something inbetween. To much and my brain overloads with lack of focal points and to much to look at. To little and it hurts my interior designer heart
I’m a minimalist mostly because of the environmental concerns. But I don’t mind maximalism, I think some of the interiors can look awesome! In my opinion though it should actually serve the purpose and be a collection of meaningful items, rather than Walmart ‘art’ and Chinese nick nacks that just clutter the space
I like color schemes – but I also firmly believe that minimalism and color are not mutually exclusive. If you put 1000 white things in a room, it would definitely not be minimalist 😀 I like having a different dominant color in each room but then just keep it to the essentials. That’s how you give a nice vibe to your home without going overboard in any direction.
This is already my style and my color scheme is well thought out and replication is definitely key. My living room jumps off from my favorite painting that is the focal point of the room above a fireplace. I also get the wall color from that. I’m not in love with a lot of patterns. I have two (an antique chair and a cushion elsewhere and they are tied together by a base neutral despite their difference) and rely more on texture instead of pattern. I’ve mixed metals, painted and unpainted furniture (also balanced), and mixed materials in the decorations from ceramic, to glass, to metal. Some are family pieces and a lot is thrift over the years… curated to my favorite pieces. Fortunately, I’ve been drawn to certain colors throughout my life. The theme is comfort… late 1930s prewar feel.
I didn’t know there was a word for it, but maximalism is one of my favorite styles! I notice that the furniture itself in a lot of maximalist designs I’ve seen is soft or even squishy looking furniture. It makes me wonder if that comfy aspect offsets how big and potentially overwhelming the style can be for some
Ohhh Nick! Your random shade thrown at the accent wall being yellow hit me hard! I did that on my bedroom ( I know, another faux pas, but there is a good reason, and it’s that my childhood bedroom was yellow and a few years ago when the accent wall was a thing, I wanted to evoke the positive memories from that) without being too bold. That said, I kind of still like the color, but have not felt like making the full room color commitment. That said, I just might go for it this year. I’ve created some balance with a lighter green and wood tones. I love the maximalism vibe of focusing on patterns and keeping color cohesive, as well as being intentional in curating items that have character and that have a story. 💛
Thanks so much for making this article. All you described (including the vintage fashion doll collection!!) spoke to me. I’ve always felt weird about how my home looks compared to other people’s especially since I have moved to Japan where people have close to nothing in their tiny living space. It’s lovely to finally feel good about displaying things I like and tell people about who I am. Brilliant article!
Tried to be a minimalist but quickly reverted to type. However the minimalist mindset helped to ground me. I have a beautiful stressless chair which we bought in a sale and it is orange. Nightmare. I have chair rails which I have painted green below and rock salt above. My settee is second hand but in very good condition;and is beige. I bought orange dining chairs to help balance the chair in the living area and they are around an oval dark wood table. I try to reuse things I have bought in the past and see it as a challenge to make it all work. Thank you for the article. The first room has similarities to my own.
A great tip for wanting personal and one of a kind items for your space is to look into your local art scene! Most cities (that aren’t small) have what are called “First Friday” events, where the first Friday of each month art galleries and studios open up to the public for free, and at these events you can find plenty of artists selling their work. I highly recommend this!
In the mid 80’s, I remember a house in my neighborhood that had been on the market for over a year and its listing price was at least 30% below market – even though it seemed in good repair. I finally had a chance to look at it and the problem was obvious. While the outside was painted a dark charcoal it still didn’t prepare me for the interior. It was 100% early 70’s “mediterranean”. Heavy dark wood cabinets, burnt orange formica and vinyl flooring, avocado shag carpet, heavy “curly-cue” wrought iron fixtures wherever possible. Great floor plan, great bones, structurally sound. I think “maximalism” will read the same way in 15 to 20 years. Be careful. Also, don’t forget to proofread! Spell check just “corrected” Formica to a 4 syllable word beginning with “forn”…😁
I’m beginning to think I’m just weird… After a stressful work day, I don’t want my home to scream for my attention as well. This style makes my brain hurt. No safe haven to decompress. Home should be that warm fuzzy blanket you snuggle into at the end of the day – not more chaos! … or is that just me? 🤷🏾♀️
What I appreciate about maximalism is that it is not trying to be bigger than it is. Maximalist design knows what it wants and goes for it. It is not pretentious, unlike minimalism, trying hard to be a “lifestyle” and minimalists making themselves out to be more organized, neater, and better than other people for being minimalists. And minimalism is easy. To be maximalist while making it cohesive and smooth and organized requires far more thought and effort.
