Living Minimalist: The Basics of Minimalist Furnishing

Categories:

Inspiration

Living Minimalist: The Basics of Minimalist Furnishing

Minimalism is a modern attitude to life that can also be reflected in the world of living. Neat and tidy, limited to a few selected and cherished furnishings: If you want to live in a minimalist way, you have to discover and internalise the art of omission for yourself - just like dear Sarah. The interior blogger opens the doors to her dreamy turn of the century house for us and her Instagram followers and provides inspiring insights into her own little minimalist interior world.

On Instagram, the 31-year-old shares her interpretation of minimalist living with her followers and impressively shows how harmonious and modern minimalist-Nordic interior design can look in 2020. Inspired by the virtual tour of the Tannenkamp minimalist house and enriched by many impressions, we would like to dedicate a separate article to the popular style of living and no longer deprive you of the freshly learned dos and don'ts of minimalist living.

Want to learn the basics of minimalist furnishing?

Interior blogger Sarah helps us understand the minimalist living style ©instagram.com/haus_tannenkamp/

What is Minimalism?

Less is more! The basic idea of minimalism is that superfluous things in any form distract from the essentials. Those who want to live and dwell in a minimalist way try to limit themselves to a few objects that are really needed. According to the motto "less is more", one sorts out, clears out and prioritises: What is really important in my flat? But also: What should be the centre of attention? Minimalism - that means getting rid of unnecessary ballast, freeing yourself from dust traps in your living space. Ciao chaos, hello order!

An icon of German industrial design, Dieter Rams, aptly formulated something that sounds to us like a guiding principle for minimalist living, namely: "Less, but better", thus aptly describing the quintessence of the established style of living. Many well-known designers are great advocates of minimalism, for example the lighting designer Jasper Morrison. He has designed many award-winning designer lamps for the premium brand Flos, which unmistakably speak the language of minimalism. "Just enough" is exactly right in minimalism.

At Home with Interior Blogger Sarah

This is Sarah von Heugel. On her Instagram profile "haus_tannenkamp", the 31-year-old shares her fascination for Nordic minimalist interior design with her followers. Sarah has been involved with the modern style of living for about five years and shares her creative design ideas with her followers. She helps us to better understand the style of living.

To the instagram profile

This is how the Interior Blogger Interprets the Living Style

We also asked interior blogger Sarah about her take on minimalism. The 31-year-old has been involved with the minimalist lifestyle for about five years and has an apt answer to the question of what minimalism is:

"For me, minimalism is owning what you really need. How much that is for everyone is individual."

Her definition of minimalist living also explains why minimalism manifests differently for everyone and why minimalist living always looks different.
Sarah found the idea of minimalism inspiring and has changed her lifestyle step by step in this direction. She didn't go minimalist overnight, but learned over time to be more consistent in selecting which items and accessories were allowed to move into her home.

"I started with clothes because it was easiest for me to sort out and tidy up my wardrobe. Little by little, I allowed minimalism to enter my Nordic living world and feel totally comfortable with it today."

For anyone who finds it difficult to part with decor and furniture, Sarah has a helpful tip to prevent collecting and accumulating furnishings:

"I've imposed a little rule on myself that I try to stick to: for every new piece that moves into our four walls, an old one should make way. "

Clever! Because this way you don't run the risk of ending up in a cluttered room again after a few months of being a successful minimalist, and in the long run you live ballast-free. Consistently selecting what's important is something you have to learn!

Minimalist lamps are particularly important for interior blogger Sarah. She can place the Louis Poulsen Panthella Portable flexibly because this battery lamp has no cables.

Minimalist Furnishing: the dos and don'ts

The king of minimalist home furnishing is mastering the balancing act between too much and too little. A minimalist living room should look neat and tidy, but not too bare and impersonal. With these little tips, you can achieve a cosy, friendly minimalist look:

Courage to leave gaps: In minimalist furnishings, the room is allowed to speak for itself! Open spaces on the floor and walls help to draw the focus to the room itself with the few, carefully selected pieces of furniture. High ceilings and open, spacious rooms make it even easier to give objects the space they need and to bring the aesthetics of the furniture to the fore. By the way, blogger Sarah also plays with the spatial effect: in order to create the friendly, open living concept of Haus Tannenkamp, the false ceilings in her kitchen had to give way. With its five-metre-high ceiling, unobstructed view of the wonderfully rustic wooden beams of the old roof truss and large, high windows, the kitchen is definitely something very special.

Few, neutral colours: White, grey, beige and everything in between - as in Scandinavian living styles, minimalism is dominated by soft, light tones on the wall and floor. Patterned wallpaper or colourful carpets are a thorn in the side of the stereotypical minimalist. Anything that brings restlessness into the room is preferred to be dispensed with. A typical visual troublemaker in living rooms are bookshelves with their colourful covers. A practical tip for those who do not want to part with literature despite their striving for minimalism: if the books are covered with plain book covers in light colours, they blend harmoniously into the room.

