We are big fans of maximalist interiors – the patterns, the colours, the knick knick collections. It’s such a fun and creative trend and we are thrilled it’s now giving the long reigning minimalist aesthetic a run for its money. With a rise in trends like cottagecore and the more recent cluttercore, maximalism has gone mainstream and we are seeing more pattern, more colours and more texture coming into our homes than ever before.
But there’s no denying that maximalism can be a hard trend to actually bring into fruition in our homes. While cluttered walls, overflowing shelves, and an abundance of quirky furniture looks wonderful in the rooms of Instagram and Pinterest, making it work in your own home is not as simple. It’s about creating a balance. Making a room feel eclectic and busy without it just feeling claustrophobic and cluttered.
So it does help when some of our favourite brands make it really easy to nail a trend by designing new collections to help us bring in a touch of maximalism without turning our living room into what looks like a car boot sale. The new Botanicals collection from Furniture Village gets the trend spot on – big prints, jewel-toned shades and beautiful textures. And it’s easy to go bold or as subtle as you like. The collection is made up of simple, stylish pieces which can feature as much or as little pattern as you wish - from colours, to more eclectic styles that embrace bold patterns.
Want more tips on how to embrace maximalism in your living room? We’ve picked our top 5 easy tips to get the look...
1. Choose a simple colour palette and stick to it
The key to making the maximalism trend work without it totally overwhelming your living room is to pick a cohesive colour scheme so you can then go bold with the layering of prints. We’d say keep to three or four colours max. Remember you can add more shades and tones of those colours so it’s not as limiting as it might sound.
And decide between a cool or warm toned palette depending on the look you are after and the aspect of your living room. Within the new Botanicals collection there are plenty of colours to choose from, from luscious deep teal greens to toasty warm oranges. Once you have decided on your base tones you can start adding in as much pattern as you like.
2. Consider scale when layering up patterns
Speaking of patterns, they are obviously a key part of the maximalist aesthetic. And while the mantra tends to be ‘more is more’ when it comes to mixing pattern, there are a few rules if you want your combinations to work. You don’t want to sit too many patterns of a similar scale together as they are just going to be fighting for focus. Instead layer patterns with a larger print, or even just a block colour, underneath busy patterns so they aren’t all competing.
The patterns within the new Botanicals range feature large, leafy foliage and subtle animal motifs. Being a large scale pattern they would make the perfect backdrop for layering with a smaller print – especially as you can pick a solid colour for the piece of furniture itself (with throw cushions or a pop of pattern on the sides of the seat cushions). It then won’t look too busy when you start experimenting with layering up different prints.
3. Add interest with texture too
In a maximalist living room textures can have just as much of an impact as pattern. In fact, if you are more of a minimalist, layering up textures can be an easy way to incorporate the maximalist trend in a more subtle way. Pick out pieces in lots of tactile materials – velvet, boucle, rattan, macrame – to add depth to the space. Furniture Village’s new collection has 12 different fabrics to choose from, including velvets and plain weaves, so you can mix and match pieces and get that blend of materials across your key pieces of furniture.
4. Pick one bold piece to be the focal point
A really easy place to start when bringing a new trend into your home is to pick one piece as a key focal point. A piece that you can build out from and help you make important design decisions in the rest of the room. Look out for larger pieces like sofas and armchairs that will set the maximalist vibe and you can build from there – going as eclectic as you like.
The Botanicals range has plenty of sofas and chairs to choose from in varying shapes to suit all styles, that will all add that instant maximalist statement. Plus, all the sofas are made in the UK and all the pieces in the range used hardwood from sustainable sources. They are designed to last, so even as trends and your personal taste change, they can remain the focal point of your living room.
5. Keep your living room layout simple
Maximalism might be all about the ‘more is more’ mantra but you never want your living room to feel overly cluttered or claustrophobic. So to prevent this, keep your layout simple and don’t crowd in too much furniture.
Symmetry will work well to balance out the busyness of the prints and colours in the room, so arrange your furniture so that each side of the room mirrors the other. Of course it doesn’t have to be perfectly symmetrical, it’s just to ensure the room has some structure to it before you get really creative with the decor.
The Botanicals collection is exclusive to Furniture Village and will be available to buy online and in the majority of stores. Prices start from £295.