A popular interior trend is the modern and minimalist look – celebrating the versatility of neutral colour palettes, the elegance of juxtaposing textures, and the simplicity of accessories which serve a purpose and are situated few and far between throughout an interior space.
With modern homes often heralding the value of open plan living, it follows that flexible and versatile spaces are becoming increasingly popular – with home offices, living spaces, dining areas, and kitchens all blended into one large open plan layout.
With that said, what is the framework for a modern and minimalist home, and how can you inject this high end residential interior design trend into your own home?
What is minimalism and how does it translate into interior design?
Minimalism works on the basis that less is more, and that the furnishings and pieces throughout the space should be functional as well as aesthetically pleasing.
In a private home setting, this tends to mean using colour sparingly and opting for furnishings which add value to space as a whole rather than trying to draw attention away from the main space and features of the room. It also means focussing as much on the form of a space as on the way that individual items and furnishings are presented – considering everything in the room as a part of the whole. That is, a minimalist home or room will be carefully considered and planned in relation to how the furniture is positioned, how the layout compliments the space, and how everything from natural light to architectural features are displayed.
Now that you understand a little about what it means to create a minimalist space, let’s take a closer look at some of the modern traits to use in your home if you want to create a high-end and minimalist finish.
Modern, minimalist traits to use in your home.
Neutral colour palettes
There is no easier place to start than the colour palette of your home, when giving it a modern and minimalist makeover. Colour is used sparingly in a modern home, offering only accents atop an otherwise very simple and neutral space.
One of the challenges of modern home interior design is ensuring that the home retains its warmth amid a sea of neutral colours, which is why selecting the right shade of neutral to compliment the flow of light throughout each room of your home is so important. Softening the edges of your furnishings and features is an easy way to tone down the otherwise very angular presentation of a minimalist space – adding curtains and light fittings to break up the otherwise very straight lines of a modern home.
The other option to help warm up a space is to introduce textured furnishings and accessories – which leads us nicely into the next trait of a modern and minimalist home.
Textured furnishings
When you add a rug to a large expanse of floor, even if that rug retains the same neutral colour palette as the rest of the space, you immediately add aesthetic value through texture. The same can be said of cushions added to a sofa, of armchairs angled to create the illusion of boundaries within an open plan space, and of textured sofa fabrics which simply serve to soften the edges of each individual furnishing.
Texture adds a soothing layer to a neutral and minimalist home, immediately softening and warming the space without injecting any unnecessary colours or accessories. Rugs in particular are an especially good way of creating individual spaces within an open plan home, marking the outline of a living area, a dining space, and a kitchen.
Homes that have successfully implemented modern styling with our help.
Here at Carroll Design, we pride ourselves on the range and variation of projects we work on, not just in the commercial sector but across private homes as well.
With modern and minimalist spaces so on-trend and in-demand, we have worked on a number of projects which fall into this category; some of which use the lack of accessories and furnishings to maximise the use of a small space, while others lean on the neutral colour palette to give a space the air of luxury associated with holiday homes and elegant hotel rooms.
Our Eaton Place project is an excellent example of how neutral colours create the foundation for a modern home, with pops of colour injected throughout the apartment to catch the eye and fill the space with life.
Meanwhile, our Suite 79 project demonstrates the instant value that can be gained from texture and from the addition of neutrally coloured but textured details across the walls – alleviating the need for art which would have made the small space feel even smaller, and instead turning the walls themselves into a decorative work of art.
You can check out more case studies and past projects, or pick our brains for inspiration on how to give your home a modern face lift, by getting in touch directly.