Maximalism Interiors ~ More is more 

Every house has its own personality and every room tells a story. If you are a maximalist, then your home is probably loud and vibrant. In other words, your eyes will find something to admire wherever you look in a maximalist’s living space. 

A common belief about maximalism is that it is confused with hoarding, but this could not be further from the truth. The pieces in a maximalist home are not staged randomly, they are carefully chosen and positioned in a way that highlights the owner’s personality. 

Mindset

If you really want to live in a maximalist house, you have to have the right mindset first. One thing you should know about being a maximalist is that it’s about being loud, but not chaotic or disorderly. Your space will have numerous pieces in vibrant colours, but it will still look artistic and put together. 

To truly adopt this mindset you need to be unapologetically loud and bold. Remember your house will reflect various elements of your personality, so be ready to shed the shyness and embrace your creative, artistic self. 

When you are designing your house, you want to start with simple things first. Put together an idea board of colours that you want to see in your space and think of fabrics and prints that you like. Remember - you cannot have too many prints, you can build prints upon prints.

Lastly, complete your board with pictures of items that you want in your house. They can be statement pieces or items that showcase your taste. You cannot go wrong with these pieces because they showcase your character and depth in your space.

Colours & Patterns

Don’t be afraid of layering your colours and patterns. For instance, you can have a zebra wallpaper on one side wall and the wall facing it can be deep green or a rich pink. You could go for a striped wall that has a nice turquoise couch in front of it. Do not shy away from having multiple patterns in the same room. This applies to any room in your house, including the bathroom. For instance, if you have a rich deep coloured wall, then you can also add a loud art towel. 

Wall Decor

If your wall feels a bit empty, it’s a good sign that you need to fill it. There are a lot of ways to fill a wall, so here are a couple suggestions:

Fill it with framed mirrors. Add vintage with modern and abstract mirrors. It is best if they come in different sizes and colours too. Mirrors add depth to a room, so if you feel like your space is too small or crowded, adding mirrors will make you feel like the room is larger than it is.

Adding an art wall will give you a lot of room to play with different art designs, as well as frames, shapes and colours. You don’t have to stick to one theme with your art pieces, but you can tell a story through them. Don’t hold back from adding abstract pieces to your wall. You could hang colourful plates and tea cups on the wall. Some people like adding furniture to the wall. For instance, a wall that has chairs on it, others like to hang rugs, and so on, it is all guided by your personality and what pleases your eye.

Ceiling Decor

A busy room cannot have an empty ceiling, so do not forget to add something up there too. The easiest way to bring a ceiling to life is to add lighting - think of opulent chandeliers or unusual lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling. If you are going to take this route, stay away from boring or everyday chandeliers. Pick a lighting system that is unique to you. You can also decorate your ceiling by having indoor ceiling plants. 

If maximalism speaks to your soul, then consider yourself lucky. You just opened a gateway of endless options to choose from. Forget the days when you committed to one style and monochromatic colours. Maximalism gives you plenty of room to breathe and be playful with your interior design. You cannot be too loud or too much with maximalism because, at the end of the day, your house might be colourfully busy, but it is still organised and beautiful to look at it.

References

Chloe. (2022, March 30). A Guide to Maximalist Design. Mila Maven. https://milamaven.com/a-guide-to-maximalist-design/

https://www.facebook.com/thespruceofficial. (2019). What is Maximalist Decor? The Spruce. https://www.thespruce.com/what-is-maximalist-style-4685629

Nast, C. (2021, August 12). What Does It Mean to Be Maximalist? Interior Designers Explain. Vogue. https://www.vogue.com/article/what-does-it-mean-to-be-maximalist-interior-designers-explain

Your Guide to Maximalist Interior Design. (n.d.). SA Decor & Design https://www.sadecor.co.za/interior-design-blog/designers-decorators-architects/your-guide-to-maximalist-interior-design/

Images courtesy of Pinterest