Seeing the blank canvass that is your own home after months of planning and construction with your home builders, you’ve finally come to the most exciting and equally challenging part of the moving process—designing the space you’ll live in.
Mind you, furnishing and decorating your home will be expensive, fun, stressful, and all the way fulfilling. But it can be very intimidating especially if you don’t have the know-how of an interior decorator. So before you start shopping on furniture and knick-knacks, ask yourself what theme you want your space to embody.
With plenty of styles to consider, here’s one that is timeless and surely welcoming—cozy and minimalist. It won’t cost you much but the key is to bring in furniture, textiles, and accessories that will fulfill the vibe. Chances are, you can simply ask for hand-me-downs, work with what you already have, and buy inexpensive yet quality products.
Here are some tips and inspiration on how to nail a cozy and minimalist home.
Get rid of the clutter
Purge your space. Get rid of all the unnecessary things that currently lies in the house—clutter on the coffee table and console table, stuff you no longer use yet still keeps “just in case” (if you don’t see yourself using it, dispose of it already), displays and accessories that are unsightly, and the likes.
Nobody likes to come home to a house full of clutter. Your goal is to present a simple yet cozy ambiance, unnecessary knick-knacks and lots of mess certainly don’t scream “cozy” nor “comfort”.
Maintain a simple and natural palette
One of the main and remarkable features of a minimalist and cozy home is the simple and natural color palette it serves. Whether it’s earthy tones, muted, rich, or what-have-you. Stick and work with the color palette of your choosing with an occasional bright or contrasting color for additional flavor i.e. if you’ve decided to keep a brown-white-beige tone, put rich-colored throws or a houseplant to bring life to the space. This should also serve as a cozy centerpiece.
Layer your textiles
Minimalism doesn’t necessarily equate to boring or dull. Minimalism prioritizes function and comfort before anything else. Yes, minimalism is still stylish and can ooze with class and elegance. Just like what people say, cliche as it may sound: “less is more.”
For your throws, blankets, rugs, luxe pillows, and the works, considering layering and playing with different textures. Mix and match finishes and colors. This simple yet wonderful trick can instantly make your space breathe with coziness with just the right hint of luxury at the same time.
Color the space green
Not literally—adding a bit of greenery to your home is always a great idea. Houseplants can bring life to any home and aside from its decorative purpose, it serves to purify the air.
it doesn’t matter if you’re not born with a green thumb. As a matter of fact, there are houseplants that are low-maintenance. Perfect for your busy routine. Also, you don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars for it. There are affordable houseplants and if you’re lucky, you can ask one as a housewarming gift from your friends with a couple of air plants or succulents lying around their own home.
Give way to the lighting
Bear this in mind for this is important and the best tip to achieve a cozy and minimalist home: lighting is your best friend, take advantage of it.
How your lighting travels through the space and your choice of lighting matters big time. Dim lights or lighting fixtures that shines yellow light similar to how candles light up a space is the ultimate choice for a cozy and warm space.
Rugs for comfort
Aside from blanket and throws, rugs are up on the list of things that makes a space look more warm and comfortable. Do note that rugs don’t come cheap and we recommend that you invest in it. You’ll purchase one anyway, why not invest in a good quality and an ultimately cozy rug that suits your home’s vibe and theme.
Warm it up with personal touches
Personal touches, or those that are sentimental and valuable to you, are a lot more inviting and pleasing than store-bought accessories, knick-knacks or décor. If you have an artwork made by friends or interesting pieces of accessories at hand already, put it on display.
The key to remember here so as not to break your minimalist aesthetic is to only bring out pieces that would make good as focal points. Do not overdo it. Remember: get rid of the clutter but do make the space more welcoming with your personal stuff with meaning.
Have you got more tips and recommendations to share? Leave your thoughts below!
About the author: Chie is a writer/blogger for Wincrest Homes, a company that builds modern family homes in Sydney, the Central Coast, Newcastle, and Hunter Regions. Chie has a deep interest in home design and decoration.