Colorful home decor with a bit of kitsch

Colorful home decor for houses that refuse to look like everyone else’s

You walk into someone's home and you can tell which shop it all came from: the same vases, the same wooden letters, the same beige leaf print. That is what unique decor is for, putting something your visitors have not already seen fifteen times.

These pieces go that way: saturated colors and shapes you recognise instantly, a sweet, a donut, a nineties candy. They are there so someone asks where they came from.

Pop art, kitsch and maximalism: how they differ

They get used as synonyms and they are not. The difference is worth knowing, because it decides which piece fits your home.

Pop art

It takes something everyday, blows it up and gives it flat color. A gummy bear on a living-room shelf is exactly that.

Applied to decor it means objects you recognize instantly, in flat saturated color, with a sense of humor. A 22-centimeter gummy bear on a shelf is exactly that.

Kitsch

Kitsch means the over-the-top and the sugary, put there on purpose, knowing it borders on tacky. A donut hanging in the kitchen is pure kitsch, and it works because nobody expects it.

Maximalism

Maximalist decor is about more color, more objects and more layers, but with judgement: a shelf done well has pieces of different sizes and one color repeated at two or three separate points.

If you are building a home like that, these figurines work as the accent: one large piece in a strong color anchors the shelf and the small ones follow it.

How to place a colorful figurine so it does not clash

What we have picked up from the photos people send us:

Neutral wall, strong piece. Against white or gray, a saturated color works on its own. Nothing else is needed around it: the more empty space nearby, the more it shows.

Colored wall, nearby tone. If the wall already has character, choose a piece in a close range rather than a contrast. Two strong colors fighting in the same square meter tire the eye.

Mix heights. A 22 cm piece, an 11 cm one and a couple of magnets spread the visual weight better than three identical pieces. It is the same principle window dressers use.

At eye level. A decorative figurine on the top shelf is invisible. In the line of sight, it is the first thing anyone looks at.

Handmade decorative sculptures from Madrid

These decorative sculptures are made by hand in our Madrid workshop, and work starts when the order comes in.

If the piece is for a teenager’s room, we have a separate guide to teen room decor.

The resin lasts for years without yellowing as long as it does not sit in direct sun all day. A damp cloth with mild soap is enough to clean it.