Soulful Minimalism
If you love a simple, uncluttered yet soulful space, filled only with necessities and treasured pieces then this is your style. Soulful Minimalism is a real life curation of meaningful belongings that support important, everyday functions but also make us feel good. It’s about specific design details and what they mean to us. It’s about cherished pieces of furniture with stories to tell.
Soulful minimalism captures the essence of original furnishings and accessories but doesn’t restrict itself to the old or antique, often including contemporary touches but with purpose, intention and honesty. It’s about sustainable comfort rather than luxury and looking towards what we already own instead of what we don’t yet have. It’s about living with less whilst appreciating more.
A Soulfully minimalistic home is pared back but loaded with simplistic beauty, often with a neutral or measured colour palette.
‘Soulful Minimalism’
5 STYLE TIPS
This style clears out the unnecessary excesses we often accumulate through life and finds the true essence of its’ home dweller, offering sustainability in original materials, clean, clear spaces and the chance to give treasured belongings centre stage.
1) Declutter
This style works best proceeding a phase of decluttering. Unless you have already reached a blank canvass you might find my annual Decluttering Program useful, where we work through a month of decluttering, organising and deep cleaning.
2) Streamline
In order to start cultivating a minimalistic home, we need to streamline….to look at our homes as they are now, so that we can begin to work out which items are valuable to us and why? (The why is quite important) We then need to identify which items are NOT valuable to us so that we can start to make space for alternatives, or lose them entirely.
This is also a really good opportunity to address the overall design of each room. By making a concise list of things that we love about our homes we can draw attention to those things that we don’t love quite as much, and start to prioritise the pieces that need the most consideration.
If you struggle to streamline, you might find this article useful. I also find inspiration from one of my favourite minimalist bloggers Beth from Some Day Slower.
3) Use a neutral or gentle colour palette.
This style relies on treasured pieces taking centre stage. A neutral or gentle colour palette often works best in honouring the essence of these items. To add pops of colour choose gentle greyed versions in a few selected items such as dining chairs, cushions, rugs or bedding. If adding feature walls choose naturals such as ochre, earth, or khaki for example and keep the rest of the walls, ceilings and woodwork in a matching contrasting neutral such as off-white, for a streamlined finish.
4) Add a little softness
For a nurturing finish with depth and beauty, our aged keepsakes need to be gently contrasted with soft, simple lines. For example, layer a brass or wooden bed with a soft grey throw, or team a bare floorboard with a plain cotton weave rug. Add a linen cushion to a wooden chair or paint the inside of an old metal lampshade a soft off-white. Cover the seat pads of an ageing sofa with a more robust but unpatterned fabric or add simple plants such as cactus or succulents.
5) Keep it simple
When choosing fixtures or fittings for this scheme, keep it simple. Limit pattern to a few select items and even then use it sparingly in faded stripes or original textiles, for example. Use natural materials where possible and lean towards the unadorned.
Once the look is softened and you feel nurtured and restored by time spent in your new space, put your pen down (so to speak!). It is really easy to keep adding to your home but always ask yourself these question before purchasing anything new:
a) Does it make you smile?
b) Do you LOVE it?
c) Does it support an IMPORTANT function?
(sometimes the smallest functions are the most important)
d) Have you thought long and hard about needing it?
e) Does it represent your own unique style?
f) Is it in line with your values?
You might enjoy reading other articles from the Homing Instinct feature: Old and New and Neutral Living, or browse some more styles from the collection in Pinterest.
The Home Style Collection
Bright bazaar, Kinfolk Home, Modern Eclectic, Globally inspired, Scandi classic, Coastal Decor, Easy contemporary, Thrifty Decor, Neutral Living, Naturally inspired, Modern Boho, Bold & beautiful, Old & New, Pale and interesting, Soft industrial, Simple Vintage, Muted mode
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