Minimalist Aesthetics For The Home + 7 Tips To Get Started

Minimalist aesthetics for the home create simple and stylish interiors that focus on the functionality of items rather than their appearance. 

Minimalistic style as a design concept became prominent between 1960 and 1970 after the art movement that followed World War II. Following the leadership of the pioneer of minimalist design Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, more designers and architects created items and elements that were basic yet striking. In addition, they embraced a simplistic approach that maximized beauty and openness within larger spaces. 

We are all aware of the minimalist lifestyle–the promise to live a simple life with intentional buying and using items in their most basic form and primary purpose. Minimalism prevents distraction and clutter. It brings clarity. 

So, what makes the home have a minimalist design.  Keep reading to learn more about this minimal approach to live a simple life.

What Makes up Minimalist Aesthetics?

Like all other interior design styles, the minimalist interior style comes with a few basic principles guiding its minimal design approach. They focus on personal style, neutrals, decluttering techniques, and simplified living.

Simplicity

Minimalistic aesthetics utilizes only essential elements of form. Materials are often left unaltered and used in their natural state. Ornamentation and decoration are kept to a minimum, and an item or material’s characteristics and details contribute to the beauty of space. When extra embellishments are used, it’s usually one that harmoniously blends into the rest of the room rather than seeking to stand out.

Functionalism

When minimalist items are designed, functionalism guides form. For example, if an office chair does not offer sufficient support, it is useless to design and produce it.

Clean lines

Clean line and streamlined design enable functionality and practicality. It is common for minimalist items to be flat and smooth with bold circular or rectangular forms to emphasize the nature of the item.

Muted color palettes

Another significant characteristic of minimalistic aesthetics is muted colors in the hues of gray, white, and sometimes even black. When bold colors are used, it is only in one or two items as accents or their muted form. Monochromatic color schemes are also typical of soft, neutral, and light shades.

Modern touches

Minimalist aesthetics also borrow a lot from modern design and materials. Elements like open floor plans, metals and glass, floating vanities, and inbuilt storage units enhance a minimalistic interior to emphasize simplicity.

Minimalism as a style takes many forms, and there are many levels of minimalism in interior design. Some minimalists do not believe in using any form of decoration whatsoever; others choose to strictly keep a monochromatic color palette, while others even exclude furniture from their design. One thing that is common in most minimalistic styles, and the reason some people stay away from minimalism, is that minimalism seems to lack warmth and has a deprivation of some comfort.

A home has to be comfortable to spend as much time as you can feeling like there is a better place you could be. It should also be inviting so that you look forward to going back and spending time with loved ones. Finally, you should be able to draw inspiration from the home environment for your life to be wholesome. 

Warm minimalism allows you to keep to a minimalistic aesthetic and still be warm, inviting, and inspirational.

What Is Warm Minimalism

Warm minimalism is the new minimalism. It may be viewed as a response to the recent pandemic where we had to cut off social interactions and hide away from people, things, and events we were so used to interacting with daily. Those were trying times for almost everyone, and we wouldn’t want to turn to these feelings of lifelessness and lack of joy by keeping strict minimalist aesthetics. Warm minimalism breaks the moody grays and stark white and lack of character without breaking the fundamental rule of minimalism.

How to Achieve a Warm Minimalist Aesthetic

• Introduce neutrals and warmer tons of whites like beiges and creams into your space.
• Add earthy tones like brown to instantly make your room more welcoming. Being a darker color, it will also act as an anchor to all the white that tends to create a floaty and pillowy feel in your space.
• Use various forms of texture.
• Introduce houseplants. Add greenery to a minimalistic interior for freshness and a livelier room.
• Use more natural materials like stoneware, wood, rattan, and sisal.
• Introduce tones of texture for more character.
• Declutter the home from excess.

Who is the Minimalist Aesthetic For?

Virtually anyone can have a minimalist decor. However, some people love bright colors, lots of decorations, and detailed accents. Therefore, it can be difficult for them to achieve minimalist aesthetics. On the contrary, if you like simple, clean-cut lines, toned-down shades, and open and airy spaces, you can quickly nail the minimalist aesthetic in your home. 

Advantages of Minimalist Aesthetics

Elegance

Minimalistic aesthetics are effortlessly elegant, no dispute about it. It is one of the most beautiful things about minimalism. 

Less expensive

In general, minimalist life is a lot cheaper. This is because the main principle of minimalism is ‘less is more. In expenditure terms, the less you need to buy, the more you save. You only need to spend money on what is necessary and what functions. Besides, the primary aim of minimalism is to achieve maximum functionality before anything else. Therefore you do not need to spend much on buying accessories and furniture that you will not be using.

