Less is more
To make your home a functional and breathable space, Minimalism is the style you need.
We all know how easy it is to build up clutter, sometimes you don’t even know where things came from, they just seem to appear!
Maintaining your confidence in securing a minimal space and staying on top of it all can be achieved through clean lines, fitted furniture and a simple neutral colour palette.
By simply focusing on some essential design elements, you can understand organisation and build a timeless home.
What is Minimalist style?
Minimalist home design style lets you relax in tranquillity. You’ll be surprised to know that Minimalism was popularised in the 60s following a rise in interest in Minimalist art.
Despite the bold colours and vibrant lifestyle which is most known of the swinging 60s, coming through the cracks was a lifestyle of simplicity and serenity, influenced by artists like Donald Judd who admired shapes and lines to create sculptures and interesting art pieces.
This beauty is reflected in Minimalist home interiors, which only require things that are useful and valuable to you. It’s a great way to keep your space decluttered with only the essentials on show.
You’ll see lots of wooden furnishings and warm lighting popping up. It brings a cosy feel to a spacious, simple and serene home.
Plenty of smooth finishes, clean lines and simple silhouettes too, perfect for creating organisational space. With natural materials working alongside a simple colour pallet being notable features of Minimalism, your home will become cohesive, calming and comfortable.
By using this style, you have less distractions from objects and become more focused on things important to you, like friends and family, and spending precious time together.
Imagine being able to stay on top of all your clutter at home. You can do this with ease with Minimalist values.
How can I use colour while still being Minimal?
One of the biggest misconceptions of Minimalism is that it can’t have colour.
Often people can think it’s boring or flat, they picture a room that's colourless and lacks any personality, but that isn’t the case.
Different tones, textures and materials are key elements to brighten and personalise any Minimalist home.
Monochromatic colour themes are essential, and we’re not talking just white or beige.
Muted blues and willow greens are great colours to bring to your palette for added contrast and depth.
Paired with wooden furnishings and warm lighting, your room will become brighter and lifted.
Many Minimalist home designers stick to their chosen neutral colour palette and use a brighter colour as an accent.
Whatever you have that you love, maybe it’s a chair, or a cushion, use this as a simple accent piece to add a little more personality to your home.
This could also be a different texture, possibly wool, stone, marble, linen.
Key style points of Minimalist Interiors
With these styling points, you’ll get to know the key elements of a Minimalist interior, the calming lifestyle it creates, and how this can work in your home.
Neutral colour palette
Neutral colours give you freedom to explore a wider range of partner colours and accents that work for you. Different tones are essential to avoid the risk of your room appearing flat, so explore different shades for walls, furnishings and minimal decor. A monochromatic theme makes your home organised, easy to live in and calming. Choose the right colours that suit you!
Tasteful textures
Adding textures can help to bring life into your space, making it more interesting and personalised. A wool throw or knitted cushions enhance the cosy and comforting feel, while a natural texture like wood, stone or glass can add more depth to your home. Small finishing touches like brushed brass handles are the perfect subtle accent to add a different texture to your home.
Atmospheric lighting
Lights can truly change the atmosphere of a room, so use this to your advantage! Create warmth with lighting appliances from a simple decorative lamp to lighting built into your furniture. These kinds of lights make the most of the available space by illuminating every corner, making it appear bigger. Alternatively, to create a cosier environment, dim the lights and use candles instead!
Stick to the essentials
Declutter and keep only the valuables. A clean and spacious living area free of mess and unwanted items is a universal goal. Keeping to your limits and only using decorative pieces that are valuable to you is key. Storage is essential here to keep your necessities, don’t worry, there's still room for your TV, the games console and all those remotes. But avoid the temptation of over-decorating and keep it simple. Remember, less is more.
Functionality comes first
Your house has its own unique shapes, lines and curves that are the perfect place for storage to give you more room to live. With the simplicity of Minimalist interior design, it’s important to have furniture that makes the most out of your space. No matter how big or small, your home has the potential to fit this design style. Fitted furniture can be the perfect fit for your home, to fully maximise your space, stay on top of organisation and keep decluttered. Handleless slab-fronted doors create effortlessly clean lines for simplicity.
