Life without social media is nice, but I miss finding images of maximalist rooms stuffed with patterns and color on Instagram. I am closer to figuring out why the look draws me in and how I can make it work without cluttering up my small ’50s ranch, but I am not quite able to articulate it just yet. An estimated 350 more naval-gazing hours is all I need to develop a solid thesis and solution. So close!
Since I am not on Instagram for the moment, I scroll Pinterest for inspiration. Pinterest is not my favorite platform, and I feel a little lost with all the new (to me) updates, but it did lead me to an image of a maximalist room I can not stop thinking about.
A lot is going on, and my first reaction was to grimace and keep scrolling. Then I scrolled back up to note the chairs and how nicely their burnt orange color paired with all the green. As I spent more time looking at the picture, I started collecting ideas for my own home. Don’t laugh–I am not a design blogger or even a design aficionado. I am a middle-aged suburban mom and school librarian at home more often than usual due to a pandemic.
Ideas for Maximalist rooms I can Implement
- There are no less than three different greens in the furnishings, to say nothing of the plants. I spy emerald, olive, and a muddy sage-teal color. I found the implied permission to mix greens encouraging as the owner of an enormous hunter green sectional.
- I would love picture lights on my bookcases. My bookcases pale compared to Oscar de la Renta’s, but I bet there are more people with bookcases like mine than his. I am going to figure out how to make picture lights look special on ordinary bookcases.
- Speaking of lighting, one detail that separates designer rooms from rooms done by home decorators is effusive lighting use. Designers focus on lighting form; home decorators focus on lighting function. Count the lighting in this one room! I lost count after 12.
- Using a coffee table/ottoman as a sofa table is something I never considered but will now absolutely do. The area behind my sectional is a bit tight for a sofa table, but something low might work. I also love the art resting against the back of the sofa and the crewel blanket.
- Can you really call your look “eccentric grandmother with a weekend country home” (Dowager Decor?) if you don’t have a bust on a table?
- Pleated shades are a thing and deserve their own post.
There are some other great pictures in the Vogue piece, but the article gives the impression that pompous social climbers surround Oscar de la Renta. Which, you know, likely. I’ll have to ignore what usually drives me batty about design bloggers (not all of them annoy me) if I want to embrace my British grandmother’s aesthetic and learn how to create maximalist rooms. But first, I really need to come up with a name for it.
Have you seen these? https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07NVC76VN/?coliid=I2XUZPR5L7SBRH&colid=2MM1JRNXPNXCN&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
I saw a “un-annoying”, lol, blogger use these on here gallery wall going up her stair case. She spray painted hers to her specific color needs.
I need to edit myself better. :) I don’t think all design bloggers are annoying, but I don’t like that some are constantly redoing rooms with every new trend and encouragee people to buy, buy, buy. That’s a great link to lights. I like that they are battery operated.
Suburban Aristocratic Aesthetic, L’Anglaise Haute Design pour la petit Bourgeoisie (little wordy), Sublime Pomp.
Beautiful, I certainly struggle with how to keep the design looking relaxed, informal, yet totally put together and not cluttered. It’s a struggle to fit the desired aesthetic into a tinny tiny little house and not have it be claustrophobic. If only the ceilings were 16′ and my living room was 40’x80’…but I do love it.
I like the sound of Suburban Pomp. :D
I also struggle with how to make this look work in my tiny house. The 8-foot ceilings don’t help!
I love Surburban Pomp and that an English Cottage is what I desire for my house as well! There’s such a disconnect between these styles and their histories and the way we live, that I have not reconciled it in my mind. I love me a pleated lampshade, wicker, and multiple tablecloth-draped end tables, but yet I can’t handle cleaning all those things with nooks and crannies where dust can settle. Makes me batty. I’ve been thinking about Irving Gil and how controversial his designs were 100 years ago. The lack of ornament and moldings were viewed as so sterile and harsh, and yet here we are today and most homes and apartments are like this, and most of us don’t have 16 ft ceilings (sob).
Sorry, that was such a downer!
All that is to say, I eagerly await how you apply these eclectic, elegant styles to your home, and I can’t wait to borrow your ideas!
You aren’t a downer! Why do you think I’ve held off for as long as I have? Dust is real. There’s a reason I don’t have a wall of copper molds hanging in my kitchen. Who’s going to polish them? Not ! ;)
I recall reading somewhere that (in interior decorating at least) all greens go together. It works in the garden, so why not indoors? I say go for it!
Something else I notice about that picture is that, for all the layering and mixing going on, it’s actually pretty ordered. The furniture is laid out ‘square’, the books on and under the tables are neatly stacked, and the contents of each shelf in the bookcases are mostly uniform in colour and size. I think that goes a long way towards drawing the line between busy and overwhelming. Might need to turn a critical eye to my own living room…
Those are all great points. I realized after looking at the picture that I really needed to organize my shelves.
I enjoyed reading the captions under the photographs from the Vogue article. One comment stood out to me: “A house in the country is the work of a lifetime” says Oscar de la Renta. “You see the evolution of your own life in a way”. I believe our homes are ever evolving to fit our current needs. For example, I no longer have a dining room table because everyone is working from home and we needed the visual space. I am really enjoying watching you figure out your own space.
