Minimal maximal.
I’m returning to this, as I did just breeze over it in “Pleasure Yourself” and I do think there is a conversation here for sure.
What do you consider minimal and what do you consider maximal? Do you, like me, wonder if there is such a thing as maximilistic minimalism?
I read in Elle Decoration that colour and print equated to power. I liked the phrase, but I did think it might divide the crowd, with the current influencer aesthetic of a tonal latte laundered hue being what seems to flood my feed.
‘I do have my own pinboard of Venetian Plaster effects”
I do like the cappuccino aesthetic, but I also know it’s harder than it looks, the carefully curated tone on tone of shade and texture, which done well is wonderful. The minimal palette is warming slightly to an off vanilla - which is turning my eye occasionally. I do have my own pinboard of Venetian Plaster effects. But why did we decided that minimalism was neutral, that it was blank, in fact so minimal that it’s perhaps scarily unachievable, because the true feel of chic minimalism is so far away from what people create.
Kim Kardashian’s Minimal Monastery.
“Its a feeling and a look, not a colour”
I sometimes think that heavily patterned and coloured spaces can also be minimal, it’s a feeling and look, not a colour. Have you wandered through the gardens towards the Moroccan Villa of Yves Saint Laurent, its striking, its bold and it’s a huge statement, but equally minimal, liner, considered and calm.
Sharp and stylish are words that come to mind when you think of sophisticated design with all of the minimalistic essentials. But why do we continue to hark at neutrals to achieve this. I like colour and design and I like my home to have the same kind of personality as me. The world of fashion forever tantalises us with hot colours, bold prints and sophisticated designs, it’s engaging, it’s fun and it’s achievable.
I never quite understand how such a considered, and let’s face it maximalism is a super considered approach to decor, how did it become so garish and sometimes tacky. I’m a real maximalist fan, well I am one, so I’m not putting it down, but I am putting down the craze for throwing everything at a room and claiming it to be maximalist. There is a careful curation to decadent interior design and styling, just as there is to the simplistic. The old saying “anything goes” probably has a lot to answer for now as it’s been catapulted out of all context.
“let’s mingle around both of them”
Anyway, I believe you can be minimal and maximal and I think that the line between them is lesser than you might think. I also feel we are all of it, and non of it - and that’s the blurred line between the two genres. So let’s mingle around both of them and create a home we love and can connect with, instead of a Pinterest board we dare not to spoil.
