How to Create a Minimalist Home
Change one room at a time., Start with furniture., Keep only the essentials., Clear floors., Clear surfaces., Clear walls., Store stuff out of sight., De-clutter., Use simple artwork., Use simple decorations., Prefer plain window treatments., Adopt...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Change one room at a time.
Unless you’re just moving into a place, it’s hard to simplify an entire house at once.
Focus on one room, and let that be your center of calm.
Use it to inspire you to simplify the next room, and the next.
Then do the same outside! -
Step 2: Start with furniture.
The biggest things in any room are the furniture, so it is always best to begin simplifying a room by looking at the furniture.
The fewer pieces of furniture, the better (within reason, of course).
Think of which furniture can be eliminated without sacrificing comfort and livability.
Go for a few pieces of plain, simple furniture (here, an example of a minimalist coffee table) with solid, subdued colors. , Whether looking at your furniture or anything else in the room, ask yourself if the item is truly essential.
If you can live without it, get it out.
Try to strip the room down to its essentials — you can always add a few choice items beyond the essentials later.
Keep the whole design (house) on paper as simple as you can initially, with required components, and then slowly add décor as desired. , Except for the furniture, your floors should be completely clear.
Nothing should clutter the floor, nothing should be stacked, nothing should be stored on the floor.
Once you've gotten your furniture down to the bare essentials, clear everything else on the floor — either donate it, trash it, or find a place for it out of sight. , Same thing with all flat surfaces.
Don’t have anything on them, except one or two simple decorations.
Donate, trash or find an out-of-sight storage spot for everything else.
It will make everything much more minimal-looking. , Some people hang all kinds of stuff on their walls.
No-can-do in a minimalist home.
Clear your walls except for one or two simple pieces of nice artwork. , This has been mentioned in the above tips, but you should store everything you need out of sight, in drawers and cabinets.
Bookshelves can be used to store books or DVDs or CDs, but shouldn't have much else except a few simple decorations (not whole collections of things). , If you are clearing flat surfaces and the floor, and storing stuff in cabinets and drawers, you’ll probably want to de-clutter your storage areas too.
You can do this in a later stage if you want. , To keep a room from being boring, you can put a simple painting, drawing or photo, framed with a subdued, solid color, on each wall if you want.
Leave some walls bare if possible. , As mentioned in the above tips, one or two simple decorations can serve as accents for a minimalist room.
A vase of flowers or a small potted plant are two classic examples.
If the rest of your room has subdued colors, your accents could use a bright color (such as red or yellow) to draw the eye and give a plain room a splash of energy. , Bare windows, or simple, solid colored curtains, or simple, wooden blinds are good.
Too much ornate stuff around the windows is clutter. , Solid colors are best for floor coverings (if you have any), furniture, etc.
Complex patterns, such as flowers or checkers, are visual clutter. , You can have a splash of bright color in the room, but most of the room should be more subtle colors
- white is classic minimalist, but really any solid colors that don’t stress the eyes are good (earth colors come to mind, such as blues, browns, tans, or greens). , When you've simplified a room, you can probably do more.
Give it a couple of days, then look at everything with a fresh eye.
What can be eliminated? Stored out of sight? What’s not essential? You can come back to each room every few months, and sometimes you’ll discover things you can simplify even more. , In a minimalist house, it’s important that you find a place for everything.
Where does your blender go? Aim for logical spots that are close to where the thing is used, to make things more efficient, but the key is to designate a spot and stick with it. , Once you've simplified a room, take a moment to look around and enjoy it.
It’s so peaceful and satisfying.
This is the reward for your hard work. -
Step 3: Keep only the essentials.
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Step 4: Clear floors.
-
Step 5: Clear surfaces.
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Step 6: Clear walls.
-
Step 7: Store stuff out of sight.
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Step 8: De-clutter.
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Step 9: Use simple artwork.
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Step 10: Use simple decorations.
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Step 11: Prefer plain window treatments.
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Step 12: Adopt plain patterns.
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Step 13: Make the most of subdued colors.
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Step 14: Edit and eliminate.
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Step 15: Have a place for everything.
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Step 16: Sit back
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Step 17: and enjoy.
Detailed Guide
Unless you’re just moving into a place, it’s hard to simplify an entire house at once.
Focus on one room, and let that be your center of calm.
Use it to inspire you to simplify the next room, and the next.
Then do the same outside!
The biggest things in any room are the furniture, so it is always best to begin simplifying a room by looking at the furniture.
The fewer pieces of furniture, the better (within reason, of course).
Think of which furniture can be eliminated without sacrificing comfort and livability.
Go for a few pieces of plain, simple furniture (here, an example of a minimalist coffee table) with solid, subdued colors. , Whether looking at your furniture or anything else in the room, ask yourself if the item is truly essential.
If you can live without it, get it out.
Try to strip the room down to its essentials — you can always add a few choice items beyond the essentials later.
Keep the whole design (house) on paper as simple as you can initially, with required components, and then slowly add décor as desired. , Except for the furniture, your floors should be completely clear.
Nothing should clutter the floor, nothing should be stacked, nothing should be stored on the floor.
Once you've gotten your furniture down to the bare essentials, clear everything else on the floor — either donate it, trash it, or find a place for it out of sight. , Same thing with all flat surfaces.
Don’t have anything on them, except one or two simple decorations.
Donate, trash or find an out-of-sight storage spot for everything else.
It will make everything much more minimal-looking. , Some people hang all kinds of stuff on their walls.
No-can-do in a minimalist home.
Clear your walls except for one or two simple pieces of nice artwork. , This has been mentioned in the above tips, but you should store everything you need out of sight, in drawers and cabinets.
Bookshelves can be used to store books or DVDs or CDs, but shouldn't have much else except a few simple decorations (not whole collections of things). , If you are clearing flat surfaces and the floor, and storing stuff in cabinets and drawers, you’ll probably want to de-clutter your storage areas too.
You can do this in a later stage if you want. , To keep a room from being boring, you can put a simple painting, drawing or photo, framed with a subdued, solid color, on each wall if you want.
Leave some walls bare if possible. , As mentioned in the above tips, one or two simple decorations can serve as accents for a minimalist room.
A vase of flowers or a small potted plant are two classic examples.
If the rest of your room has subdued colors, your accents could use a bright color (such as red or yellow) to draw the eye and give a plain room a splash of energy. , Bare windows, or simple, solid colored curtains, or simple, wooden blinds are good.
Too much ornate stuff around the windows is clutter. , Solid colors are best for floor coverings (if you have any), furniture, etc.
Complex patterns, such as flowers or checkers, are visual clutter. , You can have a splash of bright color in the room, but most of the room should be more subtle colors
- white is classic minimalist, but really any solid colors that don’t stress the eyes are good (earth colors come to mind, such as blues, browns, tans, or greens). , When you've simplified a room, you can probably do more.
Give it a couple of days, then look at everything with a fresh eye.
What can be eliminated? Stored out of sight? What’s not essential? You can come back to each room every few months, and sometimes you’ll discover things you can simplify even more. , In a minimalist house, it’s important that you find a place for everything.
Where does your blender go? Aim for logical spots that are close to where the thing is used, to make things more efficient, but the key is to designate a spot and stick with it. , Once you've simplified a room, take a moment to look around and enjoy it.
It’s so peaceful and satisfying.
This is the reward for your hard work.
About the Author
Ann Price
Specializes in breaking down complex lifestyle topics into simple steps.
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