overdecorate

verb

over·​dec·​o·​rate ˌō-vər-ˈde-kə-ˌrāt 

overdecorated; overdecorating

transitive + intransitive

: to decorate (something) too elaborately or extensively

The children overdecorated the cake.

overdecorated the Christmas tree with ornaments and tinsel

"After the years of excess and overdecorating … people are reverting to a more classic and simple way of living."

—David Easton

overdecorated adjective

… rejected overdecorated Victorian styles in favor of a spare simplicity that featured geometric shapes and unadorned surfaces.

—Jonathan Raimes and Lakshmi Bhaskaran

The Depression-era set decoration is perfect, and you get to appreciate all of it because Haynes lingers on each stucco bungalow, each deserted seaside road, each overdecorated Beverly Hills manse.

—Stephen King

overdecoration

ˌō-vər-ˈde-kə-ˌrā-shən 

noun

The simple lines sketched by the architects avoided any effect of massiveness or overdecoration.

—Paul W. Keating

During the Renaissance and post-Renaissance, when urban development produced an air of luxury and richness, there was an ever-increasing tendency toward overdecoration—to a point where the original form was lost and the function obscured.

—Henry Dreyfuss

Word History

First Known Use

1865, in the meaning defined above