Maximalism is a lively, convivial conversation between color, pattern, texture and shape. Here’s how lighting can help the whole room sing…
Maximalist interiors are not for the faint-hearted, thank goodness. This is the style of rooms with shameless opinions and exclamation marks… Color! Pattern! Texture! Plus treasured objects, handsome heirlooms, curious finds, odd corners, glorious clashes and heaps of personality.
And lighting has a particularly important role to play, because in a maximalist room a lamp is rarely just a lamp, it’s another layer in a glorious individual story. It can add color, pattern, shape, gloss, warmth, drama, wit… And sometimes all before you’ve even switched it on.
The good news is that maximalism doesn’t mean throwing everything you own into one room and hoping for the best. The most successful maximalist interiors are usually more considered than they look. They’re full, yes, but not just randomly and chaotically so. Great maximalist interiors have a certain rhythm and balance, as well as an almost tangible sense of pleasure.
And the good news is that lighting is one of the best ways to bring all those elements together.
What is maximalist lighting?
Maximalist lighting is, above all else, expressive. It might be a colorful ceramic lamp, a glossy glass base, a patterned lampshade, a scalloped edge, a bobbin silhouette, a brass wall light, a dramatic pendant or a cordless lamp placed somewhere entirely unexpected. Whatever it is, it doesn’t just hide in the background.
On the other hand, not every piece has to shout equally loudly, otherwise nothing gets heard. The real trick is to create a lively but convivial conversation between colors, patterns, shapes and materials.
For example, you might choose a lampshade to pick up the blue in a painting, or the red in a rug, or the green in a favorite chair. A solid brass wall light might bring a little order to a room full of pattern. A glass table lamp might add some gleam and polish among books and plants.
That’s the joy of maximalist lighting… it gives you permission to play.
Start with a shade
If you’re maximalist by instinct but not quite ready to paper the ceiling, start with a lampshade.
Lampshades are wonderfully low-risk, high-reward things. They can introduce a bold pattern, a hit of color or a bit of decorative eccentricity without requiring you to repaint the walls, reupholster the sofa or explain yourself to visiting relatives.
Patterned shades are especially useful because they operate on two levels. By day, they are decorative objects in their own right. By night, they filter and soften the light, adding warmth and atmosphere as well as pattern.
Florals, ikats, stripes, gathered pleats, block prints, archive designs, scalloped edges, all of these can work beautifully in a maximalist room. The trick is to choose a shade that has some relationship with the rest of the space, even if that relationship is not obvious at first glance. It might share a color, echo a shape, contrast pleasingly with a wallpaper, or bring a little burst of energy the room was missing.
Mix, but don’t muddle
The word “maximalist” can make people imagine a sort of decorative free-for-all, but the best maximalist rooms usually have a few broad rules holding them together.
You might repeat a finish, such as brass or bronze, across several lights. You might keep your lampshades in a similar shape but vary the patterns. You might choose three or four key colors and let the room riff around them. Or you might use lighting to introduce a little calm among the exuberance: a plain shade on a patterned base, or a simple wall light beside a riotous wallpaper.
Matching is not the aim. In fact, too much matching can make a maximalist room feel oddly stiff. What you want is connection. Pieces should look as though they belong in the same conversation, not necessarily the same set.
Layer the light
Maximalist rooms tend to be full of detail, and detail needs good lighting.
One overhead pendant, however handsome, is rarely enough. You want light at different heights and in different places: table lamps beside sofas, wall lights near pictures or shelves, a floor lamp by a reading chair, a pendant over a table, perhaps a cordless lamp on a mantelpiece, drinks trolley or bookshelf.
This layered approach helps the room reveal itself gradually. Instead of blasting everything with one flat wash of light, you create pools and pockets. It’s also more flattering, which is no small thing. (Maximalism may be bold, but nobody needs to be boldly interrogated by the ceiling light.)
Use color with confidence
Utter freedom with color is one of the sublime pleasures of maximalist lighting. A colored lamp base can pull a scheme together, emphasize a theme, or take it somewhere more unexpected.
If your room already has a strong palette, choose lighting that picks up one of those colors and repeats it elsewhere. A green lamp can draw out the foliage in a patterned shade, for instance. You might use a blue base to make a painting feel more connected to the room. A warm red or ochre shade can bring depth to a space that is beginning to feel a little too cool.
Alternatively, use lighting to introduce the surprise. A room of soft neutrals can suddenly feel much more interesting with one bold lamp.
Let pattern do some of the talking
Pooky has always had a soft spot for pattern, and maximalist interiors are where patterned lampshades really earn their keep.
Archive prints, botanicals, florals, geometrics and decorative motifs all bring something different to a room. Some feel romantic, some grand, some playful, some a little arts and crafts. The beauty of using pattern on a shade is that it gives you a manageable dose, so you can go bolder than you might with curtains or wallpaper because the scale is smaller and the effect is more contained.
That said, don’t be too timid! A strong patterned shade can hold its own beautifully against wallpaper, art, bookshelves or richly colored walls. In fact, it often looks better in company. Maximalist rooms are sociable places; lonely little lamps can look rather underdressed.
Don’t forget the odd corners
Every maximalist home needs a few odd corners, perhaps the end of a hallway or a bookshelf or a neglected console table, or a little table beside a chair that nobody quite knows what to do with. These are perfect places for lighting, because a lamp can turn an in-between space into a splendid little moment.
Rechargeable lamps are particularly handy here, because they let you put light where there is no plug socket. Add a patterned shade, a stack of books, a framed picture or a slightly eccentric object, and suddenly you have a vignette… most satisfying.
Maximalist, but still livable
The best maximalist interiors are not showrooms, they absolutely should feel lived in and deeply personal. They have things gathered over time, and there’s plenty of scope for humor and the occasional impulse buy.
Lighting should work in the same spirit. Choose pieces because you love them, because they bring warmth, because they make a color sing, because they improve a corner, because they look wonderful beside something else you already own.
And remember that maximalism does not have to mean dark, heavy or overwhelming. It can be fresh, bright, pretty, witty, elegant, eccentric. The common thread is confidence. Embrace yours!
For bold and beautiful table lamps, floor lamps, chandeliers, lampshades, pendants and wall lights explore our Maximalist lighting collection.