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Out With The Bare And In With The Bold Interiors

Harriet GoodacreHarriet Goodacre

July 10, 2023

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Over in fashion, we’ve seen 1990s and early noughties style creeping into the trends and as usual interiors are following.

The development of minimalism started back in the 60s and 70s and had true momentum by the late 1980s, however by the 90s there was a mix of sleek minimalism and colour.

At the other end of the spectrum, maximalism has been seen as an eccentric and clutter-fuelled style, full of colour, pattern and texture.

2023 harks the year of the two merging as one to create the new ‘bold interior’. The minimalist side has become warmer and cosier, and maximalism’s nature has been toned down and decluttered, whilst remaining a statement.

So, it’s out with the bare and in with the bold interiors, we show you a few simple ways to introduce this new style into your home.

Find Your Inspiration

If you’ve been a hardcore minimalist for years, then it can be quite tricky to revert to more warmth and/ or colour. The key is to do a little inspirational mood boarding to find your sweet spot. Whether that’s a certain colour palette you’re drawn to, a certain decade’s styling or even furniture type, finding what you do and don’t like within this new style will help you merge it with your old one.

Personally, we like to look at different interior designers over the decades and pull-out certain features we like that they often repeated. For example, Dorothy Draper (no relation to Mad Men’s Don Draper!) was known for her over the top, clashing maximalist style.

Two elements that were repeated in her work was a cool, vibrant but serene blue tone and monochromatic chequered flooring. So, we’ve taken those two elements we loved and created our own style.

The diamond laying pattern of Ruzzini creates the illusion of width in a narrow hallway whilst the bold blue on the walls is toned down by the use of decorative panelling, which suits the era of house, as well as a warm white painted on the top half of the room. The fussiness of the room’s foundation is then toned down with a streamlined console table in a deep walnut shade, with minimal dressing on top. This then is the ideal balance of dramatic maximalism and sleek minimalism to create a bold interior full of personality!

Get the look with Dulux – Blue and White
L-R:Dorothy Draper Style 1, Dorothy Draper Style 2, Ruzzini
Find Your Inspiration

Layering Colour

In a typical maximalist scheme, there is a lot of clashing colour and pattern to create a vibrant and visceral experience. The layering of colours and textures is a good thing because it gives a room depth and interest, however, for this look, you don’t want it to become overstimulating.

A good way to layer colour is by repeating hues within different textures. For example, in a living room you could have a green velvet sofa and a green wallpaper on the wall, they don’t match exactly but the eye will tonally connect the two.

Here in a bathroom, we’ve taken the wall tile Flute, in a lovely blue called Bright Skies and perfectly matched it to the bespoke sink unit. This layering is also apparent in the wall colour, flowing to the floor’s wood effect tile Prossimo. The different surface finishes allow the eye to recognise it as separate elements so it doesn’t feel as harsh as colour blocking and yet the room features three bold colours (can you spot the third?).

L-R:Dining Room, Bedroom, Bathroom
Layering Colour

Contrasting Materials

A bold interior doesn’t necessarily mean lots of colours, you can tap into the look using different statement materials such as marble and wood. The key is creating a warm and harmonious colour palette to link the differing materials together so they’re not competing for attention.

A great example is looking at a classic marble but in a faux coloured version, here we’ve matched the beautiful gold detailing of Torrano with the soft birch tones of Skandi. The classic connotations of marble are juxtaposed to the modern slat design of the wood, but the tonal colours blend it together to create a cohesive look.

This concept also works to a degree with shapes, the shower unit is a very modern black matt metal but because it’s in a rectangular design, in the same direction as the slatted tile, it blends with the wall. This looks blurs the line between contemporary and classic which will help it stay timeless.

L-R: Kitchen, Living Room, Bathroom
Contrasting Materials

So, there you have it, some simple ways to add more warmth and colour into your interior without it becoming too much. And remember, little details of texture and colour can also be added in through your accessories, but also bigger items like your furniture and sanitary ware.

Just make sure you plan your room first; ensure you love everything you’re including and of course choose colours that are suited to the direction your room is facing both for natural and artificial light!

You can experiment with coloured tiles by using our online visualiser tool.

More to explore:

Styling Tips
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