Living Room Design. Minimalism, Order and the Essentials

Photo 1 - Minimalism in forms and finishes

A simple living room design implies the simplicity of forms, functionality, and utilitarianism.

Minimalist living room interior is built on the following key principles:

• Only essential furniture
• Minimal decorative finishing and items
• Functionality of interior items
• Natural materials in most cases
• Sliding cabinets and drawers to minimize the space occupied by items and furniture
• Expanding space (widening windows, absence of partitions)

For example, widening windows visually adds more space to the living room interior. A simple solution if it is not possible to widen the window opening itself, is to use plastic windows with large panes.

Minimal frame overlays visually make your window wider.

Photo 2 - More light and more space

Monochrome living room interior. Minimalism in colors and forms.

Executing the design in one or two colors will further emphasize the minimalist living room interior. Minimalist color schemes can include bright tones, but white, black, gray, cream, and brown colors are preferred. It is undesirable to use bright tones in wall and ceiling decoration, especially if you have a small living room. Bright colors quickly tire the eyes. Usually, in such a design, muted shades are chosen.

Characteristics of minimalist interior include monochromatic walls and floors without patterns, transforming furniture, functional cabinets without carving or patterns, gypsum board niches and shelves, minimal textiles, absence of heavy curtains (roll-up curtains or bamboo blinds are a good choice).

Photo 3 - Strict and functional furniture

Photo 4 - Strict and functional furniture

Minimalism is not needed in lighting. Your living room should have plenty of light. Indeed, chandeliers and ceiling lights are rarely found here, while recessed lights, table lamps, wall sconces, and floor lamps with simple design fit perfectly into the interior.

To avoid making the living room too cold (an overly ascetic interior is unlikely to create a cozy atmosphere for friendly gatherings), you can refresh the room with a few stylish figurines, black-and-white framed photographs, or a futuristic poster (Malевич's Black Square fits perfectly).

Photo 5 - A couple of stylish paintings or photos won't hurt

Photo 6 - This shelf concept will add a bit of life to the ascetic interior

Finally, it should be noted that many may confuse the minimalist style with the related hi-tech style. However, there are essential differences:

• Minimalism rarely uses bright colors.
• Hi-tech implies modern industrial materials, whereas minimalism favors natural ones.

Photo 7 - Simplicity, style, and clarity

Remember that your living room primarily reflects your vision. Therefore, some deviations from the rules are allowed.