Understanding minimalist design
Minimalism is a style embraced across the visual arts, from interiors to film. It champions extreme simplicity, including only that which is actively valuable. In interior design, the style manifests as clean lines, natural colours and no clutter, ensuring highly functional spaces that promote a sense of calm.
Avoiding extraneous elements means the pieces you choose are featured more prominently, and the eye focuses more on details such as texture and lighting. While the overall design will be naturally cohesive, there’s still plenty of opportunity to add depth and dimension to your minimalist living spaces.
- Decluttering your home
Start by going through your possessions and decluttering, donating or recycling anything that isn’t directly useful to you. This should include old furniture, homeware and kitchenware. Precious ornaments and other decorations such as photo frames should be tidied away and kept out of sight. Reducing clutter avoids your spaces feeling chaotic and maintains the simplicity of your aesthetic.
Keep in mind that minimalism doesn’t necessarily mean ‘bare’, so you don’t have to rule out all your decorative elements. Focus more on eliminating excess, choosing to display a couple of pieces rather than lots of different trinkets.
- Creating a neutral base
The foundation of any minimalist home is a neutral colour palette. This creates a serene backdrop and allows certain design elements to take centre stage without overwhelming the senses. It also gives you greater flexibility with the rest of your décor, making it easier to introduce accent colours (in small doses) and blend different textures.
Choose soft tones like whites, greys and beiges for your walls and floors and major furniture. Natural materials like wood and stone work especially well in minimalist spaces: consider pairing a light wood table and chairs with slate tiles and a wool or rattan rug. Glass also helps to keep the scheme congruous, ensuring the eye isn’t interrupted and a flow of air throughout your living areas.
- Choosing functional furniture
When it comes to furniture, functionality should take precedence over aesthetics. Select furniture with a clear purpose, opting for multipurpose designs where possible so you get maximum use out of each piece. As these statement items will stand out in the room, it’s worth spending more for quality craftsmanship.
In a minimalist living room, neat sofas with sleek frames and slim cushions or modular sofas such as sofabeds or seating with internal storage act as a striking centrepiece. You can complement these with a fuss-free table-and-chairs set and a low-lying coffee table with drawers beneath the top. Curved edges can help to stop the space feeling clinical while maintaining the minimalist clean look.
- Introducing warmth
Minimalism often gets a bad rap for feeling too cold or sterile, but with the right lighting and combination of textures it’s easy to inject warmth and personality.
Soft fabrics like linen and wool are cosy and inviting, and can be featured in cushions, throws and rugs. Blinds in a warm wood are a great alternative to curtains if you’re looking for a modern feel, or you can allude to the cosiness of cottagecore with textured wooden flooring and patterned curtains.
Lighting plays an equally important role in creating a welcoming atmosphere. Layered lighting which mixes overhead lights with lamps enables you to adjust the ambience to suit your needs and mood for any time of day or occasion. Pair a dimmable pendant light with under-shelf spotlights and standing or table lamps, choosing warm bulbs for greater cosiness.
