The widely popular minimalist interior design trend is all about open floor plans, clean lines, monochrome palette, lots of light and simplicity. The concept behind minimalism is often defined as “less is more” or “beauty is simplicity” – and that’s really it. A toned-down décor paired with a few but functional pieces of furniture can make even a small room look spacious. The general idea behind minimalist home designs is to create a serene ambience without compromising on the aesthetics.
However, successfully pulling off a minimalist interior design for your home is not an easy take. You see, designing a minimalist home is more than about arranging sparse furnishing against a solid white backdrop. There’s a fine line between a minimalist and a boring interior. While a pared silhouette, bare walls, light furnishing and little-to-none built-in carpentry can look rather trendy on the pages of a lifestyle magazine, opting for this décor can also leave you with a home that feels empty, cold and unlived-in.
So, if you want to make sure your space feel like home and look inviting, we’ve put together a few minimalist interior design tips that can help you create an uncluttered and stress-free décor.
How to Keep Your Minimalist Interior Design from Looking Boring
If you want to make sure your minimalist home décor doesn’t turn out to be dull and subsequently boring, here are a few tips you need to follow.
- Let your personality shine through
- Add a few accents
- Introduce some texture
- Focus on the lighting
- Pay more attention to accessories
Before we discuss each of these tips in detail, you should familiarize yourself with some important minimalist interior design characteristics. For instance, minimalist homes should be open and filled with natural light, have clean but modern wall finishes, sparse yet comfortable and functional furnishing, simple detailing and innovative incorporation of different materials for texture and depth.
As long as you’ve got these minimalist interior design characteristics down, you can use your own creativity and style your space as per your personal taste.
Let Your Personality Shine Through
One of the most important minimalist interior design tips, according to most experts, is to infuse your décor with your personal style and character. This way, your home will look minimal without coming across as dull or plain.
There are quite a few ways you can add your personality to your minimalist house interior, though the first step is to determine what you would like to see in your home after at the end of a hectic day at work? If you have a flair for art, you can consider incorporating some wall art or sculptures into your home décor. These pieces don’t have to be overwhelming and should be placed strategically to create visual interest. Similarly, if you have a collection of sorts, you can put it on display. Just make sure the area around it is clear so that you don’t end up with any visual clutter. If you like reading, create a DIY bookshelf for your home and fill it with your favourite titles.
One of the most common aspects of minimalist home design ideas is that each and everything either serves a particular function or adds value to your space. The rest is, simply put, clutter. By adding a colourful painting or a framed family photo to an otherwise bare wall in a neutral shade definitely adds value to your décor and keeps it from looking cold and boring.
Add A Few Accents
Since the palette for minimalist interior designs is usually monochromatic, experts suggest using colours to accentuate the space.
A rather common misconception about creating minimalist homes is that the walls and ceilings need to be white. That’s simply not true. Contrary to popular belief, white does not define minimalism. What actually defined this global trend is cut down on decorations, reduce furniture to the bare minimum and remove accessories to magnify the impression tidiness and simplicity. All of the items in your home must be in perfect harmony and balance each other. Thus, you can use any neutral hues such as ivory, beige, creams or tans for your space.
Incorporating earthy accents into your décor can create a world of difference. Depending on your budget, you can opt for modern wooden flooring or invest in a reclaimed-wood ceiling. Even elements such as wicker, distressed wood, rattan accessories, splashes of tiles or marble and an accent wall with a simple neutral-coloured wallpaper can instantly upgrade your minimal house decorating style and breathe new life into your décor.
Introduce Some Texture
Whether you are a fan of minimalist or maximalist home décor, incorporating some texture into your space is mandatory if you want to make it look warm and inviting.
If you want to add texture to a minimalist bedroom on a budget, some of the most affordable ideas include purchasing a rug in earthy hues, adding some greenery by placing a tall potted plant in a corner or placing a small potted plant on your nightstand, patterned duvet or cushions, woven curtains and wall-hangings.
An important minimalist interior design tip is to choose raw, natural material over synthetic, processed ones. For example, for wall hangings, buy a hand-knitted fabric you can hang us a tapestry. It’s recommended to use materials such as timber, leather, linen, wool and stones to add texture to the equation. This is also a great way to make your room look warm and cosy on a budget.
Focus On the Lighting
As we have briefly mentioned above, minimalist interior designs are all about open floor plans and ample lighting. If you are in the process of building or renovating your home, you should consider adding large wooden or aluminium windows to the wall that faces east (towards the sun). However, if that is not a possibility due to the layout of your home or simply because of your budget, you can make up for the lack of natural lighting by adding new light fixtures to your space.
Huge pendant lights in geometric shapes and tall floor lamps with sleek yet modern shades can make your minimalist home décor look even more stylish and sophisticated. Also, they are considered functional elements, which means you won’t be straying from your theme by adding a few more light fixtures to your house’s entryway, living room, kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms and drawing room, among others.
Moreover, you can replace your old bulbs with the new energy-saving LED lights that are widely available in the market. Not only are they much brighter than the regular bulbs, but they also help cut down your energy consumption thus reducing your electricity bill. It’s a win-win situation, really.
Pay More Attention to Accessories
Last but not least, you must focus on accessories if you want a minimalist home décor that doesn’t look uninviting or just too plain.
You can start off by adding a few woven throw pillows to your living room couch or adding a rug in earthy hues to your drawing-room. If your walls are all white or in a shade of cream, incorporating a tan or brown leather sofa could instantly upgrade your décor. Similarly, adding a wooden rocking chair to an otherwise empty corner or replacing your old coffee table with an irregularly shaped one can also be a good idea.
Furthermore, you can also include vases, plants and sculptures, among other items, to wisely accessorize your minimalist home. In fact, one of the most commonly used minimalist living room ideas includes a single rustic-looking sofa with some floor seating and a warm rug. You can even add an ottoman to make the place look more sophisticated and lavish.
For more minimalist home design ideas and inspirations, you can our checkout our guide on home décor trends for 2020. In case you have any queries or want to share your feedback, feel free to send us an email at blog@zameen.com.
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