In recent years from near the end of quarantine and even during quarantine, the aesthetic and overall appeal of maximalism has increased tremendously. People dress maximalist, with jewelry, accessories, and layering of clothing. But, another way people enjoy expressing maximalist aesthetics is through how they decorate their rooms. When we look at how people decorate these rooms, one can realize that this way of decorating also encourages the comeback of physical media.
To preface, physical media never really left. We still use books, people still print out pictures to put into picture frames, and people still use physical media to listen to their favorite music. But their popularity has increased due to trends over the past four years. Artists are releasing albums more on vinyl, CD, and even cassette. More specifically the increase of popularity of vinyl has skyrocketed. During 2020 the aesthetics of the 80s–90s became popular and led to a wave of trends surrounding music and fashion of the times. Vinyl is one of these things, so people started to buy vinyl and include their record player as decor for their room. But fast forwarding to now, vinyl has stuck with steady popularity and has been a popular way of decorating a room for music lovers who also indulge in maximalism.
Over the recent four years, the popularity of books have gotten super popular. So much so, that bookstores and more specifically Barnes and Noble have transformed into a hangout hot spot for friends who want to get a drink and a treat and then go read. This increase in love for books is due to social media romanticizing reading and more specifically education through reading. Reading has transformed into something chic and cool. Someone who reads is mysterious and educated and can be deemed pleasant to talk with. We see this rebrand effect through trends that encourage reading. As a result of these trends, books and bookshelves have been a very popular way of decorating a room.
From 2020 to now maximalism is still here and is constantly seeing a steady lineup. Though trends seem to come and go it seems that maximalism is here to stay for now.