Decoration in moderation: Minimalists limit their choice of home accessories to a few stylish elements, which are then the focus of attention in the room. Of course, you still don't have to throw away the discarded furniture and accessories: you're sure to find a cheerful buyer for the items you want to part with. In Sarah's case, a few key pieces, such as her favourite vase, the Shell Pot by Ferm Living or one of her designer lamps, catch the eye.

A Tip from Living Blogger Sarah:

"For those who find it hard to part with things, I can recommend doing like myself: I packed a box with items I wasn't sure I wanted to part with, labelled them and put them in the basement for six months. If you don't miss the decoration after half a year, you know: that can be discarded for good."

Limiting usage of shapes: In minimalism, straight, simple forms are preferred to embellishments and ornaments. This applies equally to furniture, decoration and lighting.
Storage space: For a tidy, neat impression, not too many objects should be standing around freely in the room. Furniture with lots of hidden storage space, drawers and compartments are ideal.

Our tip: Take advantage of the hidden storage space in furniture and keep cupboards and drawers tidy too.

Fancy more helpful tips and ideas on the subject of tidiness and minimalism in the living area? Then click through the story highlights of "haus_tannenkamp" on Instagram. Sarah opens her doors and cupboards in all rooms of the house for her followers. If you want to take away a few ideas and tips for minimalism bedrooms, living rooms and the like, you should definitely take a look - it's worth it!

To the instagram profle

Minimalism Dos

✓ simple, light colours
✓ free spaces
✓ few, selected pieces of furniture

Minimalism Don'ts

X embellishments and ornaments
X bright colours
X clutter

Cosiness and Minimalism - Do They go Together?

Definitely! Hygge feeling and reduced consumption are not opposites. Instead of colours and patterns, materials and textures are the means of choice in minimalist living when it comes to creating cosiness. A cosy blanket, a high-quality carpet, a dining table made of warm solid wood or a bamboo chest of drawers turn a sterile room into a cosy feel-good place in no time.

Checklist: Minimalist Bedrooms and Living Rooms

Neutral colours for curtains, bed covers and cushions: typically pastel shades, white, grey or beige
Tidy wardrobe: especially with open wardrobes - storage space in the form of drawers and compartments helps to create order in the wardrobe
Hidden storage options

Checklist: Minimalist Kitchen

Keep much-used items quick at hand
Sort cupboards and drawers well
Choose fronts and worktops in friendly colours and made of sustainable materials
handleless fronts for visual clarity
Matt colours with low luminosity for calm and purity

Sarah's favourite room in the house: her minimalist kitchen. Doesn't it look beautiful? A place to feel both good and cosy.

If you want to get to know and understand the minimalist Nordic living style with all its facets in just a few seconds, you only need to take a look at Sarah's Instagram profile "haus_tannenkamp". Once again, she impressively proves that pictures are worth a thousand words. As a photographer, the interior blogger has an eye for beauty and takes new pictures of her charming old building every day, finding new angles and perspectives. You notice how much love is put into the house and its furnishings and quickly learn to love her clear living concept. Sarah's house in three words?

"Minimalist, Scandinavian, modern!"

She combines the dominant primary colours of beige, white, grey and black with warm-looking materials such as oak or rattan. In this way, the rather cool nuances meet warm tones and provide the necessary portion of cosiness in the minimalist house. The well-preserved, original elements of the old building from 1932, such as a wooden staircase made of pitch pine or the raw beams of the roof truss, lend the house a special magic. Haus Tannenkamp is a good example of what can happen when you breathe new life into old things and combine them with modern living trends.

Turn old into new! Sarah's minimalist house on Tannenkamp is a renovated old building from 1932.

Lamps that Match Minimalist Furnishings

Of course, the lighting should also speak the language of minimalism. As with furniture and decoration, minimalist style relies on filigree design. Lighting for minimalist homes are often simple, of discreet shape and colour and of excellent lighting properties. If you use #minimalistischwohnen on Instagram to search for living profiles on the popular style of living, you will quickly notice that the minimalism community mainly uses timeless design classics from the premium brands Artemide, Flos or Louis Poulsen for lighting.

Sarah, with her profile "haus_tannenkamp", loves for example the simple, classic lamps of the brand Louis Poulsen. The Louis Poulsen Panthella Portable table lamp from our online shop is always there where the cosy, dimmable light is needed. With its opal white lampshade and no disturbing lamp cables, it fits perfectly into Sarah's minimalist home. Her reading corner is adorned by another Louis Poulsen classic: the Louis Poulsen AJ floor lamp.