The Onion Trend

Bloomsbury Pop-Up Shop, Luke Edward Hall

Anyone else noticing a tidal wave of pattern, clashing colour, tassel, antique, leopard print, floral ceilings, accompanied by an army of objects? Well, this is being bandied as maximalism. An expressive style, advocating ‘more is more’, or what I like to call the House of Hackney home. I feel that one underestimates the thought and ironic coordination that goes into this. Layering is a heavily used interior design term, and in this instance the layers are having babies, and the babies are having layers. This busy new vogue is a reaction to minimalism – the punk abolishing the boffin if you will.

Minimalism is an extreme lifestyle; the Marie Kondo commitment is scary, unrealistic for most. Are you really going to stash away your coffee cup every time you answer the door? Needless to say a watered-down version is sweet, as is a watered-down version of maximalism, but #watereddownminimalism and #watereddownmaximalism don’t seem to be popular hashtags. For us, identifying and appreciating trends is incredibly important, yet we are on guard to not be hoodwinked by them. This is because the lion share of N + B projects must be commercially viable and designed to appeal to a mass demographic, and also because trends are fickle - a lasting product is a priority for us. Consequently, we will not go full throttle on such fashions, but if you can go bold, brave and maxi in your own home then do it with confidence. Start with a large patterned rug.

Pierce and Ward

We absolutely love patterns and prints and I enjoy this trend immensely. Yet opting for doors on storage over open shelves lets me know that I am not a true maximalist. Two of our top interior designers spearheading this inclination are Luke Hall Ward and Pierce and Ward, have a peak for further inspiration.