CLUTTERCORE VS MINIMALISM

Swathes of tapestry fabric drapes the furniture; bustling patterns in complementary yet contrasting colours. A hoard of greenery, collections of plants scatter the surfaces, behind them a collection of paintings and photographs tacked to a wall. The shelves, too, are filled with things, worn books with gilded pages, the smell of paper, selections of items which fascinate the eye; the early morning coffee cups surrounded by little pieces of time.

The phrase cluttercore has been a fast-track way to gain traffic on news articles lately, with mainstream outlets making various sweeping statements about the flaws of minimalism, and the joys of clutter. But, could they be right? What are they missing? What is being misinterpreted in the conversations surrounding cluttercore?

Cluttercore, unlike its name, is not exactly the celebration of clutter which it claims to be. It’s something closer to maximalism, a vast display of collections of beautiful and precious things. It’s less clutter, and more couture. Search up cluttercore and you won’t find the clutter you’re looking for, instead you’ll find grand walls of organised paintings of different styles, interior decor impeccably styled in varying ways of vintage and rural themes.

Cluttercore rides on the back of maximalism (more is more, especially when it’s expensive) and cottagecore (the aesthetic value of the imagined rural: think, houseplants and floral designs, what was once grandmother’s curtains is now in-vougue). It’s not cluttercore itself which is strange, but rather the discussions surrounding it. Cluttercore is being pitted against minimalism, demonstrated as a change in thought and style from the minimalist trends of the past few years.

Cluttercore isn’t the end of minimalism, if anything, it’s more like minimalism than it would seem. Cluttercore, like maximalism which came before it, is primarily about surrounding oneself with an environment made of beautiful and joy-inspiring objects. An inherent part of the aesthetic concepts of both, cluttercore and minimalism, is to cultivate the space around us in a way which makes our lives better.

Do you like the cluttercore aesthetic, or are you more of a minimalist?

Featured image: Jane Palash via Unsplash.