5 Tips for Choosing Minimalist Furniture for Home

Minimalism is not just a popular interior style. It is a fundamental philosophy, which assumes that a minimum of pieces of furniture is enough for a comfortable life, but they must be of high quality and functional. Then the apartment will have enough space, but there will be everything you need at the same time. When you need to choose the tersest and straightforward furniture, it seems effortless to do this. Still, many questions arise about its material of manufacture, color, decor, and other nuances. Well, let’s figure out how to choose minimalist furniture.

The Main Features of Minimalist Furniture

We have already written in detail about its origin and prominent features in the article on minimalism. Now we will dwell only on the requirements for furniture. Immediately, we note that there should be a minimum of it – only the most necessary, but at the same time the most functional. The severity of lines, love of geometry, restrained colors, the absence of patterns and decor, a combination of natural and artificial – all this is characteristic both in general for the minimalism style and furniture—free space values in this direction.

Minimalist Furniture has the Following Features:

• Simple design with a complete lack of decor – ruffles, patterns on the upholstery, carved legs are unacceptable.
• Strict geometry, preference is given to forms with sharp corners – rounded lines are less common.
• Monochromatic calm colors. The room should have no more than three shades – two primary (monochrome or contrasting) and one accent. Therefore it is better to take furniture in one color, but sometimes two-tone furniture looks appropriate.
• We should give preference to smooth, even surfaces.
• Minimalism is not a rejection of many necessary little things. Otherwise, what kind of comfort can we talk about? All these little things are built-in, hiding behind furniture facades, to end up with a functional, neat, and uncluttered space.
• Every piece of furniture should have an important function. If you can do without something, and the standard of living does not decrease, then this is an unnecessary thing that will only take up space – this is the philosophy of minimalism.
• Spaciousness along with compactness. There should be enough storage space to accommodate all the things living in the apartment. On the other hand, furniture should not be bulky so as not to clutter up space overly. Do you think these are two mutually exclusive requirements? Not at all. We should arrange storage locations in different ways. It can be a large built-in wardrobe, a niche under the bed, and a sofa. Therefore it is better to take furniture with a lifting mechanism.

If you follow these not-so-complicated rules, then you will see how much space has become in the room, even if the area is not very large. Moreover, by giving up completely unnecessary pieces of furniture, you will also save money, and when you start to put things in order, thank yourself for choosing minimalism. When there are few pieces of furniture in the room, we should organize the whole space and hide the storage systems behind the facades, and cleaning is effortless.

Furniture Material

Minimalism is beautiful in that it does not put forward strict requirements for the material for making furniture – you can use both natural and artificial materials. The main thing is that all pieces of furniture must meet the criteria listed above. We can use almost every available materials:

• Natural wood is durable and has a pleasant aroma. They use mainly species with light wood and a dull natural pattern. Coloring of wood is possible, and preference to give to light shades.
• Chrome-plated metal is often used both as a functional and decorative element. Metal does not require special care. Unlike wood, it has a beautifully shiny surface. Separate pieces of furniture to make from it: legs of chairs and tables, insert in bedside tables and dressers, rack frames, drawer handles.
• MDF is an excellent substitute for natural wood, and its huge advantage is its wide range of decor options. Usually, MDF is made with imitation wood, which is in demand in the style of minimalism. Also, the surface of MDF can be made monochromatic or with imitation of stone – there are many options. Therefore the material is widely used in this direction to create countertops and furniture facades. A more budgetary analog is chipboard, but it is terrified of high humidity and does not differ in durability.
• Glass goes well with wood and metal. Tabletops, doors are made of it, and it is also widely used as decorative inserts. Usually, transparent glass is used, less often – tinted, colored, and matte.
• Leather (natural and artificial) to use for upholstery of sofas, armchairs, headboards.
• Fabrics are also widely used for upholstering upholstered furniture. These are dense fabrics with a homogeneous structure, i.e., any patterns made of a pile of different heights are not used here.
• Plastic can take any shape, and you can paint it as you like. We can use it to make very stylish furniture, such as chairs, coffee tables, tables, etc. Quality products are durable and easy to use.

