16 Maximalist Decor Ideas That Prove More Is More

After years of all-white kitchens and neutral farmhouse-inspired living rooms, there’s a new trendy style flooding our feeds and this one makes an argument for adding more to your home. Maximalism is all about layering bold decorative elements to create a room that feels unforgettable. Designers use multiple colors, vastly different patterns, and textures of all kinds to create this look, and it’s a far cry from the minimalist aesthetic of 2010s. The key is to fill your home with all the things that you love. Whether it’s an antique chair or a brand new blanket, if you love it, you can make it work in your space.

This idea of “no rules” decorating can be pretty fun, but it can also be tricky to figure out just how to make this look work for you and your home. You want your space to be bold but livable, after all. So, check out the maximalist decor ideas below for tips and tricks on how to work the style into your interiors.

Mix (Don’t Match) Your Furniture

Sure, matching bedroom and dining room sets are one-and-done easy, but maximalist decor is all about putting unexpected items together for a wow-factor effect. In this fun dining room created by Dara Beitler, a more streamlined and traditional wood dining table is paired with cow print armchairs and funky, sculptural white leather side chairs. The combination creates a more inviting and modern aesthetic and turns a room that’s normally kind of dull (let’s face it, dining rooms usually are), into a memorable knockout.

Show off a Statement Wallpaper

It’s no secret the wallpaper is back in a BIG way. People are using it in every room of the house, but unlike that faded micro-floral print in your grandma’s bathroom, these trendy papers are flaunting big designs in a mural-like style. Just take a page from this Sagaponack home designed by Fairfax Dorn Projects. They coated the walls in a large-format Jennifer Short print and painted the molding a lacquered teal to match. Because the wallpaper grabs your attention, they kept everything else neutral, including a wood dining room chair and table, and woven CB2 pendants.

Skip the White Walls

Sure, chartreuse might not be for everyone, but it certainly works well in this living room designed by Zoe Feldman. When you coat the walls in a bright shade, it makes all other elements in the room pop against it. Suddenly the art pieces are more noticeable and so are the funky patterned drapes. The acid-green walls also allowed Feldman to use slightly more muted furnishings like the acrylic coffee table and and blue sofa, without making the room look one bit boring.

Combine New and Old Pieces

What’s black and white and spotted all over? This powder room! Robin Titus of R Titus Designs included lots of elements (color, pattern, texture, oh my!) and a mixture of new purchases and vintage pieces. The walls, for example, sport a new dalmatian spot wallpaper, and sculptural sconces by Stray Dog Designs rule the vanity. That lady you see in the mirror? It’s an antique painting Titus found at an antique market in Chicago and it gives the room a sense of depth and lived-in realness.

Layer in Lots of Texture

Interior designer Sasha Bikoff is known for her fun maximalist design approach, so naturally she brought that vibe into her Greenwich Village, New York home. Her bedroom boasts tons of bold style, but one of the highlights is the mixture of lush, luxurious textiles. The elegant orange curtains and valences are accented with Samuel & Sons trim, and combined with saturated, rosy pink Bella Notte bed linens and velvet pillows. All of that fabric, plus the animal print wallpaper and modern pendant? Chef’s kiss.

Try a Pattern-on-Pattern Approach

Caitlin Murray of Black Lacquer Design has never shied away from bright colors and intense patterns, which means that even in a nursery, she knows how to bring it. There are three different major patterns here, but because they vary in scale, they’re each able to hold their own in the space. The most noticeable is the Cole & Sons Cabaret Wallpaper, which shows a series of intricate theater scenes. More abstract and slightly larger in scale, is the zebra window shade, and the even more mellow spotted floor tiles. With this much going on, she kept the rest simple, opting for a solid-colored crib, side table, and sheets.

Show the Ceiling Some Love

Lately, it seems like interior designers are finally giving the fifth wall the attention it deserves. Painting or papering a ceiling draws attention upwards and has the ability to make a space look much taller. (Who doesn’t want “higher” ceilings?) A great way to do this is by seamlessly carrying a print or color from the side walls up through the ceiling, which is exactly what interior designer Mandy Cheng did with this Trailing Orchid Wall Mural. The pattern, plus the wood planks at the center amplify the room’s cool architectural details and continue to draw the eye up. We’d be remiss if we didn’t also call out the incredible Arteriors chandelier. Talk about a wow factor!

