i_timeMar 04, 2021

Monochromatic tones, clean lines, uncluttered spaces and simplicity are some of the concepts that come to mind when the word minimalist design pops up. And there’s nothing quite like the visual appeal that these designs offer. A minimalist design is all about doing away with the superfluous and pairing everything down to the basic laid-back luxury.

The serenity that comes with a minimalist interior cannot be denied. Yet achieving this requires a difficult deliberate choice of few pieces of everything including furniture and monochromatic tones. This trend had its moment in the early 20th century, but as with everything else, it is back. And this time the millennials are shading off too much consumerism for a less but more meaningful quality life.

 

This theory of less is more is not so much about spending less money, rather, it’s the art of creating spaces that exude warmth and chicness by getting rid of the excess and thereby achieving better home design. What exactly does a minimalist design even mean?

 


What is Minimalist Design?

This is the art of using the barest and fewest essentials in home design meant to give a simple de-cluttered life. Minimalist interior design approach tends to refrain from lavish highly decorative techniques to simple and modest, but facile and stylish essentials.

So, how do you master this art of minimalist interior design in your home? To start you off, you need to understand the general principles of minimalist design. After this you will have an easier time achieving a real organic minimalist look.

 

 

General Principles of a Minimalist Design


1.      Functionality

This home design technique requires that every single item in your home must be functional, including the decorative pieces. They must serve a purpose.

For inspiration, here is a great example. 

This LED Levitating Moon Lamp is an astoundingly great lamp that boasts of a minimalist design but with cool elegance because minimalist doesn’t mean boring. 

 

Levitating Moon Lamp as minimalist design element

 

It offers a warm soft white glow from a gorgeous moon replica orb housing the light. It will easily accentuate the colors of a minimalist space because it can blend with virtually any tone, from white to black or colored tones.

What’s more? It silently levitates on top of a solid, sturdy wooden square-shaped base with a brown shade to add a warm touch to the minimalist design in any room. What makes this the best minimalist design example?

 

It’s functional as a lamp and it’s a stunning décor piece. When not glowing up your space, it will sit like a charm as it levitates. If you were looking just for the right lighting piece for a minimalist designed space, then look no further. 

And to just add for good measure, this lamp functions via touch. Meaning the (minimalist) users will not have to fumble with cables or switches, they will simply touch the on and off button when they need to use the lamp.

The LED Levitating Lamp has a variation for the minimalist that will want a different flavor of the moon. It’s the Moon Lamp. This minimalist lamp is as great as the Levitating Moon Lamp, except that it sits on a base and therefore doesn’t levitate. This is a subtle detail that adds a lot of charm.

 

But it has its own great features. It offers adjustable brightness. It has a warm white glow and a cool white glow. The dimmest light would be great just for background lighting while the brightest option is ideal for reading and so forth.

 Thus, it makes for an excellent addition in a minimalist design house because you can have it anywhere in that space and it will be functional and aesthetically appealing without being noisy.

When such functional accessories are added in a minimalist interior design, then you will be on your way to making it work.

 


2.      The Form in Minimalist Design

Another key factor in minimalist interior design is the basic shape of your few furnishing items. Think of the shape of each piece. What are the common lines that you can notice? Are they diagonal, curved, horizontal or vertical?

This is important in unifying all the elements in your space. A minimalist design is not just about less items. It’s the shapes you create that bring about the design aspect. If you lack form, you will miss the design. 

How can you add form?

Choose shapes that you want to dominate, e.g. rectangles and squares, curves and cylindrical shapes, zigzag shapes for the more adventurous minimalist and so forth.

 


3.      Create the Flow in Minimalist Design

Form and flow go hand in hand in a minimalist interior design to create harmony in the decor. Along with your furniture, you should consider your wall design. Different wall shapes will require certain types of furnishings to bring everything together in a single flow.

Consider furnishings that will fuse with the background of your space. Let everything blend seamlessly. The trick is ensuring no single specific feature sticks out like a sore thumb against the rest.

