As a decorator and home stager I often encounter homes where I have to let the client know that while they have some lovely things, you can’t see them from their other stuff! It’s a basic yet profound rule I’ve learned that applies to so many things in life- less is more. Whether it’s the number of items squeezed onto a mantle (seriously, how do these things not fall off?), what we keep on our kitchen or bath counters, or even what we put in our mouths (eventually too many cookies or chips catches up to us).
De-cluttering is touted as the most important thing to do when selling your home. I agree with this as well. I advise homeowners to make rooms feel as spacious and open as possible by removing excess things. But why wouldn’t we want to live like this always, not just when selling our homes?
I strongly believe that beyond just de-cluttering our ‘stuff’, there is more impact to our beautiful objects when displayed on their own, instead of mixed in with other decorative pieces, fabrics, art, rugs, etc…Now I don’t mean you should only have one lovely thing per room, but I am of the belief, despite what many high-paid tv designers show, when your eye can’t focus on any one thing, some of the impact is lost.
Take for example this very expensive (no doubt), highly-curated dining room. There are some lovely items here ranging from the bold,metallic wallpaper; multi-patterned chairs; geometric mirror; heirloom art, silk drapes and statement lighting. But I can’t appreciate any of them to the same degree as I would on their own, as I feel they drown each other out somewhat.
However, when there are a few outstanding elements, they can truly shine. Here’s an example of that:
The serene art, outstanding lamp and beautiful wood table stand out to me while the other items fade into the background and don’t compete. I would still remove a few excess items but hey, I know it’s for show 🙂
So while these are just my own views and opinions, I do think with spring arriving, we can all benefit from a little de-cluttering of excess from our lives and rooms. Less truly can be more!
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