Go Bold With Your Home's Interior

Flip through a home magazine. Have you noticed that the tidy rooms that used to fill these pages seem to be changing? Becoming bolder? For years, minimalist interior design has dominated home decorating. Neutral walls, clean lines, and simple furnishings contribute to a look where everything has its place. There’s a sense of order with minimalist design that many people appreciate—a calming effect. You like it, but the style doesn’t feel like the right fit for you. Here are 7 signs that you’re a maximalist, and you’re ready to go bold with your home’s interior décorating

When subtlety just doesn’t give you the look you want, you’re probably a maximalist. You need to surround yourself with “eye candy”—visual stimulation that comes from vibrant color, bold prints, and funky finds that absolutely must be on display to boost your spirit. You feel at home in an eclectic environment, where a mélange of colors, patterns, textures, and styles collide. Are you a maximalist? Here are the signs.

#1. You don’t fear color. 

In fact, you embrace it. In your view, neutral colors aren’t “colors” at all. You like rich tones and bright hues. You love to wear those colors and want to bring more of them into your home and interior décor. Proudly paint your walls in sunny yellow or do your cabinets in turquoise or emerald green—or both. Put a red chair next to your blue sofa. And you know how people say bright and dark colors make a room look small? Ignore it. You canhave a purple bathroom if you want. With maximalist design, there is no wrong choice for color. You just need to own it.

#2. You don’t fit into a design definition. 

Are you a Victorian French country cottage contemporary type of person when it comes to decorating? If so, you fit the maximalist profile. This design philosophy is bohemian. There are no rules that prevent you from combining furnishings from different periods or styles. You like what you like. In fact, you’ve probably never owned a matched set of bedroom, dining room, or living room furniture because the “matchy-matchy” approach felt too ordinary. You can be, literally, at home with your eclecticism.

#3. When you can’t decide between two lamps, you buy both. 

You know what you like when you’re shopping. When it’s love at first sight, you don’t stop to plan exactly where you will put this new treasure, because there is always room for something amazing. Whether it’s a massive wall clock made from reclaimed barn wood or a metal sculpture of a cat that looks exactly like your precious feline, you simply can’t walk away. Your home is filled with pieces that have meaning to you, because you find comfort in surrounding yourself with visual stimulation. Blank spaces are simply those that have yet to receive the right accent.

#4. Stripes and florals look great together. 

There’s just something about damask that speaks to you. But you also love bold and graphic prints. You thrive on variety. A minimalist strives for clean lines, and the harmony that comes from simplicity. A maximalist, on the other hand, will play with patterns, mixing two contrasting styles—like an oriental rug with a plaid sofa. And you know what? It works. Anything works as long as it’s appealing to you. Minimalists keep to the rules of design. Maximalists break them, one at a time.

#5. Lighting isn’t just for tasks. 

While you might have overhead lighting, you want more than just function in your illumination. Table lamps, chandeliers, pendant lights, floor lamps and string lights can all come together in your home. And your light fixtures are as distinctive as every other piece of décor—from the lamp to the shade and even the bulb (yes, the Edison bulb is a must, right?). You probably searched Pinterest for ways to redo a lamp shade or to convert a stack of books into a lamp, because you want your lighting to be as brilliant as your ideas.

#6. Funky is fine with you. 

You relish uniqueness. Craft fairs, antique shops, thrift stores, flea markets, yard sales, and sites like Etsy and eBay are your go-to places for finding one-of-a-kind pieces. You appreciate handmade, homegrown, and vintage pieces. When someone asks, “Where did you get that?”, your answer is almost never a department store. The purchase usually has a story, like, “I was on my way to an appointment and saw this in a store window…” or “I found it in my grandmother’s attic and she kept it all these years” or “I got it at a garage sale, and wasn’t quite sure what to do with it, but….” You’re the kind of person who sees potential in so many things, not just judging the book by its cover. You’re imaginative and skilled at revamping, refinishing, and refining those things that others discard. 

#7. You appreciate the fifth wall. 

There’s no limit to your creativity, or your desire to extend interior design beyond the norms. That includes taking your interior decorating even higher than others dare to go. I’m talking about your ceilings. This fifth wall is a blank canvas. It’s white and untouched. What can you do with it? Paint it a color. Add design elements, Change the texture. Create a starry sky. You’ll figure out something that uses the ceiling to add more dimension, style, color, and pattern to your maximalist room.

Try maximalist design to shake off the simple and create an eye-popping statement with your eclectic style!

If you need a new canvas for your creativity, consider a new home. Homes By Taber builds single-family homes and communities throughout the Oklahoma City suburbs, and our versatile floor plans and home designs feature the detail that will spark your creativity. Talk to us about your ideas and let’s maximize the possibilities!