Minimalist design is certainly here to stay, and it’s easy to see why. It’s much more than just a style, encompassing a broader philosophy of embracing simple living and clean aesthetics.
If you’re looking to add a minimalist spin to your home as part of a redesign, you’re not alone. Minimalist interior design looks great, exudes quality, and has timeless appeal, so it’s no wonder that thousands of people are making the switch.
To help you get started, read on to discover six top tips for embracing the style in your home.
1. Start with Decluttering
Clutter is the antithesis of minimalism, so it makes sense that before you do anything else, you’ll need to thoroughly reorganise the space you’ve chosen and get rid of the rubbish.
While it’s easy for clutter to accumulate, it can be challenging to get rid of it. The best approach is to get yourself three large cardboard boxes and label them Trash, Sell/Donate, and Keep, respectively.
From there, it’s simply a case of being systematic. Begin sorting through, and once you’ve filled all the boxes, have a break and then repeat the process. You’ll most certainly feel a weight lifted afterwards.
2. Paint Your Walls Neutrally
When you’re considering new colours for your walls, it’s crucial to go for neutral palettes. This is your base, so you want to keep things as simple as possible so that you then have scope to accent the room later on.
Whites, creams, beiges, greys, and pastel earth tones all work great, and help the small amount of furniture and decoration you do include to stand out. While it might seem like you’re making the room look a little sterile at first, everything will come together in the end.
3. Embrace Natural Light
For the minimalist look, you want to bring as much natural light into the space as possible, and there are numerous ways you can do this.
The first is by discarding curtains and going for some high-quality blinds. Curtains have a tendency to make the room look stuffy and old-fashioned if you’re not careful, and blinds allow you to make the most of the windows and have light flood the room (you can use blackout blinds for bedrooms so that the light doesn’t disturb you in the morning).
If your windows are small and only let in a limited amount of light, you can use mirrors to maximise what you have.
4. Choose High-Quality Furniture
Choosing your furniture often feels like it’s the trickiest part of this process, but it doesn’t need to be. All you need to do is have functionality at the forefront of your mind.
Form follows function, and with minimalism, items that look great should also work well. Take this glass sideboard, for example: it’s expertly made, featuring elegant fluted glass and a strong metal frame, which is both perfect for displaying your glassware attractively and doing so safely. These are the sorts of pieces you should be looking at.
Remember: minimalism is about quality over quantity. One or two expensive pieces are better than several cheaper ones.
5. Utilise Negative Space
It should be clear by now that minimalism is as much about what you don’t have as what you do have, and so the concept of negative space is something that you should use in your design efforts.
You always want to give your furniture room to breathe, ensuring that as little clutter remains around each piece as possible. You’ll need to be ruthless here – scrutinise each object in the room and ask yourself if it really needs to be there.
In general, try to avoid placing items on surfaces arbitrarily and filling open cupboards full of stuff.
6. Include Some Plants
And finally, don’t forget about plants. They go a long way in making minimalist design feel less cold as they’re the perfect contrast to the harder elements in the room. The deep greens of a tree in the corner, for example, meld nicely with the subtle greys of a wall.
Some people also like to add macrame hangers to the room for some added texture (you can even make these yourself).
Wrapping Up
If you’re ready for a change, minimalism is sure to serve you well for many years to come. It’ll take a while to get to grips with the style, but once it clicks, you’ll be able to decorate the whole house this way if you wish. Good luck!