Achieve Harmony with the Do’s & Don’ts of Minimalist Interior Design
Do’s And Don’ts Of A Cool Minimalist Interior Design
Minimalism in interior design does not necessarily have to be cold and boring. Given the minimalism concept of “less is more”, the new way to think about it is just not as a plain white box but a concept that showcases exceptional functional design along with artistic beauty in a simplified environment to live.
A minimalist interior design style for an HDB or BTO in Singapore can become the basis of creating a heavenly abode that has just the right amount of essential elements needed to live a comfortable and relaxed life. This involves using simple, monochromatic color palettes and sleek, functional furniture. The lesser the elements, the lesser will be the clutter which will go a long way in reducing stress levels for the residents.
However, what you should bear in mind is that incorporating a minimalistic style into your home interior is not as easy as you may think and there are some prerequisites that you may have to take before you start your interior design or HDB renovation in Singapore.
The minimalist design features simplicity and elegance by eliminating every unnecessary element to include only the essentials. This streamlined, clean, and simple architecture is not only pleasing to the eyes but also helps you to incorporate functionality within your compact and simple house.
Here, we will describe some of the most important do’s and don’ts of incorporating a minimalist yet cool and trendy design into your home. Through these tips and tricks, you can be sure of creating a minimalist theme based on your requirements, preferences, and specifications.
If you’re open to more options, you can check out the top interior design trends such as the mid-modern century design, modern interior design and Scandinavian interior design. Looking for something more unique? We also have Colonial-style design, Balinese interior design, Warehouse interior design, Industrial design style and Rustic design style for you to get some inspiration.
Declutter Your Home
The most important element of a minimalist interior style for an HDB is to declutter your home. If you find your home in a constant mess where there are piles of unnecessary documents, shoes, and clothes on the floor, empty cups and glasses as well as random objects on the table or any other flat surface – then it’s high time you clear everything up.
The first and most important step to embracing the minimalistic design look and feel is to find each object in its specific spot. To be even more efficient in making sure your surfaces stay clear, you should follow the rule of “one in, one out”.
The main idea of minimalism as an interior design style is to provide a clear and practical space where the homeowners keep only the objects they need and use daily. With this in mind, all nonessentials and unused products that are collecting dust should be eliminated simply because they’re cluttering the so valuable room in your home. The “one in, one out” philosophy allows you to preserve the balance, especially when you’re replacing similar items.
Consider the following project at Bukit Batok West, Singapore. The theme is kept simple and there is no cluttering of elements anywhere; everything essential is placed in the right place which does not cramp the area.
Clean And Minimalistic Living Room @ Bukit Batok West
Don’t Use Complex Color Schemes
Whenever you are designing or renovating your home, you may be inclined to use your favourite colours in all of the elements of a room. However, if you continue with that and try to count the number of colours of all the elements of the room, be it the walls, sofa fabric, cushions, decorative items, furniture, curtains, etc.; you will notice that it will amount to a huge array of colours which will create a visual imbalance and too much to absorb.
Minimalist interior design calls to keep the colour scheme simple; choose two to three colours and try to use their different hues for all the elements. A little pop of colour may be added to break the neutrals, otherwise, try to keep the colour scheme simple.
Typically, the best way to keep everything neutral is to follow the 60/30/10 rule. In other words, you choose a dominant base for each room, another to act as a secondary colour and a third that’ll add the accents.
Of course, choosing the base colour is the most difficult part. Nevertheless, there are some quite successful colour combinations for a neat-looking minimalistic design. For example, you can go for a biscuit, greige or even an ecru-inspired tone.
They provide a clean and calming look. Contrary to popular belief, minimalism isn’t plain and bland. Just make sure you allow enough natural light into your rooms to make your home look warmer and cosier.
Consider the following living area of a home at Bedok Reservoir, Singapore which is set beautifully in a minimalistic theme with white as the main colour and pastel blue as the secondary one. A few coloured elements on the shelf add just the right amount of pop to brighten up the space. Interested in other condominium interior designs? You can find a variety of design ideas on our blog.
Focus On Functionality
One of the main elements of a minimalist style is functionality; add all the elements that are absolutely necessary and eliminate the unessential ones. This way, automatically you will clear up the space to create a neat, clean, and tidy environment. However, this does not mean that you should not add any decorative items or wall art to bring an artistic touch to the design. In fact, a few decorative items will help to make the white and boring minimalist design more creative and eye-catching.
This is what is showcased in the following image of a room at Punggol Central, Singapore. You can see how the white theme of the functional interior design is contrasted with cool wall hangings and colourful flowers.
Make Space For Empty Spaces And Focal Points
One of the most important features of a minimalist design is empty spaces. This works very well for HDB interior designs. An empty space helps to define objects and how they interact with the background and other elements. It also helps to define a focal point in each room which you can arrange accordingly. Through this visual balance, the room appears spacious without any unwanted distractions that are absolutely necessary in HDB interior design. An example of this would be to group similar items together so that the remaining area is left empty. Then after an empty space, you can add a group of elements and again leave some empty space later.
