Maximalist minimalist?
Are you a minimalist who can't resist maximalism?
Do you lust after bare walls, sparse rooms and carefully curated shelving but can't resist adding colour?
Do you know you should Marie Kondo the sh*t out of your home, but actually love everything you do own...?
I'm with you.
I started a moodboard for our sitting room over the weekend.
But before I get into that, let me explain; I am surrounded by colour. I live it - and design it - every day. My studio is awash with colour swatches, fabric samples, current and past pieces from the range.
Our open-plan kitchen / living area is not subtle.
A fabulous 6ft x 4ft abstract painting using every colour imaginable hangs over our green sofa.
A bright yellow tuff tray of lego seems to be the centre piece of our sitting area. My 'curated' shelves have slowly morphed into a school pottery display, a toy carpark; 4 lego men have made it their home. Every armchair and sofa has at least one cushion and a throw over the back or over an arm...
So, this new sitting room was to be the very opposite. Neutral, calming, bland, empty.
Until I started imagining it.
Limewash walls, cream arm chair, natural wood lamp stands and curios... Something was missing.
The colour.
Enter the bright red table. There was the warmth it was lacking.
Add the bright little abstract painting - personality; bingo!
That bit of yellow I didn't quite fully remove from the armchair cut-out.. I LOVE that!
I am a minimalist who simply cannot resist maximalism.
I am a minimalist who simply cannot resist maximalism.
And that's what you'll find at Sophie Home this Spring.
All the ingredients are there for some lovely pared back soft furnishings; our black and white grid throw blanket is an absolute favourite of mine - it looks terrific in amongst all the colour of our family living space, our ivory tassled cushion gives off a lovely Nordic vibe - slow living at it's heart, the forest green grid cushion is so beautiful in the flesh - fresh and understated.
But where would this range be - and where would our homes be - without those bright and colourful flourishes?
So mix it up.
Do you know how good our red and blue Bruka cushion looks with that grid check blanket? So good. Or switch it up; pair one of the grid check cushions with our best-selling bright abstract throw Bleecker multi. It's all there.
The key to embracing maximalism whilst striving for minimalism is all in the balance. Creating calming, neutral spaces and punctuating them with colour and personality. Making our houses our homes.