8 Minimalist Living Room Ideas for a Relaxing Home - Minimalist at Home (2024)

When it comes to a creating a minimalist living room, many people don’t know where to start. From wooden floors through to new light fixtures, matching all of the design elements together can take a while – but it’s so worth it in the end.

As when you’re finished, you’ll have a cohesive space that’s a worthy representation of your home. Here’s some of my favorite minimalist living room ideas you can take inspiration from to create your own space that you love.

Stick with a Bright White Living Room

Sometimes, it’s best to go with the basics. And one of the best minimalist living room ideas that’s stuck with people is to opt to go white throughout your entire living room.

Crisp white walls matched with minimal furniture can make a small space appear to be much bigger, creating a soothing living area for you to relax after a long day at work.

This isn’t for everyone, and it’s usually not something that can be done if you have kids or a dog running around the home. But if an aesthetic minimalist style is important to you, then white always works for interior design.

Create an Airy Space

If you want to create an airy living room, you need to make sure that you open it up. Whereas some people want a cozy minimalist bedroom, most people want more space in their lounge.

This combines well with minimalism, as it essential means to make sure that your furniture isn’t obstructive paths from doorways and windows – less clutter and furniture makes this easier anyway.

By getting rid of these things, you give yourself more and more space to implement your minimalist design. A small living room can feel much bigger when you open it up, and when you use a neutral palette with harmonious colors, it can appear even bigger.

You can also consider a statement piece, like floating shelves or a unique coffee table, if you want to make your minimalistic living room stand out.

Go Monochrome

Though not a necessity, many people find that a monochrome space can help to bring contrast into their living room.

With a simple space filled with only black and white, this style of room required carefully chosen pieces and a keen eye for interior design if you want to pull it off.

You can choose to add personality by adding smaller personal effects in with the monochrome palette too, which will make them stand out. Creating clean lines between your furniture and decor is perfect if you want to create a minimalist living room.

Utilize natural light the best you can

One way that you can make a minimal living room brighter is to use the natural light that shines into your home. This includes painting your walls in white or soft colors, and using natural materials to complement the sunlight.

Using mirrors is another great way to reflect light across your room, especially if you can face them opposing your windows.

If you do this, then any light that does shine into your room will be reverberated around – this can prove extremely useful if you live in a fairly gloomy city and want to maximize light.

Reveal your exposed brick walls

Minimalist living rooms can often be about making the most of what you have already. And, what could be more suited than using one of your walls as a focal point of visual interest?

A white space with white walls can work extremely well with one contrasting brick wall to break things up a bit. They add a rawness that’s difficult to replicate with furniture, and even a professional interior designer may not be able to add that kind of authenticity.

Use wall art well

Wall art can make a massive difference in the appearance of your living room. Abstract art tends to work extremely well when it comes to a minimalist design, with finer lines and an eclectic mix of colors often looking good.

This doesn’t have to be meaningful items or something special – you could just pick the design because you like it, and you think that it complements your living room well. It can take center stage, or it could just be an additional piece to your minimalist puzzle.

Thinking about using glass

Glass is a great way to give your living room a minimalist feel. It works well with brighter shades as it blends into the surroundings without contrast, and it can allow you to draw focus elsewhere easily.

Of course, another advantage of this is that it allows light to shine through without obstruction too, leaving you with a brighter room.

Get the right seating

Your living room needs to be practical as well as beautiful. You can spend hours of time and thousands of dollars trying to create it, but if it’s not comfortable, you’re unlikely to spend time in it.

Whether you want to get a modern upholstered sofa or you prefer to opt for a more classic look, it’s a vital part of your living room, and you need to get it right.

Conclusion

Doing it properly means more than just throwing a few throw pillows onto your sofa. The ability to maximize square footage in minimalist spaces is really important, giving your more free space in your living room to keep clear.

Creating a minimalist living room usually means utilizing a neutral color scheme, increasing surface space in your home, and sticking to your own design philosophy throughout. Do this, and you’ll finally be able to feel relaxed in your home.

8 Minimalist Living Room Ideas for a Relaxing Home - Minimalist at Home (2024)

FAQs

How to arrange a minimalist living room? ›

The colour palette simply must be made up of neutral tones, with the most common being white, black, grey and cream. Then, to help emphasise a sense of spaciousness and airiness, it is recommended that you choose hardwearing materials that are smooth to the touch as these create visual continuity throughout the space.

What does a minimal house look like? ›

Minimalist interior design is similar to modern interior design. It's characterized by using the base essentials to create a simple and uncluttered space. It uses simplicity, clean lines, and a monochromatic color palette with accents in the accessories and the different textures.

Where do minimalists put their stuff? ›

This has been mentioned in the above tips, but you should store everything you need out of sight, in drawers and cabinets. Bookshelves can be used to store books or DVDs or CDs, but shouldn't have much else except a few simple decorations (not whole collections of things).

How to create a cozy minimalist living room? ›

A light and bright aesthetic lends itself well to a minimalist living room. Pair a white slipcovered sofa with a faded vintage-style area rug and a natural wood coffee table for a calm and elegant look. Instead of a busy gallery wall, opt for a triptych of modern art prints and elevate them with a chic picture light.

What do The Minimalists wear? ›

Simply, a minimalist wears their favorite clothes every day. Most days I wear jeans, a teeshirt, and a pair of boots. Or, when I feel like it, I wear a crisp white button-up shirt, jeans, a blazer, colorful socks, and a clean pair of dress shoes. (I avoid logos because I refuse to be a walking billboard.)

Do The Minimalists drink? ›

No alcohol. No sugary drinks. No soda (or 'pop,' for those of us in the Midwest). I attempt to drink my body weight in ounces of water each day, which isn't always easy—so sometimes I drink only half that.

What is the difference between declutter and minimalist? ›

What's the difference? Here's the short answer: All minimalists live without clutter, but not all who declutter become minimalists. Most people who are motivated to declutter have no intention of becoming minimalist. Perhaps they're preparing to move, and don't want to pack up and haul everything.

Which room to declutter first? ›

Choose the most cluttered space in your house, as interior designer and author Jessica Nickerson suggests. “Pick one space that you feel like needs to function better for you,” she says. For many of us the answer is the same: the closet.

What is the golden rule of decluttering? ›

Put things back where they belong

It's easy to just leave things lying around, but that's how clutter builds up. After you're done using something, immediately put it back where it belongs so you won't procrastinate.

What is the 12-12-12 rule for decluttering? ›

The 12 12 12 rule is a decluttering strategy that involves three simple steps: finding 12 items to throw away, 12 items to donate, and 12 items to return to their rightful place. This method helps reduce clutter while promoting a sense of accomplishment by achieving small, manageable goals.

What is a minimalist layout? ›

Minimalist Design

It's characterised by simplicity, clean lines, and a monochromatic palette with colour used as an accent. It usually combines an open floor plan, lots of light, and functional furniture, and it focuses on the shape, colour and texture of just a handful of essential elements.

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