The Design Trend You Won't See Christina Hall Embrace, And What She Does Instead

HGTV host and design expert Christina Hall is known for her love of simple lines, richly-textured neutral rooms, and cozy minimalism. Because of this, it's no surprise that, when playing "Yay or Nay" with HGTV on Instagram, she said that maximalism is definitely a "nay."  Maximalist decor, which has been rising in popularity among homeowners who long to counter the all-neutral decor trends of the past two decades, revels in pattern, color, and an abundance of objects and accents. It's often seen mixed with other trendy styles like cottagecore, grandmillennial, and glam that produce rooms with lots of loud visual interest.

For Hall, however, it's a hard pass. The designer, who often shows off her own stylish and minimal home, creates very similar aesthetics for the homes she designs for clients on her HGTV shows. She tends to create clean-lined spaces with lots of neutrals set against more natural materials like greenery and variations of wood. These natural elements provide most of the decorative accents in Hall's rooms but are used sparingly and stylishly.

In her list of outgoing trends, Christina Hall cites vibrant color as another element she'd like to see hit the road, a favorite of maximalist rooms. Instead, she embraces neutral tones and earthy shades. Hall is also a fan of hiding day-to-day elements like appliances and projector screens or televisions, essentials that may be integrated in a maximalist room. Personal and sentimental items like books and souvenirs are hidden away or kept to a minimum, while more maximalist rooms place such objects front and center.

Along with minimalism, Hall also loves vintage items because they can be used to add character. However, while maximalist rooms often use them in abundance, Hall uses vintage accents sparingly and as centerpieces. For instance, in Season 1, Episode 6 of "Christina in the Country," she creates a sleek display design for a homeowner's vintage vinyl collection. Hall often creates rooms that feature subtle touches of history amid all those neutrals as well. Overall, she lives by the idea that "less is more," in comparison to maximalism's "more is more" design philosophy.