Consider the following living room example at Cantonment Road, Singapore. Notice on the wall how the shelves are grouped together to leave a lot of white space on the wall. This makes them the focal point and creates a visual balance.
Looking for living room interior design inspirations? Check out our blog.
Don’t Overwhelm With Decorative Items
Another important feature of a cool minimalist design for an HDB BTO is not to over-decorate with décor items. Instead, only use decorative items as accents or define focal points. What this means, for example, is to use one big wall hanging instead of many smaller ones to avoid clutter and distractions. For décor items, choose something which will immediately catch attention and try to make it a focal point by not over-shadowing it with other elements.
Notice in the following condo design at Parc Olympia, Flora Drive, Singapore how the two large paintings add just the right amount of art to the aesthetics in the room and still be the focal point while all the other things are kept simple.
Incorporate Textures
As mentioned above, there’s that popular misconception about minimalism and how its neutral tones create a cold and bland feel. Warm color palette combined with stylish knitted throws, beaded pillows or sheepskin rugs. If you think that a minimalist interior design is too boring, adding different textures to a room will add the kind of excitement that you require. This can be in the form of wooden elements, upholstered furniture, plush fabrics, textured wallpaper, etc. All the textures combined together will add to the textural story of the room without it being overwhelming.
Also, don’t forget the velvet décor. Indeed, these examples may sound quite outlandish, considering we’re talking about the minimalistic style where everything’s expected to be sly and standard-looking.
On the contrary, you shouldn’t shy away from picking unexpected textures, materials, and surfaces. Nevertheless, you should stick to the point and make sure you don’t overdo the whole process. With this being said, you should incorporate these styles only as long as they blend the colour base.
The textures in similar tones will serve as your secret weapon that’ll add to the functional and aesthetic value of your furnishing and room as a whole. After all, what’s better than having a plush rug or a couple of beautiful pillows to match your bed?
As an example, consider the following bedroom interior design idea at Punggol Central, Singapore. The upholstered bed creates a different texture from the textured wallpaper. The plush curtains add another dimension of texture to the room which has a wooden textured floor. All these textures add some unique balance to the design while still keeping things simple and functional. If you’re looking for ways to make your bedroom appear cosy, you can find ideas and tips on bedroom interior design in this blog post.
Don’t Keep The Area Dark
Another important feature of the minimalist theme for HDBs in Singapore is to allow lots of natural light to flow in. A brightly lit room appears spacious, neat, and crisp which are the hallmarks of minimalism. To achieve this effect, you can incorporate large-sized windows in the rooms. A room that is not appropriately lit by natural light will appear gloomy and cramped. The perfect option would be to keep the windows unadorned or to use very thin or sheer curtains so that maximum light can flow into the room.
This same effect is achieved in the following image of a living room interior design at Punggol Central, Singapore that is designed by us. Notice the sheer white curtains that allow natural sunlight to flow in and illuminate the room to give a bright and uplifting effect.
Use Simple Objects And Wall Art
Since a minimalist design is all about simplicity, it is only logical to use simple objects and wall art. Do not spend too much on luxurious decor items and complex wall art as it will go against the simplicity of the minimalist theme. Try to keep things simple without adding too complex or extra elements.
The following image is an example of using simple objects and wall art to create a very cool and elegant interior design for condominium homes.
Don’t shy away from Patterned Elements
One more important feature of a minimalist design is to add patterned elements to the design. These patterns could be in the form of a rug, sofa cushions, curtains, or wall art. When everything else is simple and solid-coloured, some kind of pattern will never go wrong. In fact, it will help to bring everything together in beautiful harmony and elegance.
Geometric patterns are especially a significant feature of minimalist designs. This is depicted in the following living room image of a condo at St. Patrick Rd, Singapore. Notice how the walls are neutral and the sofa is solid coloured. The geometric pattern rug and a patterned cushion help to balance everything and create an element of beauty and elegance.
Minimalist Interior Design Inspiration
Creating a practical yet stylish minimalist interior may look as easy as pie. In actuality, it requires a great amount of thoughtful and careful consideration of the assortment of furnishings you wish to incorporate in each room.
This is surely a tough challenge but it’s still fairly achievable if you consider each piece carefully before it enters your home. In the end, you should create a spacy and comfy minimalistic interior.
The following minimalist interior design portfolios can serve as a visual inspiration where you can see all these above mentioned do’s and don’ts in action. These HDB minimalist interior designs can compel you to create a similar heavenly abode for yourself too.
MONOCHROMATIC MINIMALIST @ BUKIT BATOK
This beautiful HDB home can be a dream come true for all homeowners in Singapore as it exhibits elegance and simplicity in all its beauty. The moment you step inside the home, every room is a sight for the eyes and the best part is, it is all so simple. Let’s go through the rooms of this HDB to see how the features of minimalist interior design are implemented in every room of the house.
