It is a well-known fact that a homeowner wants their property to look its best. Americans spend thousands of dollars to guarantee that they can classify their house as a decent living space with a modern and chic design. They buy rustic furniture, hire professionals for Multiroom Aerial & Satellite system installations, and even spend countless weeks on landscaping their gardens.
According to HomeAdvisor, most homeowners spent an average of $7, 560 in 2018 just for home improvement alone, $1, 105 on home maintenance and around $416 on home emergencies. All in all, this made for over $9, 081 spent on the maintenance, improvement, and aesthetics of their properties. It is estimated that the home improvement industry earns billions of dollars in revenue as Americans continue to patronize their vanity.
With the entire world realizing the dangers of clutter and hoarding, it is not a surprise that the rise of minimalism is upon us. A minimalist design style is not the absence of colours and the abundance of empty space. It is, in fact, a more systematic organization of your stuff by using natural materials and simple geometric forms.
While, of course, minimalism will require you to give away most of your unnecessary possessions, this does not mean that you shall take the lifestyle of asceticism where people are reduced to the barest of necessities for survival.
Modern minimalist homes are stunning, spacious, and definitely a great home for anyone, be it for a family with kids, senior citizens that have outgrown their prime, and even starting young professionals that are trying to make it into their respective industries.
Here I will share some of the best home improvement tips that I found helped me the best in creating my own minimalist home.
Declutter Accordingly
First-timers often make the grave mistake of throwing out too much of their stuff and find themselves bereft of their favourite clothes, personal mementoes and other possessions that they apparently need. Contrary to popular belief, a minimalist lifestyle does not require you to throw out all of your hard-earned possessions in replacement of space. Discern whether you need or want to keep one object before throwing them away. You can also choose to have a storage room to keep all of the stuff you can’t just get rid of.
Hidden Storages
Again, a minimalist home does not mean an empty house with a few furniture here and there. It just means that you need to find (or create) hidden spaces where you can store your stuff in. Surfaces, for example, need to be cleared except for one or two decors of your choice. Hidden storages can be put anywhere as long as it can fit your stuff without displaying them to the world.
For example, many furniture right now is equipped with storage for you to put stuff in. Beds custom-made to have drawers underneath can also double as a space for your clothes, Sofa sets can have compartments to house your books, and hidden in plain sight, under the stairs could be your shoe cabinet. Be creative!
Choose The Right Colour Palette
The colour combination you choose to paint your house in will play an integral part as to how your house will get viewed. Using too many colours will overload your visitor’s senses not to mention lose the essence of minimalist space. You want to use toned-down, neutral colours such as white, black, grey, etc.
Find The Right Furniture
A minimalist home will really need only a few pieces of furniture for your living room. A sofa set, a coffee table, a futon, and a lamp will already complete your look. Finish this off with a rustic rug and you have a living room fit for parties. When buying furniture, always choose quality over quantity and price. You do not want your living room looking worn down just right after a few months, do you?
Throw Out The Lace Curtains
Frills won’t work if you want a minimalist house. Opt to use blinds and shades instead of using heavy curtains that draw a lot of attention to themselves. Blinds and shades on your window will do the job of blocking out the sun without sticking out too much.
Clear Your Walls
Your replica of Van Gogh’s Starry Night? Your family picture? Your framed diploma and Master’s certificate? Take them all down from your walls and live with clean and empty walls. Wall hangings are some of the most common reasons why the house looks so cluttered. For houses that has been standing for years, you might need to hire professionals like Brickit to properly clean your walls and give it that spotless, minimalist look.
Make It A Habit To Clean Up
We’re all guilty of leaving makeup and brushes on the bathroom countertop, used spice bottles and plates on the kitchen sink, and the occasional used-but-not-yet-dirty piece of clothing on the nightstand. However, if you truly want a house that’s minimalist in nature, then you should make it a habit to clean up after you’re done with an activity. This will also make your house cleaner in the long run.
The minimalist lifestyle can get a little bit of getting used to but it has been found to be therapeutic and helps residents think more clearly. With less clutter on their senses, they feel more relaxed which should be the main objective of a house — a safe space for you and your family