A beautiful interior, like an amazing landscape, has you at first blush. After that Instagram-worthy moment sinks in, you start soaking in all the details in the room -- a sculptural chair, a fabulous artifact, intriguing lighting or enchanting art.

Colors -- singly or in tandem with unexpected mates -- first command attention. But nuances of shades and textures, along with metal accents and rich woods make even neutrals anything but bland. And the dynamic of patterns adds energy in a pretty floral, a mod geometric, a bold stripe or an artsy abstract.

Don't forget to look up. Because not all ceilings are created equal, painted in contractor favorite -- ceiling white.

At designer show houses from Kips Bay in New York to San Francisco, the spotlight this year often was on top. Especially with patterned wallpapers, most definitely on the uptick.

For some designers, the ceiling is the fifth wall -- with potential for creative heights.

Not so for Jamie Drake of the New York-based design firm Drake/Anderson.

"It's an integral part of a room," says Drake. "Every part needs to be considered -- baseboard, wall or ceiling. With a tall ceiling, there's an opportunity to bring some intimacy. (Treating) a low ceiling brings the eyes up."

San Francisco artist Willem Racke feels that ceilings are underutilized as a decorative element.

"I love adding color, or even designs, such as herringbone or stripes, to a ceiling," says Racke, who collaborated with Susan Chastain on a room for the San Francisco Decorator Showcase. Inspired by 1960s geometric art, he painted a series of concentric squares whose pinky tones fade into a shot of apricot. The ceiling is a deeper tone of that tangerine.

Drake, with Caleb Anderson, deftly teamed both fabric and paper to create a dynamic focal point above, in the room they designed for the 46th-annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House in Manhattan. First, they clad the space in a mustardy fabric with a sheen, as well as areas that appear worn away. In addition: strategically placed hand-beading. They pulled the fabric up to wrap existing ceiling beams, which were enhanced by adding slightly larger crown molding. Between the beams, they had a small-scale pattern installed. "It's almost like a textural weave," says Drake, "printed in subtle grid metallic in three shades on a white ground."

A neoclassical vibe often permeated Alexa Hampton's interiors, and this room at Kips Bay nodded repeatedly to her husband's Greek heritage. Art featured Hellenic statuary as well as Acropolis scenes. The backdrop for all: a swag -- in a hand-painted paper she designed with de Gournay. The brilliance of it is how it wraps the corner, where the trompe l'oeil melds with real drapery. Artist Chuck Fischer painted a mural for the ceiling; it was photographed and digitally transferred to a canvas for hanging.

At the San Francisco Decorator Showcase, designer Jon de la Cruz used real fabric to tent the TV room, evoking childhood fun of setting up forts with bed linens. The linen he used was beaded, which added a a bit of sparkle to billowing walls and ceiling. And at Kips Bay, designer Mark D. Sikes created a tented effect with blue-and-white striped fabric in a small vestibule space leading to the bedroom he designed.

One of the reasons Kim Hoegger papered the ceiling -- actually, all the walls of a bedroom she designed for the Julian Price designer show house in Greensboro, North Carolina, is that she wanted it to feel special.

"The paper envelops the room," says Hoegger, who furnished it with a beautiful French daybed and painted dresser. "It's like a jewel box."

The paisley in a warm cocoa and blue with white ground isn't overpowering, and she also brought it into the adjacent powder room above white and black tile, original to the house, which was built in 1929, covering the ceiling as well.

"The inclination might have been to go with black and white," says Hoegger. "But I didn't want to do something expected." The result is romantic, a little bit exotic, making the space feel "collected."

Denise McGaha had a unique perspective for a room she designed for the Savannah Southern Style Now show house last November. She designed a wallpaper with an allover lily pad pattern, and she put it up on the ceiling, "to make it feel like you're underwater looking up at the lily pads."

She teamed it with peachy drapery, which has a swirling pattern inspired by beta fish.

