Let’s face it, nobody loves a cluttered room, unless it’s been cluttered right. When you think of minimalist rooms, two words come to mind; light and space. It’s the art of taking away non-necessary furniture and items to maximise on light and space inside rooms and buildings that are shrinking, thanks to population growth. But this doesn’t mean taking the ‘living’ away from a room. Here are some minimalist rooms and spaces that will make you want to Marie Kondo your life!
This is a great example of stripping back a room so that is serves a specific purpose. A bedroom with the bed as it’s central focal point makes it feel a place of rest and relaxation. Tip, try not to work in your bedroom. You should be able to switch off when you walk in to take a nap or have a full night’s sleep. If you live in a dorm, try to keep your work contained to your desk.
Instead of focusing on the amount of things in a room, draw attention to different textures, especially if you do have a muted colour scheme. Conversely, playing around with the colours of the walls and essential furniture can really diversify and maximise a living space without doing or spending too much.
Minimalism features geometric design, neutral surfaces and often the use of industrial materials such as concrete and chrome. 20th century artist Ad Reinhardt said: ‘The more stuff in it, the busier the work of art, the worse it is. More is less, less is more. The eye is a menace to clear sight. Art begins with the getting rid of nature’.
Minimalist design and architecture is described as a space being reduced to its core elements, the focus on lighting and the space left by items that would have been there to clutter it. Japanese minimalism emerged in reaction to the rapidly growing frenzy of urbanisation, population growth and shrinking spaces as well as the chaotic disarray of advertising on buildings.
Many minimalist designers and architects point to the influence from Japanese traditional design and zen philosophy despite the movement evolving from modernism in Europe in the early to mid 20th century. Credits to minimalism inspired Japan’s deep rooted culture of nature and spirituality oppose the views of Reinhardt, yet they accomplish similar concepts.
The saying ‘less is more’, came to describe the minimalist aesthetic of arranging the most necessary components in a space to create an ‘impression of extreme simplicity’ including the use of multipurpose technology/storage.
You can fill a room with the things you love and need, but compartmentalising and plenty of useful/hidden storage is a must if you can’t throw or give it all away. Shelving that you can see through really helps prevent a room from feeling closed in.
The more free space you have, there is more room for a large mirror and large mirrors maximise space! Within a cluttered room, they double the mess.
Wither fewer things in a room, you can really allow yourself to spend more on what you regard as necessary to your living space. Save and buy investment pieces that you want to last a long time in your home, just as you would when buying expensive clothes.
Architects such as John Dawson view minimalism as space, energy, order and light; the simplification of an interior space to reach a sense of clarity rather than emptiness. The use of neutral and natural materials to bring life and warmth to a space is also influenced by Japanese Zen philosophy.
Minimalist interior design and decor shows a lot of muted colours and grey tones. It doesn’t have to be grey! Walls are usually kept white to reflect light and make a room a lot more spacious than it really is. If you feel this is boring or not your style, by all means go for a different colour, but you’ll have to do more to make sure your room still has enough light and space – if that’s what you want to achieve.
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