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I get the minimalist perspective. I have too much stuff, due to our two sets of parents either both dying or downsizing significantly and we've had to go through all their stuff over the past four years. I need to have a huge garage sale because we have TOO MUCH STUFF. I am going to start going through one drawer or cabinet or closet at a time and chucking a bunch of clutter.
But I don't like one extreme or the other. Though I do tend to have a lot of accessories, I know it's easy to go from "layered" to "cluttered" and that's a constant battle for me. I don't think I could be happy in a minimalist setting either though.
I love color, love patterns and fabrics and textures and things like shiny glass, pottery, etc. Books - oh my gosh. I love those too. Lamps - love them. And my mother painted many beautiful, and large and ornately framed, oil paintings full of rich colors. I love those too so I guess the minimalist look is just never going to happen for me.
But like I said, I do see the charm of it. I always admire it - I just can't imagine actually doing it.
I like minimalism, but I have accumulated a lot over the years. Much of it I keep in a spare bedroom leaving the main living areas of my house clear (except my damn mantlepiece which atract objects seemingly from the thin air).
I really need to toughen up and chuck a lot of stuff. I would like to live in a van :-)
Do it...a couple weeks ago I sent a bunch of "Stuff" home with a gal who does some housework for me. She was happy and so was I. I do this often. It feels good for everyone. She's in the early years of her life and me, at the end years.
while a miliminist makes the room look very stark and clean, to me, it is boring. nothing of interest to look at, see, think about.
I dont have a lot of stuff out, as I live in a city apartment, but the stuff that is around, that i look at, makes me happy, almost all of it has a story about it, from a piece of bark on the coffee table, to a painting on a piece of plywood, to a small oil painting by my father, everything has a piece of interest, and makes (to me) my home more interesting to look at.
a minimilist, where there is nothing, (to me), there is no thought, nothing to think about, because there nothing really to look at.
Rather simple, open and functional. Lots of glass to bring the outdoors in. Interior finishes that are rich, textured and beautiful, not without colour but not overly visually stimulating.
I'm not exactly a 'minimalist', however, I don't like clutter. I like bright and white too, so the OPs picture appeals to me (not the floor lamp, though - too much I too have gotten a bunch of stuff over time, and even with moving quite often stuff tends to accumulate. I give stuff away to family / friends, donate to Goodwill / et cetera, and toss stuff (some stuff I'll put out by the curb like for trash day in hopes that someone wants it - that usually works). Like Kathryn, I use my china and silver (YOLO!).
I'll admit that I do still have some junk (and 'collections' like my Mardi Gras beads or seashells or toy soldiers), but I'm working on it.
However, I tend to collect extra parts / supplies from projects. Recently, an electrician needed a part and was going to have to go to the store to get it - I looked and found the part (that I'd had for 5 years), which just feeds that habit...
I'm a happy mediumist, I guess. I couldn't do bare bones minimalism but I am more to the side of preferring a little less stuff rather than a little more. But I do need my decor and mementos, just not too much of it.
I was just going to post the same thing. I am pretty simple and hate clutter (growing up in clutter, I vowed to not live the same way!) and love organization. I would say my stuff "out" is pretty minimal but it makes me happy having open space. (Keep in mind I am saying this as someone who is stuffed into a tiny apartment.)
I am probably, overall, less decorated than most. But I have to have SOMETHING.
I'm a minimalist, as in I sold all my stuff and moved into my car (until I got sick). Will never rent an apartment again or buy a home. I rent a room now and plan to move into an RV within the year, and an RV will have way too much storage for me at this point. My entire life fit neatly in the trunk of my car.
Just the word "layered" makes me cringe. I have a sister-in-law who is an interior decorator, she layers everything. She and my brother have a house that is literally twice the size of mine, and I feel claustrophobic when I spend any length of time there.
My husband and I definitely lean towards the minimalist style of decorating. We do have stuff, because of activities - tools for home renovations, sports equipment, a music room with guitars and drums. But our living room, bedrooms and kitchen/dining room are all fairly sparse. The picture in the OP doesn't have enough colour for me, but I like it otherwise. Minimalist doesn't have to mean no colour, but it does seem that monochrome appeals to minimalist people.
Just the word "layered" makes me cringe. I have a sister-in-law who is an interior decorator, she layers everything. She and my brother have a house that is literally twice the size of mine, and I feel claustrophobic when I spend any length of time there.
My husband and I definitely lean towards the minimalist style of decorating. We do have stuff, because of activities - tools for home renovations, sports equipment, a music room with guitars and drums. But our living room, bedrooms and kitchen/dining room are all fairly sparse. The picture in the OP doesn't have enough colour for me, but I like it otherwise. Minimalist doesn't have to mean no colour, but it does seem that monochrome appeals to minimalist people.
LOL I know what you mean - the word "minimalist" makes me cringe - not that it can't look good, but I would feel uncomfortable with it in my house!
To each his own.
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I too have gotten a bunch of stuff over time, and even with moving quite often stuff tends to accumulate. I give stuff away to family / friends, donate to Goodwill / et cetera, and toss stuff (some stuff I'll put out by the curb like for trash day in hopes that someone wants it - that usually works). Like Kathryn, I use my china and silver (YOLO!).