Another approach is to highlight only the ceiling. A graphic dark-ground floral mural by Stephan Blachowski graces the ceiling of a powder room in the San Francisco Decorator Showcase. Here the walls are alternating gray and white marble, and create a wide stripe. The modern vanity has a clapboard surface.

Small spaces such as these can afford to be a bit brazen -- even whimsical. Artist George Venson's big lips are a fun treatment, again, up and over the ceiling, in a powder room at last year's San Francisco Decorator Showcase.

Jamie Drake riffed from a set of nine Gene Davis prints in an adjacent space to pull colors for his own artwork on the walls of a powder room in New York's Flatiron District. He designed a checkerboard for an allover pattern.

Especially in an all-white room, a patterned ceiling can create drama. Australian designer Greg Natale used a gold-and-white herringbone pattern (it's available in a wallcovering he designed for Porter's Paints) on the ceiling, a Kelly Wearstler Tracery rug with a modern abstract pattern on the floor, and hot pink Tom Dixon chairs that pull from a Damien Hirst painting.

There actually are many ways to draw the eye up.

-- Paint it. Choose barely there pastels, like Jamie Drake opting for a soft boysenberry mousse in a bedroom with soft spring green papered walls. Or choose a zesty hue like apricot or tangerine, as painter Willem Racke did to pair with his ombre wall mural for a San Francisco show house. Moody hues like indigo or dark chocolate also can be very effective, especially with white moldings and/or paneling. Matte finishes are attractive, while high gloss delivers drama and is reflective.

-- Celebrate architecture. Inherited coffers or plaster ceilings can be stately and elegant. Or add your own. Armstrong has a series of applications that replicate coffered ceilings, wood planking, some in light weathered finishes, and even tin or copper tiles (www.armstrongceilings.com).

-- Paper it. Patterns add punch, either in matching patterns or with solid painted walls. And metallic papers in gold, silver, copper or a combination lend shimmer.

-- Cover it with fabric. A tented effect can be exotic, romantic or have an ethnic vibe, depending on the pattern.

-- Consider peel-off options. Tempaper (www.tempaperdesigns.com) has a range of sophisticated patterns from chinoiserie to Southwest, including collections by Cortney and Robert Novogratz and HGTV's Genevieve Gorder. They're easy to install -- and just as easy to take down and move on to your next obsession.

Sources

-- The Alpha Workshops, 212-594-7320, www.alphaworkshops.org

-- Dina Bandman, 650-867-8644, www.dinabandman.com

-- BLANKwalls Design, 415-269-4694, www.blankwallsdesign.com

-- de Gournay, 212-564-9750, www.degournay.com

-- Drake/Anderson, 212-754-3099, www.drakeanderson.com

-- Denise McGaha textiles and wallcoverings by Design Legacy, 972-869-4914, www.denisemcgaha.com

-- Alexa Hampton, Mark Hampton LLC, 212-753-4110, www.markhampton.com

-- Kim Hoegger Home, 214-856-3962, www.kimhoeggerhome.com

-- Phillip Jeffries, 973-575-5414, www.phillipjeffries.com

-- Greg Natale for Porter's Paints, enquires@porters.com.au, www.porterspaints.com

-- Barbara Ostrom Associates, 201-529-0444, www.barbaraostrom.com

-- Willem Racke Studio, 415-252-1341, www.willemrackestudio.com

-- F.Schumacher, 800-523-1200, fschumacher.com

-- Mark D. Sikes, 323-378-6927, www.markdsikes.com

-- Voutsa, info@voutsa.com, www.voutsa.com

Oh, those millennials. While they might not have the deeper pockets of baby boomers, they most certainly are influencing the gizmos, gadgets and small appliances that are winning the hearts and dollars of the housewares industry.