Minimalism is timeless

Minimalism has been there from time immemorial and continues to appeal to more and more people. The style will never go out of fashion as it continues to be elegant and relatable to most people of all ages. This style continues to evolve. Minimalism may not always be on-trend. It may disappear at certain times, but it always finds its way back into our interiors and will still look and feel fresh.

Easy to infuse other styles

Because of its simplicity, it is easy to slip minimalistic aesthetics into other decor styles. Most modern interior design styles heavily borrow from minimalism. Interior styles like Scandinavian, modern farmhouses, and Japandi borrow a lot of their principles from minimalism.

Rental friendly

If you rent an apartment, you can imagine how hectic it is to move furniture and other homeware up and down when moving in or out. Minimalism makes it easier because you only have a few items that will take less time and effort to move.

Secondly, most landlords are skeptical about painting bold colors on their walls and adding other forms of decoration that will damage their property. A minimalist style will guarantee a few such problems because you will probably be okay with white walls and a few embellishments. So, if you want your deposit back, adopt minimalist aesthetics because you know how much money you will be saving.

Availability

The simplicity of the form of minimalist items makes it easy to reproduce these items. Such mass-produced items are usually affordable and available to most people. 

One disadvantage of mass production is that there is barely any uniqueness as the items are copies of each other. Some people have also argued that these mass-produced items fall short of quality. This argument may be accurate, but you can always confirm the quality of whatever you are buying so that you do not complain later. It is also expensive and almost impossible to have everything custom-made in your home. Purchasing an ordinary piece of furniture shouldn’t be a big deal if you prioritize its use and how it will benefit you. 

Tip on How to Achieve Minimalist Aesthetics in Your Home

The minimalist home is effortless-what you need is–less. When you move out of your parents’ house or your university dorm, it can be easy as you are purchasing things for the first time. Focusing on a minimalistic look will make it easier to pick out items that only represent the style.

If you are upgrading the look of your space with redecoration and restyle, however, you may have to let go of some things and buy new ones. Some people find it hard to let go of things they have used for so long. Maybe it is a rocking chair that your grandfather left you, and you don’t want to give up on those memories by getting rid of it. 

Interior design is not rigid, and sometimes we make exceptions and break the rules. This tip is our first expert trick to achieving great minimalistic aesthetics in any home;

Break the rules

According to interior designer Nate Berkus, the best design projects are where people break the rules. Including unexpected items in an interior design is one of the ways to make your space feel personal, warm, and comfortable. So if you have one sentimental thing that completely defies the rules of minimalism, go ahead and show it off because it could be the missing piece that transforms your space.

Tap into light

Natural light is one thing you cannot avoid in a minimalist aesthetic. The light complements the space to make it feel bright, open, and airy. Where privacy is not a significant concern, opt to leave the windows naked or apply sheer window treatments. 

Lighting fixtures are decorations too. Artificial light can contribute to your space—complement ambient lighting with task and accent lighting. Introduce multiple levels of light in floor and table lamps. 

Allow plenty of open space.

Plenty of open space makes a space feel airy and light. You have to leave enough breathing space between furniture and around windows and doors to achieve this. Of course, this may not be open if you have a tiny space, but you can still try by buying sizable furniture and filling your room with necessary items.

Use simple furniture and accessories. 

Keep the lavish and elaborate decor away to achieve a minimalist aesthetic in your home. Instead, let the functionality of an item guide you as you purchase. 

Be intentional and avoid impulse buying.

Sometimes we buy things just because they look good even if we do not need them. Such impulse buying has no place in minimalist interior design. Furnishing and decorating minimalist space has to be intentional and well thought out to avoid clutter.

Infuse textures by using diverse materials

A minimalist interior can quickly look blue, cold, and uninviting. Being a modern style, you may end up with all smooth surfaces, which can be worse if you also go with a monochromatic color scheme. To add depth and dimension, strive to infuse different visual and tactile textures. Most natural materials have unique textures. 

Your finishing materials include natural stone like granite or marble for countertops, hardwood for floors, and timber cladding on structural features. It is effortless to vary fabric textures in soft furnishings when decorating. Decorate your couch with a woven throw blanket, include a little fur on the throw pillows, and throw in a jute area rug. 

Invest in quality fixtures

Since you want to spend a lot of money on decoration, you can also buy quality fixtures that will stand the test of time and not need replacement after a few years of use. Besides, fixtures accent your space, so it doesn’t look plain and boring.

Final Thoughts

So there you have it–minimalistic yet awe-inspiring. The essential features of this style seem simplistic; however, they’re quite the opposite. They promote a lifestyle of simplifying everything, but that’s easier said than done. It takes effort to overcome a cluttered home. Hopefully, this guide will help you get started to live a simple life. You may find that you’re happier and calmer in your new scenery. Just be sure to give yourself time. This process takes time.