 


4.      The Use of Color in Minimalist Design

It's common that most minimalist designs only involve monotones such as gray, white or shades of beige. However, you can venture beyond this because as said, minimalist doesn’t mean boredom. 

And since warm minimalist tones are having a moment, other primary colors such as yellow or blue would be great when cast in their purest shades. They’re making the minimalist interior design look more inviting.

It’s how you tone them together with the base hues and the furnishings to keep the minimalistic look and feel. The main purpose is to keep that clean and fresh appeal.

 


5.      Minimalist Design in Flooring

Concrete and wood are the most common flooring in minimalist design. In other words, modern tones complete the look in the best way by bringing everything together. It’s ok to throw in a neutral rug or carpet on the floor to add a little element of warmth.

 Minimalist design fosters clarity and calm as well as the ability to enhance fast processing of information. When you apply a minimalist design in your home, you will have less to clean and more time to pursue other important personal interests.

With this said, and having understood the five major principles of a minimalist design, how then can you apply it in your home? Here are a couple of basic steps to start you off.

 

Minimalist-design-interior-living

Source: Smalldesignideas

 


How to Create a Stunning Minimalist Design

 

i.                 The Essentials Only

One main characteristic of a minimalist design is the elimination of unwanted clutter. If you have objects that you do not use, you will have to find a different place for them, including furniture and decor items. It’s all about what’s essential and nothing more

And as mentioned earlier, your décor pieces must double up as functional pieces as well. And even the said furniture must be minimal in itself. This is not to say that your home must remain looking like a dry bone. Rather, it’s selecting elegant functional pieces and ornamentation that brings beauty and serve purpose.


ii.               Strategic Use of Pieces for Visual Interest

Remember minimalist interior design is a celebration of empty space. It’s a unique design trend that’s more about a space with the absence of furniture and décor where you normally would have them. You should therefore create a decor that incorporates more breathing room with each item that you use, in such a way that there will be plenty of room around every single item.

Furnishings in a minimalist design should be simple but stunning and should add texture and personality to create simplicity in form and material. When you choose your pieces, remember the form and flow mentioned above. This is where that comes to play. 

Pick items that will enhance order, calmness and clarity. Let your choice of items draw attention to color, shape, space and texture. By allowing space to each item, you allow them to stand out and be appreciated on their own.

Therefore as you reduce everything to the essentials, pick items that make a statement such as the Levitating Moon Lamp or the Moon Lamp mentioned above. 


iii.             Create a Focal Point

A focal point is important in any house design, but you have to know how to design a minimalist house focal point. Because it’s essential in drawing the design of the entire arrangement into one element.

 This could be a piece of design that catches your eye when you enter the room and should be the piece that you organize the rest of your house around in terms of visual aesthetics. It could be a statement wall or the main piece of furniture and so forth.

 

Minimalist-style-Living-room-interior-design focus

Source: Bestdesignideas 


iv.              Use Light as Décor

In minimalist interior design, light is always part of your décor. The point is to minimize the amount of fixtures and lighting accessories to use in the house.

 A great example of light that would be great décor is this Galaxy Lamp. It’s a chic lamp that would suit any room and it doubles up as a stunning piece of décor. And the twist is that it brings a warm color vibe that can enhance the warm accents in your minimalist interior design

It has 3 different lighting modes, 16 colors and adjustable brightness. This lamp is a favorite pick because just like the other Galaxy Lamps mentioned above, it’s free of cables. Thus, no clutter to interfere with your design and it can light up to 10 hours when fully charged. It’s a complete piece of art in itself and it can do a great job at complementing any minimalist design you pick.

It’s also almost obvious that you should avoid chandeliers at all costs. These never exist in a minimalist interior design ever.

 

Galaxy Lamo minimalist design

 

v.                Minimalist Furniture

Now probably this is one of the funniest stages when learning how to design a minimalist house. When selecting your ideal furniture, ensure to pick an assortment that will create a balanced space. The first word here is quality. Invest in elegant, well finished items that will speak for themselves without necessarily being “lifted” up by anything else.