That was such an amazing comment! I loved it, and it’s so true. I think that is also something we have drifted away from. Everything has to be done now–no waiting or evolution. I know my house has changed so many times over the years and will continue to do so.
Re the maximalist thesis: For me, it’s leaning harder into my own definition of “fancy.” I can’t go and travel to places with fancy hotel rooms and so part of that is trying to drag some “fancy” into my builder-grade suburban house. My style has always trended eclectic/ mid-century, so now I’m leaning harder into the eclectic. It is also the desire for safety, for burrowing in amongst my stuff. My best stuff!
You know Emily Martin, the artist? Recently she shared a glimpse of how she & her boyfriend turned her basement into a speakeasy, with a pinball machine and neon and fancy couch. It was just a couple of pictures, but I can’t stop thinking about that. (Also, her home style is very clean, white and cottage-y, so the neon is a huge departure.)
Finally, my bookcase does have a couple of spot lights, but it’s a very airy, open bookcase from Ikea of almost 20 years ago. So more modern, not cozy.
Good point on leaner harder. Maybe that’s one of the gifts of getting older? I’m definitely leaning into my love of traditional eccentricity and getting bolder with my choices. I read somewhere that a maximalist room is like have Christmas up all year. Maybe all the extravagance and good cheer (real or not) of the holidays is what I need year-round right now.
I can concur that lighting is a key element. I have several lamps rescued from getting tossed out of my grandma’s basement that really don’t do a whole lot on the lighting up the room front, but get 10/10 on ambiance. I’m also a fan of an eclectic gallery wall as it gives off the maximalist vibe without adding a lot of clutter. My husband shakes his head whenever he sees me digging out the hammer. Who knows what’s going on the walls? An old tin TV tray? A dead cuckoo clock? A frog mirror?! Yes. And I love all of it.
I still haven’t hung up my pictures since the remodel, and I know it will make such an impact. I love a good gallery wall!
If you haven’t found Cote de Texas yet, you are in for a treat. She has amazing posts about the Royal Family’s homes, and famous classic estates around the world. Her posts on Lee Radizwell and Jackie Kennedy were epic. You will find lots of gorgeous rooms and tons of information. It’s like taking a design course from a very passionate enthusiast. Set aside some time and see if you like it as much as I do. Even though I will never have a castle or a big estate to decorate, I love reading about these places for the aesthetic pleasure and I think it helps me in making my very modest home a cozier nest for my family and me.
I used to read Cote de Texas years and years ago, but whittled my design blogs down to almost nothing. I need to start reading her again because she really did have some good posts. I remember when Twilight (the movies) came out and she was obsessed–obsessed!–and talked about Kristen and Rob nonstop.
This is a beautiful. I enjoy the pictures you post of this style & I can see the appeal, but they are not my style. ( When books are anywhere but on a shelf or a nightstand, my first though its , ” Where do these go & can I out them back?” ). This one however, seems so much lighter. I could be the wall color, or the 5,000 square foot room, but it has a feeling of balance are airiness to it. As someone else pointed, out there is order to he room. I am drawn to the right angles.
Hahahahaha! “It could be the wall color, or the 5,000 square foot room…” That made me laugh out loud.
I love the practice of looking at photos of well designed homes and identifying what it is you like about them. It helps you learn your own style. Way before Pinterest, I used to tear pictures out of magazines and organize them in binders for inspiration. I still have them and look through them sometimes.
I knew you would have noticed the plants to bring life into the space and make it feel cozier. I also noticed they used several different wood tones along with painted furniture. That’s something I think a lot of people are afraid to do and again, maybe more difficult to achieve the same effect on a smaller scale. And I’m totally with you on dusting and polishing to keep you from having more stuff in your space! Oh, and finally, to warm things up and keep that intimate feeling, there are personal photos on the mantel.
The practice of looking at photos is not something I really did before, but I definitely see the importance of it, especially when a look I enjoy doesn’t fit seamlessly with the style of home I live in. One of the first things I noticed on the mantel was the collection of cards and unframed photos. It really gave the room a human feeling.
My IG feed is full of “farmhouse” and/or “minimalist” homes with their beautifully clear countertops and white walls. Everything is Target trendy and, frankly, not very interesting. When I look through all my Pinterest boards, my favorite rooms are always the libraries….bookshelves, comfy chairs, reading nooks, beautiful/eclectic art, gallery walls. Definitely more the Edwardian English country home than an American Gothic farmhouse. It is a curated look. A lived in, purposeful style. My book piles would be comfortable there. Don’t get me wrong, I like a tidy space. It feels good to clean and organize, but there has to be a nice balance point between minimalist and hoarder. I read a quote from a British designer who said something to the effect that this need to constantly “declutter” is a sign that you have purchased unwisely. So my recent design ideas have been: know my style, buy what I like (not the trends and not new, if I can help it) and display it all proudly!
Knowing and accepting your style is the key. I have spent a lot of money trying to create the look I am supposed to love, versus the look I actually enjoy. Even now, I still get comments and emails telling me my look is all wrong. Perhaps it is, but I like it and have no desire to be featured in ABC Magazine or website.