The English Maximalista

Mr Maximalista and I were already middle-aged when we bought our home in Colorado. We had raised our daughters with our respective ex-spouses; all three of our girls had graduated from college, were successfully fledged and beginning their own lives as independent young women.

So, you can only imagine the amount of belongings two households had accumulated, over the lifetimes of five occupants.

Even after countless carloads of donations to our local women’s shelter, two skips [dumpsters] filled when we sold our two houses, AND having given the girls whatever they wanted to take when they left home: Mr Maximalista and I were still left with more than enough to furnish an entire 5-bedroom house.

The only brand new purchases we have made for the new place were mattresses for all the beds, a king size bed (including linens) for Sadie, and the black leather sofas for our living room. 

Oh, and paint. Lots and lots of paint.

Everything else is what we already had. I had a lot of fun merging our two households together, and fortunately, we had the luxury of time whilst we were merging, perhaps why it was such an enjoyable process. The joy would surely have been removed had we been doing it under more stressful circumstances.

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The queen size metal bed frame in the peacock bedroom was an old one that had been gathering dust in Mr Maximalista’s basement, back in Wisconsin. It was originally a silver-ish colour, but Mr M allowed me to spray it black, freshening it up. It’s now a much better match for our decor.

Except for the bed, the majority of the furniture in this bedroom is stuff I had purchased 30 years ago, when I was a young newlywed. My ex-husband and I would trawl estate sales in Illinois, to furnish our tiny apartment, then later to furnish the farmhouse we bought in Wisconsin.

The armoire cost us $350, which was, at that time, the most expensive purchase I had ever made, besides my car! We drilled a hole in the back, through which to run the tv cables, and it has been an entertainment center ever since. Sure, it has a few dings and scratches from various house-moves, but I still love it, three decades later.

Same with the pair of solid maple Ethan Allen bedside tables, which I purchased for $6 each at a garage sale in Woodstock, Illinois; I later painted them black (of course!). The majority of the artwork was thrifted as well, for similar pittance prices. I love how everything in this room has pulled together in a satisfyingly English, cluttery kind of way.

I think that the reason this room is so comfortable is because of the familiarity and warmth associated with our belongings. The bed linens offer that kind of familiarity, too: the Top Banana didn’t want her old IKEA bedding any more, so it now has a new lease of life in the peacock bedroom, along with my queen size Frette sheets which don’t fit on the new king size bed. (I had to buy larger sheets for that, and you all know how shopping is a terrible hardship for me to endure…)

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The peacock bedroom was the first bedroom I decorated in this house. My boudoir was next, then the primary bedroom, and finally the second guest room — aka the zebra bedroom — shortly thereafter. (To be revealed in future blogs!)

Side note: there are actually five bedrooms in this house, but as eagle-eyed readers will have noticed, I only mentioned four of them above. This is because a fifth bedroom has been turned into Mr Maximalista’s office / man-cave, a sacred masculine space from which the English Maximalista and her decorating prowess have been categorically expelled forever, just like a wicked queen in a fairytale.

I digress.

Before its transformation, the peacock bedroom was essentially a dumping ground for old toys, childrens books, and many other items which weren’t a priority when we first moved in. Naturally, the organising of the kitchen, living room, and our bedroom was of prime concern; I extended my decorating tentacles to the rest of the house once we were settled.

It was like Christmas morning when I started unpacking the large stash of wallpaper that I had been collecting for a long time, in anticipation of this moment. FINALLY, I would get to use them! *maniacal laughter, befitting evil fairytale queen*

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The Balinese Peacock wallpaper is an updated pattern pulled from old prints, which I have seen in several older homes through the years. I’ve generally seen it in French blue, and sometimes in lavender, although Scalamandre makes it in various colourways. My favourite of which is my beloved black.

I may or may not have gone a little overboard with the bird theme in this room. In my defense, it did kind of take a life of its own, although I AM trying to comport myself with restraint. I promise.

It’s a light-filled room, getting strong sunlight all day long; this is why I felt so confident with using bold colours. It had previously been painted in a dull tan colour, only creating a sense of dreariness, even with the sunlight pouring in.

But at the very least, we have created a fun guest room. It’s welcoming. Comfortable. Filled with things I cherish. Including the guests who come to stay with us.

Lots of love,

M xo

PS more pictures can been seen in my Facebook photo albums!