From mini to maxi in your home

Perhaps you find minimalism bland and boring. Cheer up! Comfort and personality in home décor is back in the form of maximalism, combining the feel-good décor you always loved with even more of the same.
There is no wrong way to do this style. You will be simply adding more of what you love, creating a truly unique space.
“Maximalism is the no-rules-necessary approach to hiding personality Easter eggs in your home décor,” writes Brittany Nims in Huffpost.
This style includes boldly colourful wallpapers or artworks to create statements and focal points in rooms. Some designers push for one huge, striking artwork instead of several smaller works or one big neutral piece. Others go for the collage look, filling a wall to capacity without bothering about matching colours, frames or subjects. They do warn, though, that the spacing between frames should be uniform.

Also typical of maximalism are floral wallpapers or textiles with large designs. Bold primary colours are the in-thing. Plan your wallpaper first, allowing it to provide the base colour, pattern or theme. Choose a larger-than-life wallpaper
design for wow-impact and then juxtapose the rest with spot colours and feel-good art objects.
Plentiful books, in tall bookshelves or scattered randomly, add charm. Go for a mix of vintage and modern furnishings to create a fresh idea out of old. Bare and bland is definitely out.
Says Barbeline Lusandu, textiles designer from the USA: “It’s a balancing act between eclecticism and carefully-thought out design. To make sure that your interiors still feel connected even with a mix of colours, patterns and textures, find a link between pieces to bring the room together. Pick out a colour that really sings for you… look for the shade that will draw the eye from one piece to the next, but remember symmetry to keep the room looking balanced.”

Christine Stoman