"Influencing" is a key word here. Because so much of what is trending plays out in social media -- on Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest -- more and more manufacturers are tuning in. In fact, influencers are beginning to snag major partners, like Gemma Stafford, host of "Gemma's Bigger Bolder Baking" (with Good Cook). This also is happening in home furnishings, with product line launches. And now, with mobile video potential, just wow.

Spiralizers? Curly ribbons of veggies? Fun. InstaPot. Yes! Love all those functions in one. Craft beer making? Cheers! Fermenting? Natural probiotic. The best portable clothes washer in the world. Wait, what?

So, there have always been gadgets, designed perhaps to make our lives easier (but also claim lots of space and eventually get lost in our kitchen drawers). With "avocado hand" so much in the news (to wit, "The View's" Joy Behar's emergency room visit because she stabbed her hand while slicing an avocado), the facilitators are getting touted. Some split, pit and slice. Some professionals may roll their eyes.

But earnest innovators will not shrivel. The corner at the International Housewares Show held each spring in Chicago is filled with hopefuls. Some present their inventions in "Shark Tank"-like venues. And when they've made it (sometimes even with a real "Shark Tank" backer, such as Lori Greiner), they're shown off in a special exhibitor section along with other "as seen on TV" products. Success is spelled HSN and Bed, Bath and Beyond. One introduction this year was a container with a lock, devised to deter food thieves in the workplace.

Eating healthy and cooking with fresh ingredients has triggered a renewed interest in growth herbs and veggies. The Aspara Smart Veggie Grower, from Hong Kong's Growgreen Ltd., features LED grow lights and 10 smart sensors to detect air and water temperature, relative humidity, and water and nutrient levels. It will alert you when the reservoir needs filling. At the biannual EuroCucina show in Milan, one strong trend was the integration of plants in the kitchen, often on long shelves with integrated LEDs above islands.

Steaming, air frying and sous vide cooking (cooking in water in a vacuum sealed bag) have been the beneficiaries of the healthy trend, which in Milan went beyond countertop to sous vide built-ins. Wolf's new multifunction cooker has a sous vide function. And the crazy success of InstaPot has led to serious competition with rice makers that dish yogurt, saute, bake, roast, stew, steam and slow cook. According to the NPD market research group, in the 12 months prior to December 2017's holiday shopping spree, U.S. shoppers had spent nearly $380 million on multicookers.

Gourmia one-upped its own range of multicookers with a new feature: keeping ingredients cool until you're ready to cook. The ad's message: "It cools. It cooks. So you can chill." The cooker is IoT-integrated ("internet of things") with the Gourmia mobile app for anywhere-control, Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa compatibility, and A.I. to control cooking from anywhere at anytime.

Another huge introduction comes from a company called Frigondas. It's a Spanish-designed, Korean-made product that combines flash freezing with microwave technology, previously only available commercially at costs of up to $50,000. The name actually comes from the Spanish "frigorifico" (refrigerator) plus "microondas" (microwave).

The piece looks like a slick microwave, a black-matte box on small, squarish feet, with a single dial. When it's available, it will sell for about $1,000. You can freeze blast raspberries and watermelon, then defrost them, and they reportedly taste as fresh as if they just came from the farmer's market. Defrosting minimizes evaporation while maintaining taste, shape and texture. Want a cold brew from that warm six pack you just brought home? Six minutes.

And a Belgian company called Sanodegusto boasts plates that keep food warm or cool for 30 minutes. Their TempControl does the trick, heating to 131 degrees Fahrenheit and chilling to 39 degrees.

Always a hot topic in cookware is a practical one: how best to store it. To that end, a number of manufacturers like Farberware have perfected nesting solutions. The Neat Nest rests pans and lids snugly using an interlocking handle system, creating a small footprint.

Color also continues to be a big story in cookware (the best way to spice up white kitchens), and one of the freshest introductions is a shade of green called basil. It was introduced as part of the Ayesha Curry Home Collection for Meyer. Curry took her cue from last year's Pantone Color of the Year, Greenery. The cookbook author and Food Network personality, who is expecting her third child with her husband, NBA star Steph Curry, announced in June that she will host a new show called "Family Food Fight" for ABC, where families will compete for $100,000.

