Minimalist vs. Maximalist: Is Minimalism Better for the Future?
If you had to spend a week in voluntary isolation, would you choose a place where the design is abundant with color, knick-knacks, and expressive designs? Or would you prefer an uncluttered space where your mind is free to create its own world purely out of nothingness? Minimalism and maximalism both have their own appeal–with minimalism and its emphasis on purity and simplicity, and maximalism on its heavy aesthetics that lean on abundance and vibrancy.
What is minimalism?
Minimalism was the product of anti-consumerism when people started to realize that having an excess of products was detrimental to the environment’s health. Minimalism then became a way of living that helped lessen directionless consumerism. In this style, rooms or homes present a minimal number of furnishing and decor. If there are any decorative pieces, they are always functional. Minimalist designs incorporate clean lines, monochromatic color schemes, and abundant blank spaces. To some, styling one’s home in the minimalist style allows one to feel less chaotic and more productive.
Related read: Lor Calma’s abode debunks Nietzsche’s godless Modernism
What is maximalism?
Maximalism gives people a chance at self-discovery and exploration. It also encourages hoarding meaningful elements and ornate display that highlights someone’s history and personality. The 16th-century trend of having a cabinet full of curious and strange objects as a way of having a mini museum inside the house. Through this design, homes become museums of a person and their interests, hobbies, and memories.
Related read: 8ROOMS Creative Space: A Vibrant Arena For Self Expression
Simplicity or extravagance. Do you think less is more or that more is more? Understanding the person as an individual or identifying the community’s own character is a necessity for architects to enhance the user’s experience within the space. Regardless of whatever they represent, each style has its own special charm that can transport you into another world.
Which style fits you best
In the Philippines, there’s the belief that homeowners lean more toward the maximalist style due to the centuries-old habit of filling up all the surrounding space with memorabilia or hand-me-downs passed from one generation to another. But has the pandemic changed or even affected this habit?
As history shows, global pandemics have the tendency to change communities, cultures, and even trends in architecture. In the late 1800s, the Victorian aesthetic was famous for its interiors embellished with ornate furnishings, art, chandeliers, and fabrics that extend throughout the house, back then, homes were decorated to let the owner’s history and personality shine. But according to architectural historian Paul Overy, the influenza outbreak became a turning point that showed how streamlined spaces were easier to clean and kept the sickness at bay. By the 1920s, prominent designers like Le Corbusier or members of the Bauhaus school focused on bringing functionality to their work and didn’t focus only on aesthetics. In this time following the COVID-19 pandemic, designers continue the practice of following the idea of creating ‘form with function’ and thoughtfully combining minimalism with maximalism.
