Many people have an impression of a minimalist home as a mostly white, bland space with very little furniture and a not very welcoming feel. But a truly minimal home can also be comfortable and reflect something of the owner’s character with carefully selected statement decorations. Minimalist living is not about removing comfort and personality from a space but about injecting a calm, stress-free atmosphere by removing all clutter and storing the majority of necessary items out of sight.
As with all styles of decorating and living, there are different levels of minimalism that work for different people but every minimal home will have some of these common elements.Clear surfaces – the majority of visible flat surfaces will be clear of any items.
There may be a few open bookcases and the kitchen surfaces may contain a few items that are impractical to store away such as the kettle and toaster, but, in general, even the most frequently used items will have an allotted storage space inside a cupboard or drawer.Simple Furniture – rooms will only contain essential furniture and it will all be of a simple, elegant design, without any fancy decorative touches. Soft furnishings will be in neutral, or pale, muted colours and there will be no patterns in sight.
Simple Window Treatments – a minimal room may have curtains but they will be a plain feature of the room (no tie-backs, pelmets or fancy rails) but more often the windows will be unadorned or have just a simple blind for privacy.Plain Neutral or Muted Colours – one of the ways of creating the calm atmosphere of a minimalist room is to use neutral and soft, muted colours only. This will not create a bland or cold room if combined with some textural elements in the furniture or flooring. There will be a distinct absence of any patterns however subtle.
