Numerous articles and editorials in the design world have touted the resurgence of Maximalist design. Designers Ken Fulk, Miles Redd, and Garrow come to mind. It seems everything we do these days has to be done at an EXTREME?  Is this new, or is it simply a way to title trends on Instagram? Maximalism serves as a counter-movement to minimalism and both styles currently coexist, with many opting for a "balanced" approach, sometimes called "maximalist minimalism".

We are seeing this trend across different areas:

1. Interior Design & Home Decor
Filling your home with items collected over time that bring joy, including bold, saturated colors, vibrant patterns, and layered textures, the kind of things not specifically curated for an editorial. This includes things such as gallery walls of art, whether a Degas or a kid's drawing, eclectic furniture mixes, and curated collections of objects rather than sparse, uniform spaces. Lots of it speaks to sustainability: a re-purposed object or furniture item is possibly the most "green" interior design effort. Bland staging without a point of view, merely aimed at helping scale rooms, is all of a sudden looking old-fashioned and inexpensive, not aspirational.

2. Fashion & Personal Style
Quiet luxury was the trend du jour, but now "clashing" patterns, oversized accessories, and layered clothing act as a form of rebellion against uniformity, thriving on DIY culture and unique, thrifted, or upcycled pieces that emphasize personal style over branded trends.

3. Digital Culture & Social Media
Trends such as "cluttercore," "cottagecore," and "clowncore" embrace visual abundance, directly contrasting with the clean, curated furniture-showroom feeds of the past. Bold, clashing filters, layered textures, and heavy graphic overlays to turn posts into artistic statements. Highly slickly produced content seems less authentic these days than something that feels more handmade.

Trends come and go, but now we are seeing the results of the Post-Pandemic Shift. After years in somewhat sterile, minimalist surroundings, many people want spaces that reflect their personality, warmth, and comfort, something more personal and self-indulgent and self-satisfying, not geared to please others. "Sameness" or "uniformity" is not a luxury. Personal, unique, and curated things are.