European Minimalism, and why you should try it...

Decorating or completely renovating your home is a fun but challenging project that one should enter prepared. With the vast amount of interior design styles to choose from it is easy to get lost along the way, or become overwhelmed by the availability of selection today. Choosing an interior design style should start with your personality and what will truly make you feel at home in your home. Are you fond of a busier atmosphere accompanied by a wide array of colors, shapes, and arrangements, or would you rather spend the evenings in a cozy and clean space, relaxing and calming your mind?

One of the popular interior design styles nowadays is minimalism and more specifically European minimalism. Let’s take a look at the concept behind this style and see why it’s become as popular as it is.

What is minimalism?

For starters, it may be useful to review what minimalism represents in interior design. This trend occurred during the 20^th century and early 21^st century. As the name suggests, minimalists are all about living with less. Simplicity is the backbone of minimalism and represents clean and welcoming spaces. Simplification, reduction, and unification are essential words when it comes to this interior design style. However, this should not confuse you as it certainly does not mean cheap furniture. The style may not be flashy and luxurious but it does have its own, independent character. Minimalist homes are believed to never go out of fashion as they stand proud against the change of time.

Spacious Scandinavian home interior; highlighted by high ceilings and lots of light  and light color balance creating a very airy feeling

European minimalism is the design adapted to the European way of living. Europeans were actually always minimalists, even when the term was not coined and made official. Houses in countries such as Italy, Spain, of France cover the typical minimalist characteristics. Unlike Americans, Europeans predominantly focus on simplicity when it comes to interior design and avoid the mass-consumption mentality of buying everything that is offered.

Here is why it may be interesting to try European minimalism for your home interior.

European minimalism makes small rooms appear spacious.

Whether you are in Europe or not, the tendencies in construction nowadays include smaller and more compact living spaces, which may seem like a constraint from a design perspective. The good news is that minimalism has the ability to make small rooms appear larger. With its clean lines and tidy areas, a minimalist room can provide a visual illusion that the space is, in fact, bigger than in reality. The minimalist colors, which we will look at later on, also play a factor in the space game. Decorating in a minimalist style will certainly bring a level of elegance to your interior.

Functionality will enter your lives with minimalism.

It is interesting to see that interior design can teach us useful lessons about life and lifestyle in general. European minimalism focuses on the functionality of furniture in its attempt to create a well-balanced environment that soothes and cures the mind and soul. If you have set your eyes on this style, try to find furniture, which you know for sure that you will not be tired of. Every piece of furniture should have a distinctive purpose in the living space and should bring its own functionality.

For instance, our white Samso TV Stand is a perfect minimalist piece of furniture, which will work wonders when it comes to the living room or the TV area in your home. The TV cabinet’s clean lines and additional storage space is all that you could possibly desire for the creation of a minimalist look. Your favorite entertainment gadgets and consoles will no longer be floating around in the room but will have their designated spot, tucked away into this beautiful piece of furniture.

European minimalist colors bring in comfort.

Color can be a powerful factor when it comes to designing your home. Sometimes even the slightest mistake can lead to negative emotions and discomfort at home. The minimalist approach to color is soothing and heart-warming, with neutral colors and shades. Usually, the most popular method is the trio of hues per room, which ensures synchronicity and to some extent symmetry. Minimalist colors are all about consistency and minor accents, which certainly avoid distracting the designer or the inhabitant.

Whites are commonly used for minimalist design and are believed to bring stress levels down and increase motivation and concentration.

Light color balance in this hallway through the use of white and light makes this space feel far larger than it is

Minimalist interior design will never fade away.

Due to its basic concept of providing a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere, European minimalism is bound to last, with minor adaptations like anything else. The minimalist design aims to make the most of architecture and bring out its advantages instead of covering them up. Furthermore, with the focus placed on functionality, this style is likely to last a lifetime. From a designer’s perspective, European minimalism is an ideal choice of the interior if you are not fond of making regular renovations.

Of course, you can always add a new piece of wall art or furniture to introduce a bit of change to your living space but European minimalism does not require constant innovations. It is quite comfortable with its position and has the full capacity to provide all that you could ask for.

The choice of interior design may be more important than you could initially imagine. After all, home is where we spend the majority of our free time and its essential in shaping how we feel when relaxing in our downtime.