Intentional Clutter | A Growing Trend in Home Décor
Rethink your space with intentional clutter, an exciting trend inspired by the idea of displaying treasures over typical home décor pieces.
I know, I know, the word clutter and home décor doesn’t exactly go together. For years, we have all heard that we need to declutter our homes and rid ourselves of the negative emotions associated with it. Many people have gone as far as to change their entire lifestyles through minimalism in an effort to keep a cluttered home at bay. Its true that a home filled with piles of old mail, and overstuffed corners of storage is an eye sore.
But you might be surprised, that there is a particular type of clutter that can be pleasing to the eye, eclectic in it’s approach and yes, intentional. To think there might be an intentional way of keeping any sort of clutter seems counterintuitive.
In reality this sort of design trend plays on the idea of maximalism but with a much more personalized and curated approach. Instead of the maximalist concept of displaying everything you own, or on the flip side, stripping the home down to only the essentials (minimalism). This is about displaying your treasures which is possibly striking a balance between both concepts.
A Lasting Impression
Many years ago, or rather a couple of decades ago now, I attended a party on a date. It was the home of someone I had never met. I was as nervous as ever as I entered the large living room filled with people. All of whom, I had never laid eyes on before. Being an introverted person, this was particularly uncomfortable for me. I gazed around the room, but to my surprise, what caught my eye was not the people but the home itself.
I parted from my date and began to take a self-guided tour of this home. A home that was unlike any other I had been in before. This one held many trinkets, and the décor was much more than just mere décor, hung for the sake of it.
Things To Treasure
I could see the meaningful pieces of art displayed and photographs of the owners in the city where it appeared to have been purchased. There was such personal history evident in each piece, almost telling it’s own story. I rounded the corner to what appeared to be a gallery wall of paintings, all signed by the same hand. The art was found throughout the home and on adjoining walls the paintings hung sporadically in various colors and sizes. It felt as if I had stepped into an incredibly comfortable art gallery. Only this was a home, a stunningly curated one that held stories throughout it.
It was at this point that the party host came over and shared with me that his mother was indeed the artist of all the paintings that hung in the home. It was something she did simply for the love of painting in her free time. This intrigued me further, knowing that these were not just random paintings but ones that held sentimental value to the owner.
Personalizing
In our homes, what could be more beautiful in a physical space than to add in different items that we create ourselves? You need not be an artist to do this, either.
Hanging photographs you’ve taken over the years, framed artwork our children or grandchildren have made us. Even hanging something like a quilt given to us or made by our hand are worthy of displaying. The home then feels like a collection of memories filled with life rather than a magazine shoot. This current intentional clutter trend is somewhat of an ode to this idea.
The idea that the physical items in our home should create some form of visual interest, bring us joy and or be meaningful. In other words, they are things we treasure.
We can spend years collecting items we love from a favorite thrift store, or flea markets we find, all of which reflect our personal styles. It makes sense to display them fashionably in our homes. It also makes sense that a look like this is not an overnight design but rather one created over time. Something particularly evident in the home I visited.
Clutter Vs. Clutter
I have spent a lot of time getting rid of the physical clutter in our home. The decluttering process can be overwhelming. I can tell you I have had to restart this process many times over. As it is not exactly fun. But to rid ourselves of clutter that is unsightly or simply taking up space makes a huge difference in how a home feels.
It is important to understand, there are different types of clutter. Although this might seem unlikely to be true, I can assure you it is. A home filled with things, lots of things, that don’t serve a purpose. Is one that is cluttered for the sake of it. Whereas a home filled with items that bring about pure happiness, or vignettes of items that become little corners of joy, well those are worth keeping. This is the type of clutter behind the intentional clutter trend.
Knowing The Difference
Most recently, this was done in our dark academia home library. Before the room held a lot of stuff that didn’t go well together. Most, were items of little joy, or meaningful value and were piled high on the bookshelves waiting to be tossed out or used in some fashion. Over time, the shelves became unsightly and the room felt like a catch all for mismatched or unused items. This is the bad sort of clutter that needs to be tossed.
The kind that has no real purpose or meaning. It is the stuff we store that carries little value to us and it usually is items we don’t care much for. But for whatever reason, we just haven’t taken the time to toss it out. What was left after this deep cleaning were the trinkets that did hold value. The drawings, paintings, things that I treasure from my life so far. The gallery wall I created is filled with not only photos but paintings, and even a caricature or two that hold a memory of a special time.
How To Create The Look
The first step to take is to clear away items that don’t appeal to you or your personality. Box them up and then make a stack of the items in your home you do love. Find things that hold memories for you. Saved ticket stubs you can add to a frame, beautiful shells you have saved from the beach, photos of places you have been.
The key element to designing a home around this concept is to bring in things that have meaning to you. These can be a combination of art pieces, photographs, antique finds, and even gifts we’ve received from others that are worth displaying.
You can display a wide array of photographs, art pieces as well as paintings you love on gallery walls. Which work exceptionally well for both narrow and wide walls. Coffee table trays and even small tables set about the room are also great places to display items. Don’t be afraid to leave empty spaces to break up collections you might have as this is encouraged here. You don’t need to fill every space with this look and you certainly don’t want to overdo it with items.
Other Ideas
Stacked books, candles and smaller trinkets are a great way to make the space look intentional and orderly. An arm chair stacked with beautiful books, or adding in a bookshelf to display pieces of art or a combination of trinkets, books and such is a great way to add visual interest in a room. The whole idea behind this trend is to create visual interest and even conversation starters to the home. As, did the home I had visited all those years ago held.
Find pieces that hold memories for you, appreciate what you have now to display and begin collecting items as you go about life that you can bring home to display. It also doesn’t help to hit a thrift shop every once in a while.
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