When I say minimalist home you probably think of white walls, sparse furniture, and maybe a $400 chunky, knit throw. One of the first things most people tell me when they hear that I am a minimalist is, “I could never be a minimalist. I like color and decor way too much.”
Minimalism doesn’t have to mean sparse and spartan. It doesn’t mean that you have to live in a beautiful, modern home with killer natural light emitting from the floor-to-ceiling windows. You can even be a minimalist and have *gasp* throw pillows.
An actual definition of minimalism will vary based on what suits your needs, but I like to say minimalism is the intentional practice of only having enough. What is enough for me will look different than what is enough for you. While I like to keep my kitchen counters mostly empty, you may choose to keep your blender and toaster out. One isn’t wrong and one isn’t right!
Cozy Minimalist Home
I was recently sent an advanced copy of Myquillen Smith’s newest book Cozy Minimalist Home. If you’ve been reading for a while you’ll remember when her first book, The Nesting Place, made a major impact on how I decorated my home. At the time I lived in a 2 bedroom apartment and I had never heard a home decor blogger/author address how to decorate a rental. It switched on a light bulb for me and I ended up making that apartment a cute, cozy home for us.
Fast forward a few years and we own our own home. After a fire I had the opportunity to buy all new furniture and slowly add decor back in. You might think this would be an ideal situation but in reality it was completely overwhelming. In the two years we have lived in our house I have just painted a couple of walls, and have been to afraid to make any major changes.
Cozy Minimalist Home is not only a discourse on how to keep the cozy in minimal, she explains step by step how to find your style, set up a room, and how to decide what stays and goes. She includes practical exercises like making a Pinterest board of spaces you like and asking questions like what about this room draws me in? What might hold me back from creating a room like this?
One of my favorite – and unexpected – tips in the book was to quiet the space by removing everything but the stuff too big to move. Even taking down the drapes! Then intentionally deciding what to bring back in.
She explains how minimalism and creativity can co-exist, and how our creative instincts are God-given.
God is in the business of creating places for his people. He is the original homemaker … It’s no wonder that we sense that making home is an important calling. We were made to crave beauty. We were made to crave home.
I love the image that quote creates! After leaving my career of 20 years to stay home last year I lost a bit of my identity in homemaking, feeling like I wasn’t really contributing any more. But creating a home for our families is sometimes the most important calling on our life.
This book is a must-read for anyone looking to pare down their decor style, or if you have no idea where to start decorating your space! It releases on October 23, so make sure you pre-order now!
The Minimalist Home
For those who need to start at square one with minimalism and decluttering Joshua Becker has a new book coming out in December called The Minimalist Home. I got an advanced copy of this book, too. It goes over the basics of minimalism, how to declutter your house room by room, and even how to get your family on board. I’ve been a long-time reader of Becker’s blog Becoming Minimalist, and have read his other book Simplify. I found some of it to be a rehash of things I had already read, but this book goes MUCH more in depth on the nuts and bolts of decluttering. He even includes checklists, step-by-step instructions, and inspirational stories from other people who have found freedom in owning less.
My Minimalist Home
I’ve been a minimalist for about 6 years now. My style has changed and evolved over the years, even though it remains pretty minimal.
My house is never going to look like it was ripped from the pages of a magazine because my level of comfort with “clutter” is pretty low. It’s important to me that my house is functional for me and my family. But it’s also important to me that my home is cozy and reflects my sense of style.
Does your home decor fall under the minimal category? Maybe it’s time to take a second look and turn your space into a haven of cozy minimalism.
