Designing your living room or redecorating it can be a little tricky and sometimes frustrating. We’ve all seen gorgeous pictures of subtle yet vibrant living rooms on social media that although involve the use of a photo editor, still follow monochrome schemes, but how can we get the perfect minimalistic look for our living room?
What is minimalism?
Minimalism is the new and trending way of styling homes. In the past, we focused on adding decorative items in our living rooms with brightly colored walls and hundreds of tiny decoration pieces. Still, minimalism is just the opposite of that, as it encourages us to de-clutter our house and allows us to create breathing space.
It promotes simplicity and makes your space looks chic. It is about making your space easy on the eyes with simple color schemes and modern furniture paired with stylish decorative pieces to bring panache to your room. The core of minimalism is to bring out your style and taste where you feature only those items that are full of meaning and reflect your personality.
The first principle of minimalism is to eliminate unnecessary items that take up space so you can enjoy a fresh and open living room. Remember, de-cluttering may be the motto of minimalism. However, you don’t have to throw out your favorite grandmother chair. If it doesn’t fit in with your current theme, then it might be a good idea to put all the extra items in storage for possible use in the future.
You can create your dream minimalistic living room in these seven easy ways.
Choosing color palette
The first step in decorating a living room is to decide on the color palette. Neutral and muted colors such as white, black, and gray are highly encouraged.
However, some might not find the colors appealing or to their taste. So, along with neutral colors, you can add a complementary color, for example, white, cream, and teal, or white, beige, and gold. It will help create a minimalist color palette according to your preference and make your space look lively.
Furthermore, when selecting a color palette, you must remember to ensure all the items fit the particular color scheme, as bringing in more colors will make your space look crowded.
Frames and artwork
It’s true that family photos and artwork truly make a home but for a minimalist living room, remember not to clutter and congest your walls with a full series of different kinds of paintings and photos.
Instead, depending on the size of your living room, use no more than three paintings or photos, and make sure to use big statement artwork rather than small pieces, as one big frame will look more appealing than small ones.
Choose art pieces that are bold, striking, and eye-catching as they will turn your living into a stylish and lively place.
Find the right Seating
Seating is one of the most important parts of a living room, and choosing the right sofa is everything as it will either make or break the look and feel of your living room.
Before choosing the seat, remember the size and scale of your living room. If your living room is small, you don’t want to get a big sofa that will leave you with no breathing space and vice versa.
The ideal minimalist sofa should have a neutral shade that matches your color palette and a simple shape. It should be plain in design and should be free from any embellishments.
Sofa with clean lines is highly encouraged as it looks classic and comfortable. Also, make sure not to fill your sofa with too many cushions as the aim is to add minimum items, so your space looks fresh and inviting.
Add Fresh Green Elements
For a classy minimalistic look, you can bring the outdoors inside. Including plants in your living room will give it a fresh and clean touch. You can add two to three small crisp plants or add one or two plants to make a statement that will give a modern touch and not take up too much space.
You will get brownie points for using neutral-colored ceramic planters or glass bowls for your plants. Depending on the sunlight your living room receives, make sure to use a friendly indoor plant such as a snake plant, cast iron plant, philodendron, peace lily, and air plant.
Shelves
If you are a book lover or admire shelves, then fear not because shelves are essential to the minimalist living room. Shelves can help make your living room look more arranged and organized. A few books interspersed with one or two decorations give it that neat look it needs.
The best shelves to use for a minimalistic living room are floating shelves. They are not just modern and elegant but also give you space to add a few of your favorite books and candles.
The best things about floating shelves are that they give you the space to add your favorite items without taking up too much space, unlike clunky old floor shelves. Therefore, floating shelves are a must for a contemporary living room.
Multi-purpose Furniture
We have talked about how important it is to de-clutter and keep breathing space in the living room, but we can’t help but keep a few necessary items around, right?
For that, we have the perfect solution. Get furniture that comes with storage space. Many sofas and tables come with lower shelves or lift-up or lift-out storage space. So, just put the extra stuff like remotes, bills, magazines, and newspapers down there, so your living room looks spotless.
Moreover, an easy tip for storing items is to add a stylish basket that you can put on the side of your sofa and keep all your necessary things there.
Embrace big decorative pieces
One way to embrace minimalism is by including large decorative pieces to make a statement. Add sculptures, large vases filled with subtle flowers, or other decorative elements to complete your dream minimalistic living room.
You can place a large vase on a side table or another decorative piece on a coffee table. Some larger vases and sculptures can also be placed on the floor to lend flair to a corner.
Conclusion
Minimalism isn’t about getting rid of everything or making your house look bland but smartly decorating your space. It is a contemporary style with the single principle of filling your room with the least number of things and making your space look chic and appealing with a contrast of subtle shades and bold statements. You can achieve the perfect minimalistic living room using this particular principle while selecting décor and furnishings for your living room.