The overall color theme for the house is dark with hues of black and gray creating a beautiful contrast with light gray and beige shades. The only bright color that you can see in the interior is the lush green color of planters carefully placed in different corners in the rooms. The following picture shows the dining area of this HDB. The black dining table and matching chairs create an elegant atmosphere. They also create a striking contrast with the light gray walls and floors. Since it is a minimalist home, the walls showcase only a clock and an amazingly simple wall hanging. One green planter in one corner adds a touch of color to this simple yet sophisticated interior.
The same color palette continues in this HDB kitchen that although is quite small but looks clean and spacious. Notice that not very dark shades of gray are used in the kitchen as they could have made the small kitchen appear more cramped. The lighter gray hues and the brightly lit ambience helps manifold in creating a spacious and larger visual perspective. Everything in the kitchen is organized neatly and stored efficiently to minimize clutter. Also notice how the available vertical space is optimally used by creating full-length cabinets as well as placing the washer and dryer on top of each other. This minimalist kitchen offers all the necessary functionality in the limited space in the best possible manner which is an inspiration in itself!
Next, we come to a room that can be transformed into either a bedroom or a comfortable living room. The room comprises an elevated platform that can ideally be used for hidden storage. Since it is a minimalist interior design theme, the main idea is to keep everything simple and decluttered. Therefore, the hidden storage compartments in this platform can be used for storing all the extra stuff to ensure that the visible area remains neat and tidy. Very light hues of gray and beige are used in this interior creates a lively and spacious environment. The unadorned walls add to the minimalist glory of the space. On the platform, a mattress has been placed that serves as the bed. With only one planter on one side, this minimalist bedroom is as elegant and beautiful as it gets.
To give a different perspective to the same room, the designers also show how you can convert it into a relaxing nook and sitting area. Instead of the mattress, comfortable seating cushions are placed on the elevated platform. Such low-lying seating arrangements give a very natural and tranquil ambience in the space which when combined with the minimalist approach of the interior design, helps create a calm and cozy interior. The platform is further enhanced and highlighted through the use of indirect and recessed lighting from behind and underneath the platform. This warm lighting creates a dramatic effect in the space and accentuates the minimalist elegance of the room.
KEEP IT MINIMAL@ BEDOK SOUTH
If the minimalist interior design portfolio discussed above was a bit too empty and dull for you, then this minimalist HDB can give you the best inspiration for a home that adopts minimalist, yet is comfortable and homey.
Starting with the living room, we see an open-concept layout with comfortable furnishings and beautiful decorative elements. The main color theme is in tones of medium gray with a touch of wood that adds depth and versatility in design. Although the overall design theme exudes minimalism, there are still decorations and ornamentations in the interior. The use of green plants and earthly color hues creates a calm and tranquil atmosphere in this HDB.
The open-concept kitchen and adjoining dining area is designed elegantly while keeping minimalism in mind. The darker gray hues are accentuated through warm recessed lighting whereas the addition of mirrors and modern lighting fixtures enhance the space’s appearance manifold. Notice how you cannot see any extra furniture pieces or accessories in the space as it features only the essentials while everything is stowed away in storage.
The bedroom’s interior plays on hues of beige as opposed to the dominant gray color in the rest of the home. The light-colored oakwood doors and matching floors create a spacious and open ambience in the bedroom which is further enhanced through the minimally designed interior. All the walls are unadorned to create a subtle and calming effect in the bedroom. Minimum patterns and colors are used for the fabrics in the bedroom to create the soothing and relaxing effect that one desires in a bedroom.
Final Thoughts
To conclude, making things look as simple and clear as possible is certainly the essence of minimalism. But this is only on the outer side. Achieving a minimalist interior design isn’t an easy task and there are some key steps for successful minimalist home décor.
Of course, there will always be critics but minimalism can be quite practical for day-to-day use if you manage to execute it the right way. The aesthetic appeal of pure simplicity, clean lines, and warm textures and tones will no doubt spruce up your home with a sly and calming minimalistic atmosphere. Who doesn’t love a neat and clean minimalist space?
Space Factor is one of the reliable companies that’ll make your renovation a truly enjoyable and refreshing experience. Based in Singapore, we offer expert design advice and services for everyone willing to try something new with their home.
In the end, your quest for a minimalist interior can only be created by following the above steps. To materialize it, you’ll need the best designers and Space Factor has just what you need, where we provide HDB interior design, landed interior design and condo interior design services.
You can take a look at our portfolio for residential and commercial portfolios. Our blogs also offer interior design ideas for your HDB BTO flat (such as 3-room interior design, 4-room interior design, and 5-room interior design), Condo and landed property designs. Consult us today regarding your home renovation!
