Avant Basic Style: Definition, Elements & Tips
It’s official: minimalist is out, maximalist is in!
One of the emerging interior design movements that has gained popularity on TikTok is called avant basic, which is less about creating a showroom-ready home and more about creating a showcase of one’s unique identity through interior design.
What is Avant Basic?
To understand this movement, let’s have a look at the definition of avant basic: “Avant” is originally a French word that means “advance”, referring to the forefront position – in art and design, it usually refers to unusual and experimental ideas. Meanwhile, when used in design terms, “basic” refers to something that is typical or expected. Bringing the two together, you could say that avant basic is all about doing the usual in very unusual ways!
Don’t want to be bogged down by the details? Let our designers help!
Whether it’s going crazy on prints and patterns or trying out really weirdly-shaped furniture, avant basic has you covered for the unbridled expression of your personality and creativity.
Here are our tips on mastering the elements of avant basic:
Avant basic design tip #1: Have fun with different and varied prints
It’s time to ditch the plain surfaces and start embracing the wonderful variety of prints. From checks and houndstooth to stripes and polka dots, prints add visual texture and implicitly speak volumes to your unique characteristics, whether bookish, vivacious, old-fashioned, or trendy.
Avant basic design tip #2: Go all out on the colours you love
Conventional design wisdom cautions against using anything more than two primary shades and some accent notes – but with avant basic, that all goes out the window: feel free to decorate with as many colours as you wish in any proportion you wish, as long as it brings you joy. While you’re choosing your colour palette, have a look as well at the various colours on Clay Art and see if that inspires you!
Avant basic design tip #3: Get quirky with uncommon geometric shapes
Why go for straight edges when you can have anything you want? Squiggles and curved lines not only make a space more interesting to look at, more importantly, they free up your possibilities and expand your design horizons. You might think that this only applies to wall paint and certain pieces of décor, but why not furniture with irregular shape to really round off the avant basic look? The possibilities are endless!
For a little structure that does not rely on adding straight lines, you could also try using wood tiles such as Timbre-land which convincingly recreates the unique grooves of natural wood.
Avant basic design tip #4: Embrace the mess and the chaos
You might be thinking: This place is a total mess of different design inspirations and ideas! But much like the Parisian interior design sense, avant basic is all about not trying too hard to fit a certain theme: after all, human beings rarely fit 100% into one category or another, so let your interior design reflect that as well. If you have clashing colours or conflicting shapes, that’s not a problem to be solved, but a quirk to be embraced.
Avant basic design tip #5: Don’t be afraid to be basic
What if the ideas you have in mind are not quite as experimental or crazy? Don’t worry about having more conservative tastes – in the end, avant basic is all about putting yourself at the centre: What do you want to see? Where do you feel the most comfortable? So even if your end product skews more towards a Japandi style or Grandmillennial concept home, that’s fine as well. The only person you need to please is yourself!
