Maximalism, or minimalism? Today, it’s fine to be either Old-style minimalism circa 1990s meant cool all- white spaces with hard-edged furniture. Old-style maximalism meant lots of everything and in many people’s books, clutter. Today, it’s more about the accessories and objects you introduce into a space and how you place them – a group of objects can look ‘minimalist’ as long as they are similarly coloured and shaped so that your eye ‘reads’ them as a single unit rather than as individual pieces. You can use quite bold paint colours, or even a variety of colours; as long as they work together and clutter is kept at bay, that’s the new evolved minimalism. By adding yet more objects that adhere to the underlying colour scheme and ‘rules’ you will be heading happily down the road of maximalism without even realising it, and without the room crossing the line into visual overload. Take this room, at left, for example. It’s a modern take on an old favourite, terracotta, but using rosier versions of the colour, in rich saturated tones, and brings them together for a scheme that’s at once eye-catching and luxe, but also soothing and organic. By using a tone-on-tone approach with three similar colours, the room has character but stays visually cohesive. The stunning velvet chair keeps more… or less more 22 |