I am a Minimalist by nature. I love like clean, clear spaces with soft colors and absolutely no clutter. That being said, I love your articles. I have watched every one of them that I can find because they reach something deep inside my minimalist heart 😂 ! Maybe someday I’ll be able to incorporate some of your beautiful ideas into my own spaces. Maybe that would be an idea for a article, Steffi … how to transition a somewhat minimalist space into a more maximalist style. I’m not really sure how to describe my space other than to say that I refer to it as “cozy minimalism”. The walls are a soft medium-hued blue, the couch and chairs are shades of cream/beige. The curtains are patterned in several shades of blue and beige. The round coffee table and the TV stand, microwave stand, and writing desk all have black metal bases with brown wooden tops. Nothing is terribly expensive, but it is all comfortable and cozy. I’m just going to continue to watch and re-watch your articles. Maybe some ideas will sink in !
I would say I’m somewhere between a maximalist and a minimalist. I can see why a lot of stuff would make some folks feel overwhelmed or overstimulated, but on the other hand, I don’t want to feel like I’m in a sanitarium where the nurses took all of my stuff away. 😂 I want my home to feel like a reflection of where I’ve been, who I’ve met along the way, and the life I lead in general. I think that’s why the Boho style suits me. My space reminds me of all the beauty in the world when some days it’s hard to see it outside your doorstep. With that said, I do believe in white space and letting objects breathe. I don’t want the walls and shelves crammed with so many mementos and artworks that I can’t appreciate everything that’s there because it’s competing for my attention, if that makes sense.
✨tapestries✨ much easier than peel-and-stick if you dont have help, have textured walls, want a cheaper option, or dont want to / cant paint. i have the classic pine trees with fog above (for my moody side) and an abstract pastel interior space covering a huge wall (for my creative side). they’re both very relaxing and add colour. my second favourite is plants, plants with colour <3 im ordering a very colourful and bright patterned rug today, which will change the space a lot.
I loved this article, it gave me a lot of insight on my own style. I am not maximum or minimum I am a medium-alist 😂 and my style is very eclectic and it always has been. I am an artist and my art is mosaic glass, tile and bead work and some paintings, and I have displayed my artwork throughout my home …uh did I say that it is in every room? My house is one big mosaic, with silver, gold black and white as my core colors 😂 and I was think 🤔 that my house was to over the top… but now I know that it is just right. You know that there is something different and special about your space when ppl come over and they want to wonder around and see every room in your home 😂even the laundry room. Keep on making articles, and I’ll keep perusal them.
Love this! Your apartment is gorgeous. My wife and I moved into our new 430 sq foot apartment a couple months ago. We love art and cushy comfort and have had some pretty creative ways of bringing our natural maximalist style into our small home, like using the full vertical space and using rugs to define certain areas like the bedroom. This gave me some great ideas! I’m currently trying to figure out how to make my art studio more aesthetically pleasing. Drawing and painting, as well as many other hobbies, require a lot of “stuff” and I’m trying to figure out how to make it both functional and beautiful. I’m open to ideas from anyone! Also, your makeup in this is really pretty!
this is so helpful! i’m def a maximalist but am working on getting my clutter under control. i just have too much stuff. great to see an upload from you, literally have had you on my mind lately- i searched “edgy (or dark idr) boho” deisgn like 3 days ago + your room came up as some of the first results! glad to see you guys are still able to work with your current apartment, it’s SO GORGEOUS.
I cannot imagine buying something for the purpose of appearance. Either something is useful for me or it is not. When I do buy something however, I will consider its appearance. So, if I have a choice between 2 equally functional versions of an item that I really need, and all other consideration are equal then I lastly do consider how it will look. As a decor, I do not have any problem with maximalism even though I am more of a minimalist. Although I kind of like the minimalist look, the look never was a consideration for me. For me my primary reason for being a minimalist is the Planet. I want life on this planet to survive. A decorative maximalist who is not buying vast quantities of things that are destroying the planet does not bother me. Buying a few things for a look probably is not that bad, but I always think of the slippery slope. 1 thing becomes 2 things becomes a Pacific Garbage patch twice its current size.