What Is Minimalistic Design for Apartments – and What’s Good About It?

If you’ve ever entered into a minimalist’s apartment, you were no doubt astounded at how beautifully bare everything looked. As used in this context, bare means intentional – as in, there is no item visible which the resident does not mean to have there, and ONLY there.

In minimalism, items don’t just end up in one particular spot because there is no other place to put it. The item is there because it is most useful exactly where it’s been positioned. The fact that it is aesthetically pleasing and harmonizes with the environment, is a bonus.

A Minimalistic Apartment is Clean and Clear

There are no knick knacks in a minimalistic dwelling. All items are utilitarian.

A minimalistic apartment resident designs with few pieces. Each item is elegantly positioned, with plenty of air circulating around. (The concept is very Feng Shui.)

There’s always light; window coverings are unfussy. There are almost no blinds or curtains, but there ARE gauzy and opaque shades.

You might find a coat rack or a single chair in the foyer.

A table will have the requisite number of chairs, but no place mats.

One unexpected plus: you never have any trouble locating “stuff”. If it’s something you use daily—a notebook, headphones, any other personal effects—it might be stored in a simple bowl which you can reach into on your way out.

An Example of A Minimilistic Design

A single, old-fashioned pick-up-and-dial landline telephone might be placed smack-dab in the middle of an ebony side table. There is no ashtray, glass, cup, newspaper, book, pencil, or even a wrapper anywhere near that red phone. It’s just the phone and the table…and the apartment resident, if they’re placing a call.

If you can visualize this combo, you’ll quickly realize that a minimalistic design makes a uniquely aesthetic statement.

Benefits of a Minimalistic Apartment

Besides being pleasing to the eye, a minimalistic design is much less of a hassle, come cleaning day.

There’s almost zero scrubbing, organizing or mopping. Less to pick up and move around. Much less to dust.

Too, if you stop and think about all the things which you organize or clean every day of your life, you realize how much time you spend on things.

When we move from one apartment to another, that fact really hits home.

The most oft-used phrase when folks move is apt to be “Who would have thought we could have accumulated so much STUFF in such a short period of time?”

We tend to collect and store items, as opposed to surrounding ourselves with only what we need.

A minimalist, on the other hand, will decorate a room so that they may focus not on the items, but on the self and on others.

Since minimalists don’t busy themselves with taking care of things, they claim to be free to discover meanings and values…to engage with people (and animals and nature) a bit more.

Steps To Take To Reap The Rewards of Minimalistic Design

Want to move in the minimalistic direction and lighten up a bit at home? Try the following

De-clutter. Give away or dispose of all those books which you’ll never crack open again.

Donate items which fill you with nostalgia, but which you won’t ever use; clothing which you will never wear and furnishings which don’t suit your lifestyle.

If you can, opt to recycle your possessions. There are dozens of non-profits which might use your toss-aways, like American Vets, Vietnam Vets, Salvation Army and St. Vincent de Paul’s, to name a few. These outfits have trucks which pick up at your apartment. Google the name of the charity for contact information.

Do away with pillows, frou-frous, area rugs, cups, vases, excess frames, wall coverings and anything that won’t be neatly stored out of view…unless the item is impressive enough to merit a place of honor in the center of one of your tables or desks.

And, oh, yes, no more than two or (at most) three items on each surface.

Opt for Storage, if Need Be

If the idea of parting with your items fills you with dread, consider storage facilities. These areas are as large as mini-apartments. Some have connecting-hallway bathrooms, but don’t get any ideas…these units almost always have rules against living in storage areas.

Ready to try the minimalistic lifestyle? On your mark, get set…declutter!