Go All In With The Maximalist Decor Trend

Go All In With The Maximalist Decor Trend

18th Aug 2023

Posted by Alice Ewens on 18th Aug 2023

Maximalist decor is all over the interior trends circuit. Bold, sumptuous, and a big step away from the 'Millennial Grey' that dominated home styling in the early 2020s. We've got the low down on how you can get in on the eclectic maximalism party for your home without breaking the bank!

What Is Maximalist Decor?

Maximalism is a decorating style all about embracing vibrant colours, bold patterns, and unique pieces to create a space that truly reflects your personality. It features energetic, fun and sometimes whimsical combinations that can lean from vibrant pop-art or retro looks to more sumptuous, darker vibes. Maximalism celebrates details and collections of ornaments and accessories. There are a lot of directions to take a maximalist interior, so it's a great idea to snoop around for some inspiration on the sort of styles you like before you dive in. Fortunately for you, we've done the leg work!

(that's our Pesaro green velvet dining chairs with black legs featured in @justadorabledesign stunning maximalist dining room!)

How To Nail The Maximalist Decor Look?

Despite maximalism being all about fun mismatched and bold looks, it's easy to trip over the edge from 'stylish bold statement' into 'haphazard and cluttered'. Here's how you can get it just right!

Pick A Theme

Decide on an overall theme for your room or house and pick pieces, colours, fabrics and textures that create this theme. This will help your space look cohesive even if it is 'busy' with lots of well-chosen knick-knacks and individual furniture pieces.

Dark academia library maximalism look with a touch of vampy goth? Go for leathers, darker velvets, books and wood. Think Victorian drawing rooms and studies.

Bright Scandi-inspired boho whimsical maximalism? Go for lighter woods and simple furniture shapes then add lots of texture through plants, layered fabrics and knick-knacks.

Bold pop-art maximalism is all about those bright primary colours and glossy finishes. Think Barbiecore meets the 80s/early 90s and you're on the right lines!

Oppulant royalcore maximalism features sumptuous jewel tones, candles, velvets and silks with more ornate Regency-inspired shapes and flamboyant textures like feathers and birds of paradise,

The Rule Of Four

The 'rule of four' is a helpful interiors starting point for any look! Start by selecting 4 maximalist elements for the room and build off of them. For example, a patterned wallpaper, Persian-inspired rug, ornate shelving or mantlepiece and a statement lamp. They don't have to match - in fact, for maximalist styles, it's great to mismatch - but remember your core theme and select complimentary tones and styles. You can build from there

Keep It Organised

Make sure you, and your guests, can manoeuvre easily around your space without knocking into any strategically placed quirky treasures. Sure, stack things artfully. Drape things. Fill your space. But make it useable and keep things well organised.

Layer Complementary Patterns, Colours Or Textures

@houseofpru has created this fun, vibrant and definitely maximalist dining bar space featuring our Mayfair 6 Seat White High Gloss and Steel dining table! This is a great example of layering so that bolder items stand out against a simpler base, and also of contrasting patterns in similar colours working well. The glossy finishes appear through a number of surfaces and textures that all work really well together. Bold, eclectic, but cohesive!

Layers

Dress your room (or whole house) in layers - and we're not just talking fabrics here. The base walls and floors are the first layer. Big furniture is another. Soft furnishings and accessories are the last layer. Darker shades at the bottom with lighter shades or patterns on the top create depth. Lighter shades at the bottom with darker layers on top will make those darker items stand out as key features.

Complementary Fabrics & Textures

Wools, linens, fluffy faux-fur and cottons work nicely together to create a cosy, rustic feel. Leather, satins, velvets and silks also work well to create a more luxurious feel. Glossy finishes all look great together in a range of colours or materials.

Selecting Your Maximalist Colour Palette

Maximalism is all about 'bold'. Colours opposite each other on the colour wheel will 'pop'. A palette featuring colours of a similar 'tone' (i.e the same degree of darkness or lightness to them) will look like they belong together. This is why burgundy, gold and teal can look great together as a rich palette, for example - they each have opposing colour wheel primary colour bases of red, yellow and blue, but share a similar tone of darkness that makes them cohesive.

Sometimes Less Can Be More With Maximalist Decor

Given all the examples and ideas above, we know this style can be a bit daunting. But, the good news is, if you want to dabble in maximalism, you can dip your toes in without having to get your hair wet. A few well-chosen pieces can add that fun vibrancy to your home. You can do a lot with a few well-placed plants and pictures, a funky lamp and some throws. Second-hand vintage shops are a great place to find one-of-a-kind pre-loved pieces too, which is great for the environment and great for your wallet!

Some Key Maximalist Decor Pieces To Consider

Things that we think are the core key building blocks of any maximalist home style:

  • Wood tables and velvet chairs are great for darker themes. Glass and metal dining sets are more fun and vibrant. But, whatever your maximalist theme, the right table and chairs can set the tone as a larger focal point.
  • Fabric sofas in bold colours are a must. The 'Millennial Green Velvet Sofa' has become a bit of a pushback to the 'Millennial Grey Home'.
  • Shelving and storage to display your ornaments are another bold furniture addition.
  • But one of the quickest and easiest ways to channel maximalist decor is through your finishing touches. The lighting, mirrors, planting and accessories can make the look come to life!

Mood Board Inspiration

Here are some of our fave Furniturebox pieces in some different maximalist interior mood boards to fire up your imagination!

maximalist decor living room - dark victorian academia inspired mood board in dark teals, greens and wood. Features products listed below.
maximalist decor living room mood baord featuring bold yellows reds greens, pinks and teal. Featuring products listed below.
bold Scandi Maximalist decor dining room mood board featuring furniture listed below
  • Malmo rectangular glass & wood dining table with 4 Stockholm orange dining chairs
  • Cascina Black Metal And Glass Round Glass Dining Table (no longer stocked - try the Novara instead!)
  • 2x Colton Tolix-Style Red Metal Dining Chairs (coming soon!)
  • Emma 120x80cm Black Rectangle Frame Wall Mirror
  • Suri Triple Floor Lamp 3 White Shades with Brushed Brass Base (coming soon!)
dark maximalist dining room inspiration mood board in greens and wood featuring products listed below image

What Next?

We love seeing how our customers style their Furniturebox products so be sure to give us a follow on Insta and tag us in your product pics. We've also got links to lots of useful info there. And we've also got heaps more inspiration over on Pinterest so give us a follow there, too.

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