How to style a room with Minimalist decor
Now you know the key elements, let’s start putting it into practice. These easy steps will help you utilise your space, every curve and corner (even the awkward ones), to make room for life, instead of ‘things’.
1. Start with a clean slate
Declutter your home and sort out your belongings, keeping the necessities. Once you feel the freedom you’ve created, you’ll want to keep it this way.
Consider the functionality of the storage pieces you have. Functional storage pieces will make you comfortable and confident in maintaining your decluttered and simple way of life.
There's no need to keep tidying things up when everything has a place to go, with enough storage space not to be cramped.
Once you’ve had that big sort out, you’ll feel refreshed and ready to start diving into your Minimalist transformation.
2. A colour scheme perfectly suited to you
This is where things start to come to life. While neutral and muted colours are a staple in Minimalism, think about how this could be paired with an accent colour too.
Maybe you already have a piece of furniture or decoration that is a colour you like and you want to build around this.
Great idea! Especially if it’s a warm tone or a combination of complementary colours. You’ll also avoid the risk of a room looking flat at the same time.
But try not to get ahead of yourself… in true Minimalist style, take it slowly and start by painting the walls with your main colour.
Once you’ve done this, create a plan of action to curate your furniture, furnishing and decorative pieces. This includes those accent colours you love. Don’t be afraid to layer up colours in a clever way.
3. Work with the shape of your space
Take a step back and look at the shape of your room. Look for things that complement its organic lines and curves. A sofa that replicates the same curve of the wall, or coffee table with the same clean lines as the ceiling.
Make it cohesive by looking at the smaller details. You will be left with an overall look that is simple yet sophisticated and thoughtful.
This is where fitted furniture can be your best friend, fitting seamlessly around curves and awkward spaces while still achieving those clean lines. As well as making the most of your space, you’ll have a clearer view of your room to style it with care and attention.
4. Carefully curate your furniture and furnishings
This can be the make or break moment for Minimalism. Don’t go crazy with the furnishings and decor, keep it simple. Stick to the necessities. Pick pieces that will last, timeless furnishings that won’t go out of style.
This can be a great way to save money and stick to a budget by selecting pieces that are functional and will stand the test of time.
Choose lighting wisely. Warm lighting is essential to elevate a Minimalist room, and a simple lamp placed in the corner of a room is the perfect way to do this.
Symmetry is great to play around with, do you want something completely symmetrical? Or is going for something asymmetrical more your style? Either will work flawlessly to bring the character of simplicity to your home.
Artwork can also be used as a focal point in a room, but avoid feeling the need to clutter your walls. Minimalist artwork reflects the shapes and lines in Minimalist interiors, so it’s great to select an artwork piece that has similar shapes to your room. This enhances the symmetry of the room while still keeping things simple.
5. Incorporate timeless textures
Natural materials will always fit with a neutral muted colour palette, so no matter the colours you have chosen, natural materials are guaranteed to complement your style.
Wooden furnishings like a small coffee table or chair will bring warmth to the room as well as contrasting the solid wall colours with some textures.
Breaking up the room with textures like this will keep the room interesting while still showing simplicity and functionality.
For a living area or bedroom, add a wool throw or some knitted cushions for comfort and a cosy feel.
Welcome natural light into your home with linen curtains, allowing the light to shine in and brighten your desired room. This lightweight accessory is a necessity in any home, but by choosing linen as a natural material, it fits perfectly with the Minimalist design and muted colours.
6. Embrace the space
Finally, you can see the space you've created and feel the serenity and peace. Completely decluttered and mess-free. The dream!
The open space doesn’t need to be filled with ‘things’, play around with what you already have, move a chair, sofa or bed to a different position, seeing the options and freedom that comes with Minimalism and the space created.
With bespoke fitted furniture, natural accessories and coloured accents, your space is now free of clutter and ready to be filled with memories.
Begin your transformation with Sharps
Is Minimalism the style for you? Here at Sharps, we will help you create your dream Minimalist space, as calm and serene as you like. With our range of bespoke fitted furniture, we can make the perfect pieces for storage and organisation, giving you the maximum space possible to create your Minimalist home.
Book your Free Design Visit today!