Le Creuset's newest color evokes Provence in lavender. A limited-edition companion au gratin dish and Dutch oven called Applique actually features sprays of the aromatic herb lavender that look hand-painted. There also are mini cocottes with flower knobs in pale yellow, lavender and pink.

As in home furnishings, Scandinavian-influenced pastels have become a force in housewares -- utensils that pair wood and silicone tips, dinnerware, insulated water bottles and even small appliances (such as ice blue toasters at Smeg, or blue-green air fryers from Dash).

And all-blue hues have been popular in furnishings, tableware and housewares, often in allover patterns reminiscent of vintage tiles, like those from Casafina. And while we may expect watercolor looks, stripes and polka dots on ironing board covers, it is startling in toasters. The fashion brand Dolce and Gabbana dressed toasters, espresso and juice makers, with hand-painting of traditional Sicilian motifs in a bold palette in its Sicily is My Love collaboration with Smeg.

Even one of the most familiar brands, Thermos, has jazzed up its solid hue offerings with a colorful collection of beverage and food containers with lively color and patterns in a co-branding with Patina Vie.

Warm metallics remain popular, just as they are in interiors. In cookware, handsome teamings -- like Staub's black-matte cast iron with gold knobs -- spell elegance. Copper cookware (both smooth and hammered) is strengthening, and copper also is being used as contrast -- e.g., tops and knobs on Gotham Steel's air fryer. To celebrate the 100th birthday of design legend Achille Castiglioni, Alessi produced a limited edition (999) of his 1995 footed fruit bowl in gleaming copper with stainless steel colander. In a burnished finish, copper lends a quiet, elegant touch to a salt and pepper grinder from Epare.

Of course, balancing all the bright silicone and shiny metallics is wood, from light to dark finishes, with a variety of handsome utensils, cutting and cheese boards, and trivets.

A growing number of utilitarian products are getting style points because of their form as well as their color. The Dutch company Brabantia is known for clean lines -- especially its simple, tall cylinders to hold trash -- in a range of appealing colors. Its newest model is a standout (literally) as it stands up from the floor on straight black legs. Available in red and yellow, as well as a warm gray and black, it's advertised with the tag line: "Make Waste Beautiful."

Some inspirations come from existing popular products. Debra Walker, for example, eyed the Keurig coffeemaker and daydreamed about how cool it would be to create a cocktail equivalent. That's how Bibo Barmaid was launched. A packet, a liquor and a touch of a lever are all you need for faves like mai tais, rum punch and margaritas.

An easy way to pass Mixology 101.

Sources

-- Aggcoddler, www.aggcoddler.com

-- Alessi, 877-842-2224, www.alessi.com

-- Arte Legno, www.artelegnodesign.com

-- Aspara, info@aspara.hk, www.aspara.hk

-- Ayesha Curry Kitchenware, 888-383-0738, www.ayeshacurrykitchenware.com

-- Bibo Barmaid, 888-827-2426, www.bibobarmaid.com

-- Brabantia, 201-933-3192, www.brabantia.com

-- Casafina, 845-277-5700, www.casafinagifts.com

-- Dash, available (in color shown) at Amazon, www.amazon.com; other colors at Bed, Bath and Beyond, www.bedbathandbeyond.com, and Target, www.target.com

-- Epare, www.epare.com

-- Gourmia, 888-552-0033, www.gourmia.com

-- KitchenAid, 800-541-6390, www.kitchenaid.com

-- Kuhn Rikon, 855-840-3724, www.kuhnrikonshop.com

-- Maia Ming Designs, info@maiamingdesigns.com, www.maiamingdesigns.com

-- Outset from Fox Run Brands, 800-372-0700, www.foxrunbrands.com

-- Prime Time Petz, 214-257-8068, www.primetimepetz.com

-- Smeg/Dolce and Gabbana, available at Neiman Marcus, 888-888-4757, www.smeg.com; www.neimanmarcus.com

-- Thermos, 844-431-1995, www.thermos.com

-- Wolf Gourmet Products, 800-222-7820, www.subzero-wolf.com

Just when you thought streamlining, mid-century modern or minimalist style rules in decor today, here comes the polar opposite:

Maximalism is back.

