Minimalist Home Decor – Less is More for Your Home and More
It can be fun to decorate your home, but when you feel like there’s a lot of empty space to fill up it can seem like a daunting task. What style do I use? What colors are best? Minimalist home décor could be the answer you’re looking for-let’s take a quick look.
Minimalist home décor is decorating with minimal pieces. Characteristics are neutral palettes, essential elements, and multipurpose accessories. Styles range from cozy to modern and maximize space and comfort. From accessories to furniture, minimalist home décor is functional and beautiful.
Are you looking for a way to refresh your home’s look, but don’t know how to start? Do you want to create a comfortable space, or just fill in the gaps?
Characteristics of Minimalist Home Decor
Characteristics of minimalist home décor go well beyond the “less is more” principle. It’s more than just simplicity and clean lines, much more. There are several things that we typically see in this style of home décor, including the following:
- No clutter
- Neutral palettes, whites
- Bright, colorful accents
- Essential elements
- Functional furniture
- Open floor plans
- Natural light
- Minimal distractions
- Natural materials
- Multipurpose accessories
- Functional and attractive storage
Now keep in mind-this type of home décor can be used in one room, or even many rooms for consistency. It can also make any room feel bigger and more spacious, versus filling in blank walls with decorations. From bedrooms to kitchens, minimalist home décor is fitting for any taste. There are even multiple benefits of minimalist home décor-read on to learn more!
Benefits of Minimalist Home Décor
Think of your home now-how much time do you spend cleaning, organizing, and caring for furniture, accessories, and décor? When utilizing minimalist home décor, there are so many benefits for you as well as your home. Here are some benefits of minimalist home décor:
- Less stress
- Less clutter
- Less cleaning time
- Saves money
- Ready for guests
- Improved focus
- Less distraction
Minimalism is the principle of “less is more”, so focusing on maximizing the space rather than the stuff.
These benefits can help with everyday life, work from home, and even entertaining others from home. Think there’s only one way to accomplish minimalist home décor? Nope! There are multiple styles to look at and choose from to fit your taste as well as any size home. Next let’s take a look at a few styles of minimalist home décor.
Styles of Minimalist Home Décor
There are many styles within minimalist design that focus on simplicity, clean lines, and essential elements. Scandinavian minimalism, for instance, embraces light, neutral colors, natural materials, and functional yet aesthetically pleasing furniture.
Japanese minimalism emphasizes harmony, balance, and the use of organic materials, with an emphasis on creating serene and uncluttered spaces. And contemporary minimalist design combines clean lines, open spaces, and a limited color palette, often featuring sleek and minimalist furniture pieces. Regardless of the specific style, minimalist design strives to create uncluttered, functional, and visually pleasing spaces.
Minimalist style, according to Olga Mironova of Parsons School of Design, delivers an environment that is simple and thoughtful with white walls, but with maximum intention for sustainability and mindfulness. Still not sure if minimalist home décor is right for you and your home? There are several different styles to choose from! Let’s take a look at a few styles here.
Modern Minimalist Home Décor
The modern take on minimalist home décor is focused on practical furniture, accessories with functions, and clean lines. There’s a great deal of focus on architecture, natural light, modern materials, and open spaces that are comfortable and uncluttered. Modern minimalist home décor brings focus to the inner workings of a building or structure like exposed brick and suspended metal ductwork rather than sculptures, paintings, or furniture.
Japanese Minimalist Home Décor
Japanese minimalist home décor is focused on architectural innovation, open spaces, natural materials and lighting. Due to limited space in Japanese urban environments, there’s a focus on “micro-living” and maximizing small spaces with little furniture, focus on nature, and outdoor views. Japanese minimalist home décor brings you closer to nature and closer to Zen.
Malaysian Minimalist Home Décor
Malaysian minimalist home décor is similar to modern with open spaces, clean lines, and lots of natural light. There’s focus on natural materials, contrasting colors, and modern-looking light fixtures to really add interest to a space. It’s about maximizing even small spaces and creating functional, comfortable spaces.
Cozy Minimalist Home Décor
Cozy minimalist home décor is focused on comfort as well as function. Space is maximized and uncluttered, but includes additional comforts like blankets and pillows. Any room can be cozy with this style-from a bedroom to a living room. Cozy minimalist home décor focuses on minimal clutter and maximal comfort. There’s a balance to the space and décor so it is functional as well as cozy.
Components of Minimalist Home Décor
Décor is the things in a home like wall colors, light fixtures, materials, art, and accessories. According to graduate student Elaheh Alizaden Rabiel from University of Alberta, home decor should connect the human spirit with nature and land using methods that bring nature inside.
There are several aspects or components of minimalist home décor, from accessories to furniture. Sure we focus on “having less”, but there are some essential pieces to keep even in a minimalist home. Let’s review what these components look like and the purposes they serve in a minimalist home.
Minimalist Home Accessories
Accessories in a minimalist home tend to be minimal as well as multi-purpose. This prevents clutter and maximizes the available space. Minimalist home accessories include pieces like an ottoman that also serves as storage, shelves that provide access to an upstairs loft, or a coffee table with storage. The priority is always the essentials, not the accessories, as well as keeping rooms as uncluttered as possible.
Minimalist Home Furniture
Furniture in a minimalist home is minimal, simple, and very functional. It’s usually kept to the essentials, and the pieces are standard size rather than oversized, yet still comfortable. All you need is a few pieces in each room for sitting, relaxing, and socializing to make the room spacious and functional. Minimalist home furniture is not fancy, not fussy, and usually not premium-it’s built to last as well as function well in your space.
Minimalist Home Art
Minimalist home art is kept to the minimum to prevent making spaces feel cluttered or busy. A single vase on a bookshelf, a simple painting on one wall, or even just a painted or textured accent wall can be quantified as minimalist home art. It could even be a single red pillow to bring a splash of color and interest to a space, keeping it simple yet beautiful. There’s really not just one definition of “art” in a minimalist’s eyes-there’s no limit. Nature itself, viewed through the bedroom window, could be considered art!
In this helpful video, learn simple, functional decorating tips for creating a minimalist home that expresses warmth and personality.
Related Insights
What is a minimalist home style?
Minimalist home style is creating a comfortable, spacious, and somewhat sparsely decorated living space. Minimalists don’t focus on filling up the spaces-they focus on maximizing the space. And it doesn’t usually require a great deal of décor. You too can create a minimalist style in your home with just the essential furniture, a few meaningful accessories, and a simple yet beautiful piece of artwork.
How do you decorate a minimalist apartment?
Since they’re usually smaller than houses, decorating a minimalist apartment is actually pretty easy. It’s all about necessities and not cluttering up your space. There are sometimes restrictions by apartment owners about what you can or can’t do like painting and drilling holes-so always check those guidelines. Use simple pieces and limit the numbers-prevent clutter!
Rooms Where Real People Would Most Like to Use Minimalist Decor
I asked friends and family to list which rooms they’d most like to use minimalist decor in. Here is what they shared and what I learned from the poll, and the percentages of their responses.
| Room | Times Selected |
| Master bedroom | 12% |
| Living room | 16% |
| Kitchen | 8% |
| Kids’ rooms | 8% |
| Office | 12% |
| TV room | 17% |
| Hallway | 8% |
| Outside living | 12% |
| Laundry room | 7% |
Other Resources:
- Minimalist Decor – Guide to Simple, Meaningful Style
- Minimalist Interior Design – The Joy of Visual Simplicity
Minimalist home décor is a great way to liven up your living space while saving money and creating a comfortable space. With the right pieces and colors you can create a spacious, functional, and relaxing space with simple beauty. Which room will you start with in your home?
