A few and well-thought pieces, highlighting spaces and order, clean forms, neutral colours: these are the cornerstones of minimalist design. If you're dreaming of something simple, full of lights and extremely tidy that gives a sense of airiness and balanced harmony, minimalism is for you. Let's take a look at how to decorate a home using this style and how the minimalist approach can help in everyday life.
- Minimal: the concept of Less is More
- The minimal look
- 4 tips for home decoration in minimalist style
- Minimalist drying: how to make the most of spaces to obtain a double benefit
Minimal: the concept of Less is More
While it's true that in industrialised countries progress has enabled a very good quality of life, it is also true that the complexity of daily living in the modern world only increases the stress levels in society.
From this stems the concept of minimalism, a school of thought that believes in the simplicity of things, in ridding reality of everything superfluous, consequently reducing thoughts and spaces to the essential.
Minimalism originates precisely from the will to simplify, to remove rather than add: streamlining thoughts, eliminating the weight of objects that are cumbersome and of little use to find a sense of freedom, be it physical or mental.
The minimal look
In interior design, minimalism originates in contrast to the extravagant and garish style dictated by Pop Art, which tended to rethink behaviours and habits outside the lines and free from preconceptions, finding its artistic expression in originality and chaos.
Minimalist style reverses this trend by recreating stripped down spaces where decorative items are, indeed, reduced to a minimum: design elements are few, simple and essential. Nothing is left to chance: in a minimal space order and harmony prevail.
Minimalism originated in 1960s America, but became more widespread much later when Scandinavian countries made it their own, starting with the field of interior design.
4 tips for home decoration in minimalist style
1. First things first: tidy up
Eliminating objects means freeing your mind and making space for new possibilities. So, think of what you can easily give up... and get rid of it.
Once you've removed everything superfluous, you can concentrate of what's left. Tidy up and give everything a specific place: order lightens the mind and organising a space is considered therapeutic.
2. Emphasise space
Space is the true protagonist of minimal design. The choice of a few and simple home decor items convey a sense of lightness that is the heart of minimalism, while the compulsive overcrowding of objects generates mental chaos and stress.
There are a few tricks for making spaces bigger, even in smaller rooms.
Let's look at some of them:
- Let in as much natural light as possible by removing curtains or anything that blocks windows and doors.
- Paint the walls: colours in colder tones or pure white make things look more open, while warm nuances such as cream or eggshell make spaces appear smaller.
- In the same way, choose strong white lighting: the more you recreate a well-lit area, the bigger it will all seem.
- Choose empty furnishing: industrial style tables and chairs, for example. The more floorspace is visible, the vaster the space will appear.
- Keep the room neat.
3. Play with colours, but don't overdo it
Choose two, three at the most, and remain faithful to the tones you select. Very stylish colours are the timeless white, black (careful not to overuse it) and eggshell/wood, which provides the room with warmth, making it cosy, while pairing well with green plants and white walls.
4. Design elements: few and functional.
A lamp, a piece of furniture, a chair: don't cram every inch of the house with objects. The less chaos you generate, the more your mind will be able to relax, free of having to process the information and images of rooms that are cluttered and too full.
However, there are some things that are hard, if not impossible, to let go of. Those bulky things, perhaps not even too attractive but still irreplaceable.
One example is the laundry rack: years go by, progress is made, but the laundry rack is still aesthetically challenged and very annoying.
Up till now!
Foxydry has reimagined this item from a new perspective, making it functional, stylish, elegant and space-saving.
Say goodbye to bulky structures that take up space: the ideal replacement is Foxydry Fold, a minimal-design laundry rack to mount on the wall above the washing machine or in unused spaces of the house. Now, you can finally hang all your laundry without it being in the way.
Minimalist drying: how to make the most of spaces to obtain a double benefit
Near the radiator.
Draw inspiration from Japanese philosophy to create spaces that let you make the most of the heat sources already present in your home to quickly dry your laundry.
The availability of radiators or heated towel rails, lets you make the most of heat to dry your laundry more rapidly.
On the terrace/balcony
The wall-mounted Foxydry Fold laundry rack can also be fitted in a conservatory or on a balcony: finally you can free up some space for a table or a small vertical garden.
Unused spaces in the house
The many handy sizes also make it possible to utilise a nook between furniture by inserting the most suitable Fold model for the space available and recreate a wall niche, where you can double the drying space.
Discover how to better make use of your spaces: check out the details of all the Foxydry models, to create more room and make your home an even more comfortable place.