In a big way.

"A state of excess has taken hold in the interior design world," says Bethanne Matari, a spokesman for lighting and furnishings manufacturer Currey and Company. It's "a layered style peppered with the offbeat, which some may compare to Aladdin's cave. Maximalism is not about clutter or hoarding, but about curated collections and displaying the things that make us happy. Rich color, embellished walls, vintage brass, gilding, flowers, antique rugs and flashes of red are all elements of the style, along with a mix of materials and patterns."

At the highly revered trendsetting Salone del Mobile exposition in Milan, there was color -- lots of it -- as well as pattern. Retro prints and lush florals on walls setting off sleek kitchens and baths. They were even on appliances, on furniture, inside furniture, on lampshades and on floors -- either solo or in modern patchwork mashups.

At the Kips Bay Decorator Show House, which just completed its May run in Manhattan, a spectacular staircase channeled Memphis (a 1980s furniture collective framed around blazing color, pattern and bold shapes) in a riot of pattern on walls and custom carpeting, designed by Sasha Bikoff. Ceilings in many rooms often enjoyed their own decorative spotlight. And that also was true at the Hillside Designer Show House in Greensboro, North Carolina, this year.

In Milan, fashion brand Etro's home collection featured its signature paisley, especially striking on a fabric-covered cabinet. Dutch designer Marcel Wanders' Globe Trotter collection for Roche Bobois was riveting in explosive patterns -- graphic and nostalgic at the same time. And you couldn't take your eyes off of the packaging for his new fragrance collection for Alessi, as you breathed in the delectable aromas.

The delightful fashion brand La Double J, known for its vintage prints, launched additions to its dinnerware line and introduced a smashing collection with Kartell, pairing its vintage-inspired fabrics with Kartell's signature clear and colored plastic furniture.

The Italian fashion brand Dolce and Gabbana added to its boldly patterned collection of limited-edition hand-painted refrigerators (and small appliances) for Smeg. Among the new pieces were a range and stove hood, as well as a new model fridge in a blue-and-white majolica pattern. And Alessandro Mendini created a showstopper for the Japanese company Sanwa: a simple cabinet with rounded corners and artistic geometry, painted in citrus shades -- with a micro kitchen inside, including a sink and cooktop.

Even at the spring High Point, North Carolina, biannual furniture market, maximalism showed up big time, with a collection at Maitland-Smith celebrating the late, legendary Tony Duquette. It was designed with Hutton Wilkinson, current president of Tony Duquette Inc., and a collaborator for more than 25 years. Considered the father of maximalism, Duquette's work is over the top, with stunning surface decorations like malachite, lots of gilt and materials like abalone, pen shell, coral, rock crystal, bronze and lapis lazuli, which were used to handcraft the accessories and furniture in the new collection (www.maitland-smith.com).

If you're thinking '80s excess ... well, OK! It took on many forms. Like the layering of florals in English country style, popularized by Mario Buatta, dubbed "the prince of chintz," and the modern, playful Memphis.

Ettore Sottsass and the group of designers behind the Memphis design movement, were known for explosive patterns in modern patchworks on laminate from the Italian company Abet Laminati. Furniture, ceramics, glass and metalwork originals are highly collectible at the online marketplace 1stdibs and featured in shows like The Collective in New York. A small group were on display in a Soho popup called Rachel's Dreamhouse during New York's design week in May. The walk-up loft space was full of Memphis spirit, starting with alternating brightly hued stairs.

