Done well (see Ms Rose Uniacke, Mr Donald Judd, Cereal magazine’s Ms Rosa Park, Mr John Pawson, even Mr Jake Arnold to a less rigid extent), minimalism and neutrals can be exquisite in their detail and thoughtfulness, but it’s a difficult look to get right and it can fall flat without the budget for sublime architecture, beautiful fixtures and an eagle eye for visual balance. It can, and often does, look (and don’t send me hate mail), straight-up boring.

Perhaps I’ve been a renter for too long, but I’ve noticed how many landlords have a fetish for white emulsion and silver-grey carpets (a plague on all our houses) and therefore I’ve realised I’d rather suffer bold and enthusiastic bad taste than no taste at all. That’s not to suggest you have to leave your Japanese ceramics – or your principles – at the door before hoarding a load of tat, channelling Sir Elton John’s 1970s stage costumes and riding headlong into swathes of printed fabric on the back of a unicorn (I imagine minimalists hate unicorns). But in our terribly serious pursuit of photogenic good taste, did we declutter every trace of our own personality in the process? This isn’t the audience for a niche Moana reference about self-discovery, but we’re surely all far more complex and interesting than a homogenous sea of beige with the occasional accent of charcoal. What happened to self-expression?

The trend-forecasting experts at WGSN say the recent preference for pared-back interiors has been on a journey. We’ve progressed from Japandi (a fusion of typical Scandinavian and Japanese influences) in 2018 to the introduction of warmer pigments and a greater emphasis on tactility, with more focus than ever on sustainability and handmade pieces with more of a sentimental element. Thankfully, colour plays even more of a primary role in 2022 and buzzwords for the coming years include “soulful minimalism” and “exuberant minimalism”. As a fervent fan of colour and the occasional over-dramatic vase, I was particularly relieved to hear the word “exuberant”.

After a few challenging years when we spent intense amounts of time at home with barely-there vignettes and calming neutrals, might it finally be time to let your ballsy inner maximalist take the wheel? Isn’t the state of the world depressing enough without worrying about spilling red wine in your monastic living room? Maximalism might as well be a byword for fun. It’s confident and playful and expressive. It’s all about decorating for yourself and filling your home with the colours, patterns, art and objects that make you feel good.

Think of the Bloomsbury group’s Charleston House, where almost every surface was painted with murals, the Memphis Group’s eye-popping use of colour and shape; Ms Martina Mondadori’s print-wrapped Cabana magazine; Mr Luke Edward Hall’s unapologetically vibrant and kitsch aesthetic. If maximalism were a hotel, it might be The Fife Arms in Braemar in the Scottish Highlands, or Maison La Minervetta in Sorrento or the Downtown LA Proper Hotel designed by Ms Kelly Wearstler. They don’t look cluttered or hectic. They just leave you invigorated and wanting to redecorate when you get home.

If the idea of unabashed, all-guns-blazing maximalism gets you hot under the collar (and not in a sexy way), you can still inject some character and pizzazz into your home without going full Trump Tower meets Positano. WGSN’s intel on the new maximalism will be comforting to those dipping a toe in for the first time. It says that the “deliberately messy, more-is-more approach to styling is evolving. The upbeat energy will remain, but it will become more considered. Neutral maximalism is emerging as a key direction, fusing elements of minimalism and maximalism – with statement pieces punctuating a minimalist interior.”

If you think you could have some maximalist tendencies and need visual cues from designers who use colour and decorative art in a liveable and non-theatrical way, check out British interior designers Mr Tom Morris, Studio Ashby and Retrouvius or US-based Commune Design, Neal Beckstedt Studio and Studio Shamshiri. A glance at their work shows you can be expressive with indigo blues and shades of rust. Maximalism doesn’t have to mean primary colours and florals.

Don’t amass stuff for stuff’s sake, either. Stick to what you love and collect over time. If in doubt, a dull room can be livened up with an oversized lamp or a cosseting floor-to-ceiling wall colour. Sometimes a few well-chosen cushions are all the oomph you need. A drab floor will be lifted instantly with a colourful rug. An empty corner is transformed by a sprawling potted plant. Hate your coffee table? Hide it beneath a pile of design books and pop a decorative bowl on top for good measure (that’s what I do).

Make expressive moves, experiment, buy the jazzy ombre throw for your sofa and swaddle yourself like a rainbow-hued ET. Anything’s better than white walls and a grey carpet – the approaching autumn and winter months are grey enough as it is.