Minimalist Home Features with Maximum Style
Minimalist style refers to a style of exterior and interior design that relies on form, function, and simplicity. It highlights the beauty of uncluttered aesthetics in an attempt to clear your mind and empower yourself to focus on the bigger things in life. Many people who take on a minimalist style are aiming to bring things back to the basics and promote a calm, welcoming space. It helps to strengthen the “less is more” ideology and gives people a chance to omit things that are unnecessary. While minimalism has been rising in how people live their life, it’s also become a popular commodity when looking for a new home. In this article, we’ll discuss a few minimalist home features with maximum style.
Benefits of Minimalist Lifestyle
Many people are seeking out homes that will support their minimalist lifestyle because of all the benefits they’ve discovered when decluttering. Minimalist style has a number of positive influences on your home, many of which are felt immediately.
If you opt for minimalist design, you’ll notice that small spaces appear larger and even feel larger while you’re in them. You’ll save money on excessive furnishing or décor that you don’t need, and you’ll avoid accumulating junk over the years. This frees up your space to be used as you see fit rather than simply a storage unit for everything you don’t need. Minimalist home features create distinctive functions that are easier to manage and clean.
All in all, maintaining a minimalist home allows you to live your life with less stress. It allows you to clear your mind and focus on things that really matter like spending time with your family or pursuing your passion.
The Best Minimalist Home Features
Whether you’re looking to buy a new home or simply add some minimalist features to your current one, there’s a few things to remember. Minimalism is all about simplicity and adapting it to your lifestyle. You don’t have to make all of these changes to notice results. Instead, start with some minor changes and work your way up.
Focal Points and Accent Décor
One of the keys to creating a minimalist design is to utilize empty space. Then, create a focal point or add a few choice pieces of accent décor. Instead of filling a wall with pictures or painting it a loud pattern, choose one or two pieces that really make a statement and hang them up.
While you want to keep the room open and avoid crowding it with excessive amounts of decorations or art, you don’t want to keep the walls completely bare. You can utilize neutral paint colors to help fill the space but avoid overly bright colors. Consider using a matte finish and then top it off with your dramatic focal point.
Optimized Natural Light
One thing you’ll notice when buying a home that was built with minimalist architecture is that there is no shortage of natural light. Minimalism relies on natural light to help make a space feel larger and more welcoming. It’s a critical feature of minimalist homes, so it’s common to see a plethora of windows and skylights. If you’re trying to add more minimalist home features to your current home, the best way to increase natural light on a budget is to add skylights and rethink your window treatments. Black out shades are great for energy efficiency, but they can make your home feel cramped and stuffy.
Simplicity in Form and Function
Minimalist home features rely on sharp, flat surfaces that maximize light reflection and make the room feel bigger. They also tend to have a very straightforward, efficient floor plan. The minimalistic features of open floor plans allow for ample amounts of light and plenty of opportunities to create a strong focal point. Many minimalist homes also come equipped with a simple, oftentimes flat, roof.
When choosing your furniture, you want something that perfectly complements the room it’s going to be in. While finding comfortable furniture that you enjoy is important, you should avoid getting anything that appears “overstuffed.” This type of couch or chair gives off more of a rustic vibe and can seem out of place when added to a minimalist room. Try finding some open frame furniture or glass pieces that will look good with your color scheme.
Utilize a Refined Color Palette
As we mentioned above, neutral paint colors are the best way to add minimalist home features with maximum style. The best part about painting is that it can be done to the home you’re currently in without spending too much money. If you want to test out the minimalism style, it’s an affordable, fairly easy, way to do so. You don’t have to choose either black or white. Any complimentary neutral colors will help you create a minimalist feel, just avoid using stark contrasts. You want to create choose a core color and then keep color limited to a few accidents to create a pop. If you choose to use patterns when decorating, make sure that the pieces are small and subtle.
Decluttered Countertops
Remember, the main goal of minimalism is to create a less cluttered and chaotic life. If your countertops are always filled with appliances or fruit and vegetables, you’re not going to have a very minimalist feel to your home. Instead, consider finding a home that includes countertop level cabinets with built in outlets. This allows you to keep your appliances “on the counter” but out of sight. Whenever you need to use them, all you have to do is open the door and plug it in. The easier things are to keep organized, the more likely that you’ll put them away when you’re done.
Exterior Architecture and Design
If you find that minimalist home features are working for you and you want to take things to the next level, consider looking for a home with minimalist architecture and design. If you’re ready to find a new home, your real estate agent can help you look for something that encompasses all of your favorite minimalist design elements and features. There are a few very different types of architectural models on the market so be patient during your search.
One of the most popular types of minimalist home designs is architecture that’s white, simple, and has very straight lines. There are some homes on the market that take on a unique elegant shape, but the primary types of architecture you’re going to see with these types of homes will be geometric.
Some of the architectural home features that are used in modern minimalism are lots of windows and plenty of open space. It’s not uncommon to have an entire wall made of windows overlooking your yard or a beautiful view. Don’t worry, many of these homes come equipped with privacy shades that can be lowered at night and if they don’t, you can always have them installed. You’ll also notice a lot of right angles and sharp corners.
Tiny Homes
Another type of minimalism that’s been growing in popularity is the tiny home movement. These homes are the epitome of minimalism. They’re only large enough to store the absolute necessities and have caused people to completely rethink their need for excess. If you’re interested in looking at a tiny home, it’s a good idea to first try and find one that you can rent for a while to see if it’s something you think you could do. Downsizing is one thing but moving from a large two- or three-bedroom home to a tiny home can cause some uphill battles.
While it might seem that minimalist architecture only comes on two sides of the spectrum—extremely costly homes in highly priced neighborhoods or inexpensive homes that are significantly smaller—there are ways for you to find a happy meeting. To make sure that you’re getting the most out of your homebuying experience, it’s important that you find a reputable real estate agent like the ones at First Star Realty. We’re committed to helping you find your dream home, whatever style or size that may be.
All of our agents work with honesty and integrity as a core value and never cut corners in the buying or selling process. We’ll work with you to find listings that match your interests and goals so you can practice living a more minimalist lifestyle. First Star Realty is committed to providing five-star realtor services to Northwest Arkansas and work with all of our clients throughout the entire buying or selling process. Your needs always come first, which is why we only measure achievements through client satisfaction. If you’re ready to buy or sell a home, contact us today. Our team of highly seasoned real estate professionals is dedicated to providing exceptional, personalized service to all of our clients. Call us today at 479-267-1600 or fill out a contact form on our website.
