When I think of minimalism, all I think of is Kim Kardashian's sterile beige house, devoid of decoration or personality. Kim K has no shades, but in my opinion, her interior design style is closer to an incredibly modern clinic than a home. Although our interior tastes are different, I agree with her opinion about what a home should offer to life. In a 2020 interview with Architectural Digest, she said of her home: “Everything in the outside world is so chaotic. I like to feel a sense of calm as soon as I enter a place. A home should serve as an escape from the stress of everyday life, But there's no need to strip down your space, giving it a more minimalist feel with a bland beige box a la Kim Kardashian.
It's entirely possible to simplify a space without losing its personality, and spring cleaning season is the perfect time to tackle this project. Keep scrolling to see our best tips on how to take a more minimalist approach to home decor.
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1. Understand your style
Competing interior styles can be quite overwhelming, so understanding your own decorating style is essential if you want your home to have a more minimalist feel. Instead of trying to do everything at once, narrow down the colors, styles, and patterns that really speak to you. Your style may not fit perfectly into your defined decorating aesthetic, and that's okay. However, if you try to decorate your home with millennium decor, modern eclectic decor, and Scandinavian decor at the same time, the result can be confusing and crowded. Once you decide on your style, it's also much easier to cut back on decorative items based on what no longer makes sense in your home.
2. Accept the purge
You may not want to hear this, but tidying up is important to keep your home clean. Sure, it can be a lot of work, but getting rid of items that no longer have a purpose or place will make organizing what you have much easier. Go through each room of your house and take a hard look at yourself. If you don't like it, throw it away. Then take inventory of what's left and find ways to use those items more effectively, reuse them, or store them out of sight. By editing out what you don't need, you're left with decorations that truly express you and serve your purpose in life. That is minimalism.
Source: @nataliemyers
3. Leave room for negative space
After you've honed in on your decorating style, your first instinct may be to immediately get on your computer, scour the Internet, and buy everything that fits your new aesthetic. Trust me, I get it. Decorating a space can be so much fun, it can be tempting to fill a blank wall with art or fill every empty nook with furniture. However, negative space can be a powerful decorative tool. This will make the room look curated rather than chaotic, and will make your existing decor stand out even more. By leaving a little space between your furniture and decorations, you can strike the perfect balance between not being too decorative or too decorative.
4. Prioritize hidden storage
Have you ever organized your space a million times and still feel like it's scattered even though everything has a place? It's time to invest in display storage options. Open shelving is great, but if you have a lot of stuff, no matter how organized you are, it can end up looking cluttered. Instead, choose furniture with built-in drawers or cabinets, baskets or bins that can hide items in plain sight, and organizers that can take advantage of space behind doors, in cabinets, or under beds. . When things are scattered out of sight and out of mind.
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5. Use props intentionally
Whether it's a sentimental item inherited from your grandmother or something you picked up at an antique store while traveling, trinkets always tell a story. It's easy to feel the urge to buy millions of small decorative items to spice up your space, but there's a thin line between cute and messy. You don't want your home to look like a museum with special exhibits of things you bought without purpose but are too cute to throw away. I'm not saying you have to donate everything. Instead, choose a few of your favorites and decorate them intentionally (don't forget the negative space!). By showing off a few well-chosen accessories, you can let your personality shine without getting too cluttered.
6. Don't use too many cushions or blankets
Accent pillows act as the “cherry on top” of a room, the finishing touch that brings everything together. But there's a reason he doesn't have 10 cherries on his ice cream sundae. A pile of pillows taking up your entire couch or bed will make your space look smaller, especially if most of them end up scattered on the floor when you actually try to sit down. The same goes for blankets. If you want your room to feel cozy but still organized, choose just a few pillows or throws to spruce up the room without taking over the furniture. Another tip: Make comfort a priority so your pillows and throws have a purpose. Instead of piling up fancy options, think about what you'll actually use when you curl up on the couch and watch a movie.