Although Minimalism can be highly personalised by using home decorations to express yourself, overhauling an entire house can be daunting. We recommend making small changes room by room.
Starting with a neutral base and then adding subtle colour shades and textures – like using books in monochrome grey, or even tan tones – gives variety.
Simple wall art
Minimalist wall decor such as geometric art can create focal points and interest without occupying additional space, especially when largely monochromatic with a neutral palette. This will keep your space calm and controlled without feeling cold, and gives your home a touch of style at the same time.
Keep in mind that there usually aren’t patterns or embellishments on minimalist furniture or accessories. If you do choose any items in the room that have designs, make sure the furnishings have clean lines and strong shapes.
For a cohesive scheme in minimal decorating, it’s beneficial to follow the guidance on size offered for the room as a whole in relation to the size of any artwork chosen for display: too small, and it will be lost; too large, and it could compete for attention, whereas mid-sized offers the best of both worlds and creates a sense of balance in the room.
Low-height furniture
So, what’s the best way to soften a minimalist setting when it veers too far into sterile territory? Adding low-height pieces, such as this teak platform bed that’s grounded by wool fabrics, help to winterise the space. Surrounding this artistic bed with artisan wood-look nightstands, bookends and furniture is also smart, and keeping the room from feeling too chilly with tools of the original envisioner of modernism, this round tulip table, help to up the ambience. Paint-and-paper animal details, too, add a bit of graphic contrast to above streamlined shelves.
Furniture crafted from a pared-down guise of flat planes reflected light amounts, expand the rooms like a breath of fresh air while allowing for a minimalistic atmosphere to pass through, gaping at the wide-open spaces in your living room. Opt for floating shelves like these ones from Pottery Barn instead of traditional cabinets which never tend to lend themselves to this kind of motif very well.
Minimalist furniture is austere and sleek, spare and geometric. You should use neutral hues, but if you want to add colour without drawing visual attention away from the room, pick an accent colour that is repeated throughout area rugs, pillows or decorative objects, as seen here with this muted rose rug from Pottery Barn, which is vibrant but doesn’t overwhelm the other elements of the space.
Daybeds
Natural light helps to ensure that minimalist rooms remain inviting and have a human touch, and also to prevent them from becoming excessively cold – which could be another of the pitfalls associated with some minimalist decor.
Clear clutter from flat surfaces by choosing one statement piece, such as this crystal wall art from MADE that draws the eye.
A daybed is perhaps the most versatile seating element; it’s a perfect spot to plop down for an afternoon of catching up on emails and then effortlessly transform into an overnight guest bed. Daybeds are great when you have guests and well-suited for kid rooms, home offices and sunrooms. In this room design by BHDM, a clean aesthetic appears a bit lifeless, so the addition of woven chairs and Thuma’s tufted-linen daybed adds visual interest. Daybeds come in a wide range of wood and upholstery tones, so you can find one to suit your interior’s aesthetic.
Simple seating arrangements
Creating this minimalist look calls for beautiful furniture to be clean-lined and functional; non-functional ornaments need not apply, walls must be smooth and free of nicks and scuffs, storage must be attractive, and materials should be natural where possible.
Stay away from overly decorative shapes so as not to crowd the space and look for flat, shiny surfaces that reflect light and make a room look larger – for example, a series of simple crystal wall art might be great for a minimalist home.
Showclutter who’s boss in an open kitchen shelf by styling it with white, wood and black. Use black as the core element of decorationBHDM: Styling an open kitchen shelf.Lighting it up. To add character to the neutrals in your kitchen, get some wooden touches – low tables on both sides of the stove, high ceiling with reconstructed wooden beams.
Natural light
Minimalist schemes can benefit from using natural materials and blurring the boundaries between indoors and outdoors in this artistic or staged way, to add depth and mitigations to a space that might otherwise feel flat and unbalanced with all the attention directed to the few horizontal planes at eye level. There is an equivalent tendency in large spaces to become over-walled, over-blocked and unremittingly vertically channelled, lacking the horizontal areas that create more relaxed seating zones.
Typically, minimalist colour schemes use a lot of neutrals such as whites and beiges, or grey for harmony and peace at home. This isn’t to say that your home should be colourless at all – handwoven textiles, wooden accents or plants can add lively warmth and texture.
And think multi-functional furniture – a home office designed using an old dresser, a storage hutch that doubles as a dining room table, for instance – and LED lighting which is beautiful for homes as its illumination is similar to natural sunlight.