Sep 25

Sep 25 Creating a maximalist space with Furniture Village

Maximalism- does it ever really go out of fashion for those of us who love a sofa stuffed full of cushions, who see a plain wall as an excuse to add art, colour or wallpaper, or a shelf as an excuse to fill it with a collection of “nick knacks” patiently collected over years?

Maximalism may be back in fashion but for many of us it never went away. For those of us that agree that our home is a true expression of our personalities, maximalism, in whatever shape it takes, allows us to express ourselves, to put our own stamp on our home. To create a cosy home full of the things we love, to tell a story, to hunker down and relax. This is especially true during the pandemic, where confined to our homes, we started looking at them with fresh eyes wanting to create a haven from an unpredictable world.

Furniture Village have recently launched a Botanicals collection that fills a maximalist heart with desire. Colourful, and for those that love it, patterned, so you can layer up your space. Handmade, with super comfortable cushions (I have tried this sofa over several days), the collection comes in three ranges; Tropicana, Paradiso and Verdosa which you can see in my home.

This sofa is a lovely soft, green velvet (naturally for me!) and I chose to add patterned cushions to match the footstool which is also from the same range. You don’t have to go with pattern, you can choose plain cushions and simply add colour and pattern with your own accessories. But I try to keep the number of patterns to a minimum (or the space can look too cluttered) and so I chose to match the patterns on the sofa and footstool (albeit in different colours).

They key to building a maximalist scheme is to choose your key pieces first. A statement sofa and your colours-in this case pink and green, a combination I simply love together. Green is a wonderfully relaxing colour, being associated with nature. The tropical patterns on the cushions of the sofa bring in some of this botanical element too. You can read about why this is important in my blog post on Biophillic style here.

I find it is best to keep to two key colours and add others in smaller doses-I’m choosing yellow and brown-earthy, autumnal colours which ground the pink on the walls.

I added my own cushions in pink and yellow, two are patterned but one brings in the wallpaper on the other side of the room, and it is also complementary to the botanical patterns and the second has a small neutral pattern that doesn’t overwhelm.

The rug is also patterned but in similar tones to the rest of the room, so it doesn’t stand out particularly. I added the Hereford Lamp from Furniture Village as lighting is key to any maximalist scheme and then I layered the space with plants (good for promoting wellbeing), art and a combination of vintage and newer accessories. Mix up your art-you can stand pictures on the floor and on a shelf as well as adding it to a wall.

I love having this seating area in my bedroom. It allows me to escape to read or chill out. Perhaps a change of scenery for working and I have even managed a snooze or two!