More is more, Less is a bore.

Maximalism has made a comeback this year, with more people straying away from the recent trend; minimalist lifestyle using interior design with simple and small amounts of decor being the 'it' thing. The new trend in town is revolting completely with the aesthetic being excess. Key features to achieve the maximalism trend are bold, bright prints and colours. Lots of layering soft furnishings, materials mix-matched with plenty of art and statement pieces.

There are no rules to what pattern matches what cushion or wallpapers and rugs anything goes although that doesn’t mean throwing any old thing together it takes some design intuition to make a space that has wow factor rather than a cluttered room.

The roots of maximalism

In the Victorian era where the new middle class families were able to decorate their houses more lavishly due to the industrial revolution. Home decor was a reflection of wealth and social status. People created show casings of their riches like small museums of treasures alongside grand soft furnishings and over the top furniture to compete with neighbours and friends. Use of rich colours and pattern fabrics was everywhere with gold detailing and ceiling roses being a must have, this is more of a classic concept of maximalism.

The modern revamped maximalism

Taking the Victorian ideal of bold and rich decor and expanding on it with more of a personal affiliation to the items in the rooms where it would have been used as a showing off of your wealth, now-a-days its a collection of meaningful and joyful pieces and colliding them all together to create a reflection of your own personality within your home.

Long forgotten are the bare walls and uncluttered minimalism design that was easily mimicked replaced with one of a kind design with every single room being individual and personal to their owner. No two rooms will look the same in maximalism. It pushes people to find their own style and throw it all in one room, with truly no rules big bold print wallpaper with a pink sofa? You could push it even further adding new textures in with cushions and throws. An example of pushing those already bold choices further is the mood board below.

The best thing to do when designing something maximalist is to inject your personality as much as you can-show off yourself rather than showing off the items. And most importantly, Have Fun!!