For Jason Oliver Nixon and John Loecke, the gents behind the Madcap Cottage label and authors of "Prints Charming: Create Absolutely Beautiful Interiors with Prints and Patterns" (Harry N. Abrams, $35), it's about time. They've been evangelizing their brand of maximalism for a while, with several licensed furnishings collections. Their pattern-on-pattern treatments are equal opportunity, a symphony throughout their own home in High Point, where they live what they preach.

"It's so exciting to see this across the board -- from Gucci to Lilly Pulitzer at Pottery Barn," says Nixon. "It's really trickling down -- in fashion at H and M, on sneakers and handbags. Go into a Calico Corners (fabric store) and there's an explosion of prints and patterns from florals to graphics, Justina Blakeney boho to Thom Filicia. It's not just the playground of the 1 percent any more."

No doubt, there will always be the lovers -- and the haters -- of disparate styles. Pick a lane: Mies van der Rohe's "Less is more" mantra or architect Robert Venturi's maxim "More is more. Less is a bore."

"There's always some kind of maximalist movement going on," says Cecil Adams, vice president and creative director for Currey and Co. "Color makes people happier. It's uplifting. Chinoiserie, Hollywood Regency, the whole boho thing. In a way, it's sort of social, too. For someone who wants to embrace a lot of things, being bold in his/her own look. Like a Diana Vreeland red room. Those looks are never really off of the radar. They just send a stronger signal sometimes."

Jason Oliver Nixon loves to quote Mae West: "It is better to be looked over than overlooked."

"Who wants to be a shrinking violet?" he asks. His own mantra is: "Go big or go home." The Madcap Cottage book is a primer in putting patterns together.

So you think you can be a maximalist?

It all depends on your visual tolerance. If you loathe visual noise, maximalism to the max is not for you. But there are degrees. You can have a lot of stuff in a space and not feel, well, suffocated.

Consider, for example, going monochromatic. Keep it all in shades of blush, or your fave blue. Mix up textures, and choose accessories accordingly. It can be easy on the eyes.

Layer it. Pattern on pattern can look amazing when the prints are compatible in color and somewhat in scale. Go lush with artwork and accessories as well. As Nixon says, "Our living room may seem like too much at first, but it's really inviting."

Limit it. You don't have to totally commit to the overindulgent. Choose a statement pattern -- a wallcovering or a piece of furniture that's more flamboyant than your comfort zone. Actually, the maximalist-minimalist combo is an amazingly strong one, too. Keep everything else quiet, with simple lines and a carefully chosen "piece de resistance" for pop.

Decorate with your heart. Says Matari: "Each room should include the unexpected and tell the story of our lives, our travels and childhood, or any moment that defines who we are and how we live. With all the woes of today, it is nice to hunker down into a cozy room surrounded by what we love."

Sources

-- Sasha Bikoff, 646-524-5941, www.sashabikoff.com

-- Currey & Co. 877-768-6428, www.curreycodealers.com

-- Etro, www.etro.com/en_us

-- Golran, available at Moroso, New York, 212-334-7222, www.golran.com

-- Kartell, 212-966-6665, www.kartell.com/us

-- La Double J, www.ladoublej.com

-- Madcap Cottage, 917-675-4004, www.madcaptcottage.com

-- Moroso, 212-334-7222, www.moroso.it

-- Barbara Ostrom Associates, 201-529-0444, www.barbaraostrom.com

-- Seletti, 646-484-5606, www.seletti.us

-- Smeg, 212-265-5378, www.smegusa.com

-- Roche Bobois, 212-889-0700, www.roche-bobois.com

-- The Rug Company, 646-713-1209, www.therugcompany.com/us-en

-- Voutsa, www.voutsa.com

-- Nievera Williams, 561-659-2820, www.nieverawilliams.com