Although it has become cliché, the kitchen truly is the heart of the home and as such, the character of this one room sets the mood for the entire dwelling. Whether you are seeking to design an eco-friendly sustainable kitchen or are simply looking for a way to rid yourself of years of unnecessary clutter, a minimalist kitchen design is probably what you need. Not only is minimalist home décor trending at the moment, but this particular style is absolutely perfect for the busy household of today. A minimalist design ensures that everything is where it needs to be, right there at your fingertips for convenience. If you are leaning towards a more modernistic appeal, why not consider a contemporary minimalist kitchen design?
Defining Minimalist Décor
Just as the term sounds, ‘minimalist’ simply means that everything is reduced to a bare, functional minimum. This doesn’t mean that the room needs to be sterile to the point of resembling a kitchen in an institution, but it does mean that everything from appliances to décor should be reduced to a bare minimum yet stylish and sleek. A minimalist room often has few knickknacks and pictures, and the lines in a minimalist room are often stark and geometric.
Color is used sparingly with the most common tones being earthy, black & white, or shades of grey. When walking into a room with a minimalist theme you can quickly spot exactly what it is you are looking for as there will be (here again the key phrase) minimal clutter.
Common Elements in a Minimalist Kitchen
One of the most common elements in a minimalist kitchen is an abundance of counter space, for two very good reasons. First of all, as mentioned above, minimalist kitchens are designed to literally hide away anything that might clutter the counter. Minimalist design provides organized cupboards and drawers so that utensils, brooms, dishes, pots & pans, linens and other necessary items can be stored neatly out of view. The other common element is that minimalist kitchen design usually pays great attention to functional details.
For example, the microwave may also serve as a conventional convection oven so that one appliance offers two different functions. Not only does the reduction in appliances offer more counter space but also is less expensive to purchase because you are getting two functions for the price of one appliance. Minimalist aficionados are often conservationists and that’s one of the reasons why minimalist design is hot in today’s focus on living green.
A Few Key Benefits of Minimalist Kitchen Design
Perhaps the biggest benefit of minimalist kitchen design is the ease at which it can be kept clean and sanitary. One of the biggest complaints many homeowners have, for example, is dust that builds up everywhere and is hard to keep out of food items which are being prepared. In some areas of the country that are prone to ‘dust storms’ this can create quiet a problem during dry seasons of the year. Phoenix is one city that often suffers more than its fair share of dry, dusty weather and that’s why stylish granite countertops are in high demand. Not only are they durable and quite difficult to mar or stain, but they are easy to clean and keep free from dust and pollutants that can quickly invade food being prepared.
Another benefit which leads increasing numbers of homeowners to invest in a minimalist kitchen remodeling project is the fact that appliances often fit into the design scheme such as a range that is built into the countertop or refrigerators set back in an alcove so as not to ruin the ‘lines.’ And believe it or not, the term minimalist can be a bit deceiving because there are actually more functions in this type of design simply because everything is accounted for.
As mentioned above, a microwave / convection oven serves two purposes, upright stand mixers can also dub as a dough machine for those times when you’ve planned home baked bread with your meals. Why take out a bread machine only to knead your dough when your sleek countertop stand mixer can do the chore for you?
Minimalist kitchen designs may look barren as though nothing can be done there but serve meals prepared somewhere else, but once you get a handle on just how organized they really are, you’ll never crave that clutter again. From durable countertops to energy efficient appliances, those sleek lines of a minimalist kitchen hide tons of features and benefits you’d never guess were there. True innovation for 21st Century living.