3 ms·

Interesting for a second but tiring just a moment after. After the appreciation for labour wears off it becomes suffocatingly garish.

• derbOac 5y ago
  I actually really like the rooms in some of these maximalist photos, but that doesn't mean I'd want to buy the stuff in them, or design my living space that way. I've learned through experience that a lot of it is really appealing in the moment, but some things I change my opinion about relatively quickly, or I'm much more variable in my opinions of. If I know that about something, I don't want to have it. I was with a significant other once who had really similar tastes as me, but we differed a lot in our buying preferences. They were a lot more maximalist, and I was more minimalist. I went along with many their purchases because I did like the stuff after all, and loved them, but I noticed over time we were much more likely to get rid of the items they wanted, the "maximalist" items, and keep the stuff that was more minimalist. It wasn't just because we kept what I wanted either -- they got tired of it and wanted to change it for something else. The minimalist stuff they didn't initially see as exciting or interesting, but they also never got tired of it. Minimalism isn't just about reducing unnecessary stuff in some sort of purity ritual, it's about learning and focusing on what consistently and reliably works for you emotionally and functionally. Simple tends to work well a lot of the time, and even though it's not as fun and novel, it tends to stay loved. In this regard, I think something can be minimalist if it reflects something that will work for you over the long run, that you won't get tired of and will last.