How to decorate with minimalist furniture

With trends moving in the opposite direction, minimalist decor became the style du jour. More people began favoring modern minimalist interior design with large, nearly empty rooms based on functionality. Minimalist furniture styles became the trend in a lightweight and slim design with very little accessories.

To create the perfect minimalist space while avoiding an overly clinical and often stark appearance takes a little planning. You want to create a function-forward design and combine it with adequate aesthetic detail to keep a minimalist design welcoming and comfortable.

Functionality is the key to building a welcoming minimalist home interior. You will do this by building the room around the furniture. The key is to allow the design elements to support the minimalist home decor instead of taking the attention away from the minimalist furniture.

For example, if it is in the living room, keep the focus on one seating area. If it is in the bedroom, do not allow anything else to distract the eye, except for the bed as a focal point.

How to use minimalist furniture

A functional balance

Image source: Michelle Hinckley

Create a functional balance with the focus of layering design elements to balance the effect of welcoming coziness. You want the minimalist decor to appear more interesting by carefully layering pieces that could create a textural contrast with each other. This method would make it feel put together purposefully.

An intriguing visual interest could for example, in a minimalist bedroom be a soft furry blanket draped across a bed with plush bedding and a woven rug. While these layers do not have to be followed exactly, it is to create a sense of contrast. This contrast will create the functional balance that ties everything together, but you could create balance by using recurring pattern or color too.

Understanding minimal furnishing

Image source: Holly Marder

Before you start shopping for minimalist furniture or design trend, understand what minimalist space is. It is not one huge, bulky chair in the corner and nothing else. That would mean that you simply do not understand or have run out of décor ideas and are living in a stark home. When you envision a minimalism house, what should come to mind is sleek and sophisticated.

Creating a focal point

Image source: Stol Design Group

When you understand what a focal point is, it will be simple to create one, irrespective of which room it is. A focal point is that “thing” your eyes land when you enter a living space. Think wallpaper, artwork, window, fireplace, piece of minimalist furniture. Typically, a focal point faces the entrance of a room.

Sophisticated coffee table

Image source: Marcel Page Photography

Coffee tables house everything from loose change and discarded keys to coffee mugs and wine glasses. Aside from its functionality, it is an incredibly decorative platform. A coffee table is often the focal point in a modern minimalist living room. It is one of the many objects in your home where you have the opportunity to individualize your room to reflect your personal taste.

Opt for something personal, something low, something organic and something textured. Choose all these elements when shopping for a coffee table or experiment with a few of these when you look around for coffee table combinations.

Built-in furniture

Image source: Scheinholtz Associates

It would be ideal to have built-in furniture for example cabinets in your living room which would also hold your TV and other electronics. Modern TVs, however, are flat screen wall-mounted versions that simplify your modern minimalist appearance. If possible and you have a window like a corner window see if you can fit a built-in loveseat that could act as additional seating or accent to compliment your room.

Lighting to complete your minimalist ambiance

Image source: marilza tavanielli

Lighting plays a huge role and an important element in your design and you can think outside the overhead fix or chandelier. Lighting like a suspension pendant light or lightweight floor lamp which is chic and modern and tucks neatly into a nook or corner while pooling light across the interior. Choose an adjustable head that transforms quickly.

Dressers, chests, and nightstands

Image source: Crosby Creations Drafting & Design Services, LLC

With all three you should go for functionality and keep in mind that you would not need or use all three in a minimalist bedroom.

Mattress selection

Image source: Valentini Kids Furniture Brooklyn NY

While you might wonder what a mattress has got to do with a minimalist space, keep in mind that the modern bedrooms tend to have much thicker and higher mattresses. When you create minimalism with a small amount of furniture a thick mattress will spoil the effect. Choose a thinner, but comfortable mattress that you cover with luxurious bedding without tons of pillows that adds height and an appearance of clutter.

Closet bedroom

Image source: Saint Louis Closet Company

When you live in a large home you probably have a walk-in closet while studio apartments also have integrated closet spaces. These closet spaces are often adequate to be used as a bedroom that can hold a single bed. Instead of using it for storage or walk-in wardrobe, consider the popular Murphy bed. It will hide your bed while you have the additional space where the bed would have been.

Plants

Image source: Boheme Home Staging

Plants are an element that works well within minimalist house decor. They actually make spaces appear healthy, clean the air and lend subtle color to neutral spaces. It could act as a stunning focal point regardless of whether you use a hanging planter or a floor plant.

Bar and counter stools

Image source: Just Basements

To complement your minimalist ideas and style throughout choose a stylish ergonomic design with a sleek and streamlined design.

Create boldness with a single piece

Image source: Zulufish

While you have limited your furnishings, you can still make a bold statement without breaking your minimalist style home. This includes a huge unframed mirror against a blank wall that will add to the minimalist effect while making your room appear even larger. A striking headboard in a slim but bold color in your bedroom will create the desired effect while even a solid bright carpet could have the same effect too.

Square bench

Image source: Andrew Frost Interiors

A square bench is a minimalist furniture piece that remains on trend. It is lightweight, sleek and without a back immediately gives the impression of deliberate minimalism. Use it at your dining table or move it to your kitchen, lounge, and bedroom wherever you need additional seating.

Accents

Image source: Keeping Interiors

Your interiors could appear stark when you omit color choices and accessories. While minimalist decor is all about creating a clean and simple look, color choices and accessories must carry through on that goal. A monochromatic pallet would be ideal, but you can branch out into warmer shades according to décor and personal taste. You need to avoid a boring and too homogenous look by adding variety. The key here is the 60/30/10 rule. The dominant color takes precedence while you can add a secondary color to coordinate and accents should be the last third.

Armed with these tips and keeping your square feet in mind, you will be able to get a good start on planning your minimalist furniture shopping. You would be able to achieve a beautiful, minimalist home that looks polished instead of stark and empty.

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