Naturally, We can combine all these materials. Wood and metal, metal and plastic, metal and glass are great companions.

Types of Minimalist Furniture

In short, almost all existing pieces of furniture are generally known to humanity to use. But not all at once in one room. Everyone chooses only what an individual needs, considers the rules of style, and forms a harmonious, comfortable interior for themselves.

The Following Pieces of Furniture to Use :

• Sofas and armchairs – with plain upholstery, ruffles, carved legs, patterns, and colorful bedspreads, but decoration with contrasting pillows are allowed.
• The bed is of the simplest possible shape and design, without a high openwork headboard. Ideally, take a bed with ample storage space under the berth.
• The closet should dissolve in the apartment. If possible, think about a built-in design. If not, try to choose a shade that is as close as possible to the color of the walls.
• Tables for the kitchen, living room, and office.
• Sideboards and dressers with a well-thought-out interior space.
• Racks are also often used for space zoning. They can combine open and closed shelves. Available sections are used not for storing things but for placing a few decor items.
• A mirror is not quite a piece of furniture, but in the style of minimalism, it is often found, both as an independent item and as part of, for example, a wardrobe.

Furniture Color

The color of the furniture in the style of minimalism is entirely consistent with the color scheme in general for this style:

• A minimalistic interior is characterized by the dominance of one or two colors. Depending on which shades to choose, the color of the furniture is also selected.
• The leading position is taken by white. A combination of black and white is also popular. Often gray or its combination with white is chosen as the primary color of the interior.
• Bright shades are usually used as accents, and it is better to stop the choice of only one color. This accent makes the interior livelier, brighter, and more interesting but does not turn it into a color madness, where the eyes run-up. A sofa, for example, has a sufficient area. Therefore it is not very suitable for a bright accent (although such interiors are also found), but an armchair, rug, the lamp can be colored spots. You can also highlight with colorful pillows, bedding, a vase, etc. These are all different options – you shouldn’t make all the listed elements bright.

Minimalist Furniture by Room Type

The versatility of minimalism also lies in the fact that we can apply its principles absolutely in any room. The only exception is the nursery, where you want to make everything brighter and more eye-catching, but we can quickly implement the foundations of this direction even there. There will be more bright accents.

When choosing minimalistic furniture for different rooms, consider the following nuances:

• A living room is a room where guests are often received. Therefore there should be enough free space and, at the same time, enough seating. A sofa, an armchair, a coffee table, and a TV stand – this is the basic set of furniture that will be enough in 99% of cases. It is better to opt for light colors, diluting the interior with several bright accessories.
• The kitchen is the perfect place to embody the ideas of minimalism. We can hide numerous kitchen utensils behind the sleek and as simple facades of the headset as possible. You can choose a glossy surface. In preference, white and light shades, so that massive kitchen cabinet will not look too bulky. It is advisable to build all the equipment behind the facades, and it is better to refuse open shelves and roof rails – they will visually make the space heavier and litter. The kitchen table and chairs are simple, and they can be made of transparent plastic (chairs) and glass (table). Chrome legs are the favorite.
• The bedroom: We should organize using a bed of the most exact shape, without a headboard or a laconic headboard. Bedside tables are very simple or nonexistent. Lamps will become a functional decoration. Remember that we can hide some of the things under the bed if you choose a suitable model. Let the rest lie in the dressing room or built-in closet – the storage systems should be hidden whenever possible. The easiest option is to make a wardrobe in the color of the walls.
• The bathroom is very simple to organize in a minimalist style. Choose simple wall-mounted or built-in cabinets of a strictly rectangular shape, build in a washing machine, use a lot of glass and give up any decor because chrome plumbing elements and towels can already serve as an interior decoration. Spotlights are ideal because they don’t take up space and provide good lighting.

When choosing furniture for the interior in the style of minimalism, pay attention to ready-made sets. In this case, you have less room for imagination, but all objects will fit each other. A good solution (especially for the living room) would be to purchase modular furniture, parts of which can be assembled as you like, creating the most functional solution for yourself.