Think Big in Small Spaces

Common design wisdom used to say that adding a lot of color or detail to a small room would make it feel smaller, but it seems like everyone is having a change of heart about that “rule.” And how could you not when you see an incredible jewel box powder room or wallpapered closet? Here, Jewel Marlowe of Jeweled Interiors took an unassuming laundry room and turned it into a must-pin. The Basuto Teal Wallpaper makes this meager chore room look fun and fancy. In true maximalist style, she incorporated additional focal points, like the cool floral art print and white glass pendant light.

Incorporate Handmade Elements

Traditional style is all about nailing those perfectly tailored pieces, but one of the best things about maximalism is that it embraces imperfect artisan features. Take the mural in this bar designed by Jill White Designs for example. Jill White enlisted the help of artist Alison Hobbs to paint an abstract red mural along the bar. Sure, she could have gone with a similar wallpaper, but the hand-created design is what makes this space special. The little changes in the width of the brushstrokes and length of the zigs and zags draw your eye in and give it that one-of-a-kind vibe.

Get Wild With Animal Prints

Decorator and vintage lover Natalie Wong used color, texture, and tons of natural-inspired patterns in her Los Angeles apartment. The zebra-print rug is the real showstopper here, but it’s joined by a cheetah print rug (layering rugs is another great maximalist idea!), and pink cheetah faux fur throw. The key to combining prints seamlessly is to have one bold one be the focus (zebra) and decorate around it. If you look over on her dresser, there’s even more wildlife action thanks to a ceramic tiger and a brass bird lamp.

Power Clash

Designer Megan Gorelick created this lovely masterclass in pattern clashing—animal prints are basically a neutral, and the colorful wallpaper plays nicely with the oversized animal print fabric. Throw pillows in colors that echo the shades in the wallpaper, tie everything together, and make the space feel cohesive. Don’t know where to start? Smaller accessories are a good way to play around with pattern clashing without committing to anything too expensive or time consuming!

Bathe a Whole Room in One Color

You can still get a maximalist look without lots of patterns! Painting a room all in one shade, and then mirroring that in the color of the rug, helps ground the space and allows you to make bigger swings with other decorating choices—as seen in this room designed by Mandy Cheng. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves flanking the windows, a patterned statement coffee table, and colorful furniture still give this room a maximalist aesthetic.

Add Something Hanging (That Isn’t Lighting)

This colorful, vibrant wallpaper gives this bedroom, designed by Abby Hetherington Interiors, a maximalist punch, but adding the flamingo gives the space a flight of fancy feel (heh). If you’re going to go a little wild with wallpaper on one wall, it’s a good idea to balance it with something more subdued, like this grasscloth, to keep things from being too busy.

Keep Your Color Palette Tight(ish)

When designing her living room, Elizabeth Rees (co-founder of the popular wallpaper brand Chasing Paper) went bold with her walls and window treatments but kept her room’s palette fairly tight to keep the space feeling intentional. The teal-ish shade in her curtains is echoed in the tile around the fireplace and the upholstered chairs, and shades of white and cream in the woodwork and accessories keeps everything cohesive.

Go Oversized

Wallpaper on the ceiling makes this space designed by Mandy Cheng pop, but we also love the oversized elements that bring this to the next level. The huge (non-playable!) Connect Four is an art piece, and the larger artwork makes a big statement. Following the tight(ish) color palette rule for maximalist spaces, she also echoed the black and white of the game board in the side chair and throw blanket.

Add a Unique Feature Wall

Talk about a wow moment! Designer Sarah Tract says, “This bedroom was a whimsical, inviting haven inspired by earthy green tones and blooming florals. One of its most striking features was the carpet design, extending up the wall in a wavy, scalloped organic pattern. This playful concept continued onto the floor with individual “puddles” of carpeting that enhanced the room’s creative flow.” The use of an unconventional material for the statement wall, combined with the boldly patterned headboard, lighting fixture, and throw-blanket, make this space a maximalist sanctuary.