I came across this on Instagram a few weeks ago. And, I love it!
Cluttercore, “A new craze that embraces organised chaos, and encourages us to fill our homes with an abundance of mismatched but meaningful objects.” Rachel Edwards
I suppose it’s just a new word for something that has really been around forever. As we get older we all amass our own collections of unusual treasures; keep-sakes from holidays, momentous of children’s milestones hit, no doubt a few quirky bits of tat too! My own grand-mother kept myself and my cousins’ first pairs of shoes. They were like ornaments that told a little about the wearer. My sisters were pristine, red patent, of course. Mine were practical, un-polished and irreparably scuffed. Infer what you will… She also had a picture wall, showcasing all the artwork gifted to her by her grand-children; the good, the bad and the ugly (the artwork that is, not the children). So I suppose people have always done this, cluttercore. But, rarely has your grandmother’s clutter been hailed as a design trend. This is new. This is exciting.
So, make your own… Curiosities; eclectic and surprising trinkets.
When we decorated our house I had to include a book shelf for exactly this. I have young children and so everything had to be tactile, preferably not breakable. Now, it kind of evolves with us. It’s dripping with houseplants (a current obsession of mine), is scattered with polished bullet casings (an obsession of my 11 year old son, a second world war buff), hosts a random tortoise (bought after the real nursery tortoise came to stay at our house for the summer holidays) and laughingly displays a family photo of my husband’s brothers, all lined up in the 1990’s finest attire, authentically sepia. It tells the story of our lives. It brings back memories and also showcases the here and now, the current obsessions. Can you spot the Art Rabble addition too? I can tell you the story of every item on those shelves. Where they’re from, who bought them etc etc. They are perfect, despite the battered edges, the cracks and the peeling paint. They are mine. They are us.
Bring on the Cluttercore. It is longer overdue some love.