LIVING: 3 Minimalist ideas to improve your living space
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- April 26, 2021
If we took a trip down memory lane, we would recall what the living room in a typical Nigerian home used to look like many years ago. Imagine yourself walking into an apartment cluttered with furniture. Items such as the famous red lamp, which also doubles as a radio set; dusty stuffed animals in the centre of the room and other pieces of furniture that have no business being in a living room will most certainly catch your eye.
Fast-forward to recent years. Interior decoration has assumed a bold minimalist dimension, with simple colours, nature and art as the key driving tools. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, more people seem to consider the simplicity in the minimalist design to be more visually appealing. In the light of this, I suggest three ways to give your apartment a cosy minimalist makeover.
Explore that grey area Using the right colours for your living space is key to the underlying philosophy of minimalist design, which is simplicity. White, grey, beige are good and neutral colours. Sometimes a perfect blend of all three colours produces that rich and natural ambience that you so desire.
What these colours accomplish is that they dictate the tone for the entire space. The furniture, art work and everything else must be tailored to fit the underlying colour. Now bring in accents, colours and different textures. These will help to shift the focus from the room and attract other people’s attention. Colours like forest green and blue are good examples. As for texture, switching it up with patterned rugs, throw pillows and fur can also help.
Less junk, more space
When it comes to minimalist design, less is more. Avoid cluttering up your apartment with things that have no business being there. I’m sorry, but if you want to be reborn in the way of the minimalist, this is the path you must take. The more your apartment is cluttered with stuff, the smaller the space.
Replacing bulky pieces of furniture with smaller ones and switching to plain coloured walls, will help objects and art works to breathe well. It will also accentuate their beauty.
Once you’ve done this, you have passed the first stage of the minimalist rebirth.
Let there be light!
The most famous creation story in history began with these words and it so happens to be the next step in your minimalist journey. Light is the epitome of simplicity. With it comes this calm aura and warmth.
For your windows, replace those thick and dark curtains with thin floor-length ones. This turns the window into a focal point when anyone steps into the room. The strategic positioning of a mirror can help light travel around a space. Certain plants also serve as aesthetics for setting subtle undertones as well.
