How To Tell If You're A Minimalist or a Maximalist
Multiple Approaches To Interior Design Harmony. There’s this misconception out there that being minimalist or maximalist in the design of your home, or in your own lifestyle, represents a “right” or a “wrong” approach. Well, this isn’t totally true. Realistically, you could be in either category. If you’re really a maximalist, and you live in a minimalist environment, that will clash with you on an almost subconscious level.
The same will happen if you’re a minimalist living as a maximalist: things will seem too cloying; perhaps even claustrophobic. That said, it can be hard to know where you really stand. A lot of people aren’t firmly one or another, but their preferences differ based on the spaces they occupy.
For example, a residential minimalist may have a woodworking space that—though carefully organized—is “maximal” in its trappings. It looks cluttered and claustrophobic, but like a nest, the woodworker is at his ease in such an environment. Meanwhile, a maximalist may adorn every spare space in their home, but have a near empty dance studio in the basement.
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Determining What Sort Of Person You Are. Figuring out where you’re at on this scale can be difficult. Determine what your hobbies are, and what sort of living environment you’ve traditionally been accustomed to. Maximalists tend to operate in contrast to minimalism. The idea is to have excess and redundancy all over the place. Redundancy itself is maximalism—though it’s kind of necessary for some things.
You want backup drives even if you’re a minimalist computer programmer—though this may not be preferable to you in terms of elegance. In contrast to maximalist ideals, minimalists reduce the surface area of aesthetics and possessions they must manage. There’s a truth out there: if you own too many things, eventually they end up owning you.
Pure maximalists don’t tend to mind that, as they find substance in managing that which they’ve worked to acquire. However, minimalists may also acquire extensive assets. The minimalist approach will likely favor more singular purchases, though. Instead of spending regularly, they’ll spend in massive increments.
Psychological markers can help you determine where you are. If you’re claustrophobic, as alluded to earlier, you may be more interested in a minimalist décor that leaves your home feeling open, as though in a metaphysical sense it can breathe. If you’re a maximalist, spartan homes like this feel clinical and empty.
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Public Arenas And CabinetsOther contrasts that can help you decide are public arenas. A carnival full of bustling crowds will find more maximalists at home. A quiet evening at an almost empty art museum is more likely to be something a minimalist may enjoy.
Sometimes you like both those things, and so your home has some rooms full to the rafters with all manner of excess, and some that lay almost empty. When you’re remodeling or refurbishing, you treat each space as its own art piece.
There are furniture options either the minimalist or maximalist may be able to agree on, however. For example, a Ready To Assemble cabinet option can be conformed to a space, shipped to your home, and assembled on-site. This allows you to design your own cabinetry.
If you’re a minimalist, you can get something small fitting a precise spot. If you’re a maximalist, you can fill an entire room. If you haven’t looked into RTA options before, you might want to take a look at some of the choices out there. One way to find the option that best defines you is to choose from RTA cabinet reviews.
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A Rule Of Thumb To Help You Get A FeelCabinetry isn’t the only furniture item where minimalists and maximalists may agree. Tables, chairs, couches—there are options to serve all sorts of preferences in terms of décor. Also, you may live in a home with a minimalist and a maximalist, and so your home’s décor has some level of variance to it.
Wherever you find yourself, it makes sense to put some thought into how you design your surroundings. They say what your bedroom looks like is a physical expression of your subconscious. Maybe that’s true, maybe not, but it can be a good rule of thumb in helping determine the décor best matching congenital qualities and lifestyle choices that have made you who you are.