More is More: seven gloriously maximalist homes filled with colour, pattern and personal ephemera
As these tapestry-like interiors attest, there is something ineffably cocooning about a home that has been filled with a collection of objects that have been accumulated steadily over time. Here, we pick our way carefully through the best of our maximalist homes now for sale, from an Edwardian home in West Dulwich edged in exquisite biomorphic designs, to a black and crimson villa in Manchester that is as bold as brass ...
- Words
- Hannah Nixon
Great Tower Street, London EC3
Spanning over 1,600 sq ft in a Grade II-listed building, this opulent apartment boasts views of the Tower of London turrets. Inside, the view is equally impressive. Warm wood panelling and a dramatic application of ‘Studio Green’ by Farrow and Ball set the scene for a cornucopia of objets and textiles, including unapologetically swagged velvet pelmets gracing each of the six-by-six sash windows. Intricate woodwork is celebrated throughout the home, with repurposed latticed panelling deftly deployed as a shower screen in the bathroom, giving even the most traditionally sterile of environments a maximalist leaning.
King’s Road, London SW10
There’s something incredibly enveloping about stepping into a room wrapped in matching print – like stepping into a giant-sized gift box. The soft pink toile de joie seen in one of the five bedrooms in this white-stucco townhouse on King’s Road has all the hallmarks of a maximalist mindset. Throughout the home pretty patterned soft furnishings, free-standing cabinetry filled with a cherished collections, and the accoutrement of an avid art-lover all add to the stately sense of sophistication.
Alexandra Road South, Manchester, Greater Manchester
Decorating with crimson and black has a boldness that would, we think, have made the original occupiers of this gargantuan Victorian villa in Manchester feel right at home. Elsewhere, the clashing mustard quarry tiles, canary yellow slipper bath, floral wallpaper and purple windows are nothing short of a masterclass in the maximalist approach. Ornate original fireplaces and show-stopper ceilings complete this compelling picture.
Balls Pond Road, London N1
Books, bowls, hats, maps – even spices, knives and condiments have all been lovingly and unabashedly arranged in this orderly maximalist home that celebrates the plentiful passions of the homeowners. The key here is colour: a judicious drenching of Farrow and Ball’s ‘Arsenic’ gives curatorial order to the corralled objects. The tonal use of pink in the living room also helps hold the space together. There is a worrying wobble towards minimalism on the upper floors that is quickly assuaged when you enter the bathrooms – one of which is citrus orange, the other cerise and hung with garden tools …
Hexham Road, London SE27
Artist Natasha Mann’s handsome Edwardian home is an entirely unique expression of the decorative technique that has fascinated her since she was a teen and eventually led her to Fez, where she undertook an apprenticeship in Moroccan decorative painting. Here, she has recreated those mesmeric biomorphic and geometric designs to astonishing effect – with a smattering of Eastern European folkloric pattern thrown in for good measure. The ceilings are painstakingly hand-painted with impossibly intricate friezes, whilst the main living spaces and bedrooms are edged with a gilded border that demonstrates the transportive power of pattern.
Slade Hooton Hall, Sheffield, South Yorkshire
The impressive Grade II*-listed Slade Hooton Hall proves that the maximalists of centuries past (that’s you, King William III and Queen Mary II) were true masters of the art. This is a late 17th-century country house bursting with original and intricately refined finishes including trompe-d’oeil marbling, ornate cornicing, high relief carving, elaborate woodturning and marble fireplaces. That sense of lavishness has been layered up over time with swathes of fabric adorning the pelmets and a fire-engine red Aga at the beating heart of this astonishing home.
Lambert Street, London N1
Rich, tonal shades connect the rooms in this elegant townhouse, producing a surprisingly sedate take on maximalism that proves a restrained use of colour and pattern – and a clever eye for curation – can bring warmth and harmony to a maximalist home. The dining room is a case in point: here, swathes of teal fabric, paint splattered silk dining chairs, an ornate marble fireplace, lime-green walls and joinery and a kitsch collection of homewares have been brought together with aplomb.
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