Are you a Minimalist? A Maximalist? Or a ‘Whatever I Feel Like-ist?’

New trends in interiors reflect our feelings as much as our style.  

Posted on Friday, July 8, 2022

Have all the trend inspos across your feeds and boards become a confused crush of Japandi, Millennial, mid-century and industrial-finish prairie?

With so many of our high street favourites moving into home ranges, it’s become faster and easier to buy the latest home trend. But with so much stuff around us, it’s become harder for us to consider how much of it feeds our true aesthetic. And as trends come and go, leading to mega tonnes of waste.

The labels that band around interiors almost give us permission to keep feeding the home machine. And like all trends, it gets a bit predictable.

Even Minimalism needs funding, there’s a lot of secret storage involved. And although it can ooze luxury and simplicity, it can look lifeless too.

And this doesn’t leave Maximalism off the hook. It’s a considered carnival of memories and colours without rules, and while it can be inspiring, it can also look exhausting. 

As sure as Generation X love their Eames furniture knockoffs, Millennials love their neon ‘Love’ signs, and Gen Z love the frameless mirror covered in expanding foam, (and anything in rose gold): maybe our aesthetic doesn’t require a label anymore.

Maybe it’s the state of the world right now, but in any crisis, we return to what we know. We’re simplifying, in a—having the perfect amount of stuff for us—way. It’s how we achieve a home that we not only feel proud of but are comfortable in.

Here are a few tips on achieving what is truly you within opposing home styles.

3 Steps to Minimalism that won’t suck the life out of your place

1. If you love white walls, choose a white with some depth to it, to create a calm vibe without appearing stark

2. To embrace Minimalism is to embrace storage solutions, you can still have plenty of  stuff, it just needs to be organised

3. There’s a decision to be made about what stays out and what tucks away. Go with your heart on these decisions over the aesthetic. Having one item of furniture and not another because it means more, will always look the best.

    

3 Steps to Maximalism without showcasing within your home, every single thing ever created on the planet

1. You still need to hide clutter. There’s a fine line between your memories and your art on display—and the printer.

2. Curate with care. Mixing fabrics and media is great, but keep to a simple palette, so the place inspires while having some order to it

3. Keep comfort the priority, it’s a good anchor for making decisions within each room

Above all, styling your home is huge fun and an important expression of your personality. 

You want to walk around your place and feel… something. That’s the key.

What makes your home, your home, is you. Plus the people you love who are with you or visiting.

You can do it beautifully, without being a slave to either Minimalism or Maximalism. Just start small and keep things simple.