This is not the time to run after what’s trending in the market. You will want timeless future-heirlooms that will still be stunning even after several trends have come and gone. It’s less in number but the more in statement. That should be your guiding mantra.


vi.              Style and Texture

Because you’re minimizing many aspects except space, then it goes without saying that the tonal textile you pick and the fabrication should be able to quietly add richness and warmth all over.

Pick some complimentary hues and combine them with textured textiles, furs and hides to bring an unexpected aspect and add some interest. 

As for minimalist design prints and patterns, pick those with graphic extras that blend with the muted color hues. And combine with sufficient empty space to keep them from appearing too busy.


vii.            Minimalist Design Accessories

Minimalist interior design is big on boastful, covetable accessories. So, get to show off your personality in each room  by getting unique pieces that will speak your style. Instead of having accessories that can only fit in a certain specific space, get pieces that can be swapped from season to season to spare you the headache of overstuffed effect.  

For example, both the Moon Lamps and the Galaxy Lamp are pompous show off kinds of accessories that can be used in any room in the different seasons. They’re great and never random.


viii.          Minimalist Design Window Treatment

Most minimalist design spaces go very easy on window treatments. Some even avoid curtains all together. But depending on your house, you can use semi-sheer warm neutral floor to ceiling kind of curtains to maintain the calm home atmosphere and also make your space appear larger.

 

 

Minimalist Design Room by Room Guide

It’s possible to create a pitch-perfect minimalist design that is warm and inviting. To make it easy for you, this guide has broken it down room by room.

 The first tip here is that as you get to know how to design minimalist but tasteful home rooms, you have to acquire quality over quantity. And if an item doesn’t have an already waiting space for it, don’t buy it because it’ll be considered unnecessary.

 

a.     Kitchen Minimalist Design

A home cannot be complete without a distinctively modern kitchen. A big chunk of your budget might go here because the kitchen is an essential common space that’s not easy to get right. Obtain the best cabinetry to be able to stash away all your cooking and dining essentials. 

Remember it’s all about clutter free spaces.

The color theme of the cabinets and the rest of the kitchen should not be far from base hues in the rest of the house. You can then create pops of color with your appliances and dishes but keep away from unnecessary prints and patterns.

 

b.     Dining Room Minimalist Design

This is one of the rooms where you can really show off your minimalist design personality. Consider unique alternatives for seating and the whole setting. 

Keep your dining accessories really simple, this includes your dining table furnishings and accessories. For the accessories, you can play swap technique too. Have a few options that you can switch every once in a while because otherwise the same look without a refresh will bore you faster than you can imagine.

 

c.     Living Room Minimalist Design

Laid back lux is the phrase here. This is where you get to highlight your quality and elegant furnishings you have invested in. It’s the space where those timeless pieces will say so much about your style for as long as you want them to. 

The maximal approach to this minimalist design is to avoid too many décor spots all around your space. Curate a minimalist design by creating a layered effect with unspoken intrigue that only the essential furniture will create, while observing the lines and symmetry.

 If you have beautiful pieces you want to use, maybe just one or two are enough, keep the rest away for later when you hunger for something fresh. Remember it’s all about celebration of space. So, let it reign.

 

As for the colors, it’s all about the base color that you will use. Subdued hues will give your living room that crisp clean look and feel.  And if you want to induce more colors for warmth, you can incorporate natural elements like a potted flower or use solid pigments that are gentle on the eyes and fuse well with the base neutrals.

 

d.     Bedroom Minimalist Design

While sticking to the lines, enhance the form and flow by ensuring they are clean. Lux up your bedding while using the ideal color tones to keep that minimalist design going. 

If you can utilize natural lighting, it’ll make your bedroom feel warmer. This means you can employ cooler shades of white to balance it out. But if your bedroom is artificially lit, use warmer lights like the Levitating Moon Lamp to get that gentle warmer glow. 

 


Take Home

When creating a minimalist interior design, the goal should be to create a space you and your loved ones would enjoy spending time in. Remember to keep it simple by toning down everything except the space. But you don’t have to be clinical about it simply because it’s a minimalist design. Thus, don’t make it boring. A great minimalist interior design should be rich, warm and inviting.

 

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