The Minimalism Design Trend

On Furnishings-Direct we love to help you design your home and take pride in our range of products, which always endeabour to reflect current trends. Perhaps representing the age of austerity, the trend of minimalist design certainly suits the national zeitgeist. For this trend, glamour is out and minimal elegance is in. As a result of the financial crisis, it is only normal to question what we need in our lives. This expunging of the old and desire for something simple and new leads to several key looks:

Sleek and Straight: If this is design is done incorrectly, your house can suddenly look very stark and mechanical. However, if you do it right, the room can look sleek and sharp and sexily modern. If you are decorating a kitchen or bathroom this can be achieved extremely simply through very straight edged fittings. The lounge is simply done through furniture like coffee tables and shelving. Sofas too can be considered in a minimal manner for this look. In the bedroom too, declutter fittings and replace with minimal, straight ones.

Natural Colour Scheme: This theme is easy to achieve - a colour pallette of whites, beiges and tasteful browns can ensure your room looks modern and stylish and these colours all compliment one another very well. That is not to say that bolder colours like stark white, bold red, or deep black cannot be used, but these should be offset stylishly. The key here is not to avoid boldness, but to make bolder designs look quieter and more understated. Whatever your colour scheme, it should be adhered to when buying furniture, fittings and accessories too.  These natural coloured bathroom towels, for example, fit in perfectly with the minimal aesthetic.

Storage and Clutter: Minimal does tend to mean tidy (and that doesn’t include organised mess!), so ample storage is needed in any room. The trick, however, is to make the storage not clutter the room itself. We have already discussed furniture above but with regards to beds and tables etc., the minimal way can tend to focus around modern looking designs, meaning storage is not always possible. Thus, clever boxes like these, that fold flat for easy storage, are perfect. The trick is innovative use of space, in our example the boxes fold away when not in use and so don’t uneccessarily clutter the room.

So thats 3 simple tips for bringing minimalism into your home. A simple maxim that helps is ‘less is more’!

Furnishings-Direct is an online retailer of wallpapers, bed linen and curtains.