How to create a Cozy, Minimal Home.
When I first started my journey towards minimalism I certainly wouldn't have ever thought of myself as the minimal living type. I love seasonal decor, shopping at thrift stores, and I love home decor! I could spend literally all day scouring thrift stores and hobby lobby for cute decor. What's crazy though is that I love minimalism. I find joy in curating a simple, cozy home. I've decluttered probably a good 60% to 70% of our belongings, and I'll tell you what my home has never looked better.
But when I first started, I had a long way to go. Over time I really learned to love the process of curating my home. Decluttering has become second nature to me. I loved seeing a beautiful neutral home, with space, and a sense of peace.
But one thing I could never get on board with was, stark, white & boring. The videos of people with nothing in their bedroom but a mattress on the floor and a plant in the corner never excited me and honestly looked a little sad.
I want a home that has a cozy vibe to it, a home that automatically makes me feel at ease and reflects who I am. For me a home with empty walls just doesn't reflect anything about me and my family. I imagine if you're here reading this, you too want a cozy home that reflects who you are, but that's still minimal and simple.
So below I've outlined my 10 best tips to bring a simple, yet cozy aesthetic to your home.
1- FOCUS ON FURNITURE & DAILY ESSENTIALS
What I mean by focus on furniture is to make your furniture and everyday items be your decor and be pieces that reflect your style.
If the big pieces in our home like your dining table, bedframe and couch match the aesthetic you want, then you don't have to create that cozy feeling with excess decor and clutter.
We can also do this with our choice of blinds, curtains, and rugs. If each piece is reflective of our unique style we can keep things very minimal while still enjoying the aesthetic of our home.
One other way to do this is with things like hand towels, kitchen utensils, and bedspreads. If these things look cheap or just aren't your style it's much harder to feel cozy and at ease in your space. So put a little extra money and time into choosing the things you will use daily or have long term, and skip buying things like extra wall decor or knick knacks.
2- CURATE DON'T COLLECT
I have experienced such a learning curve in this area. I used to love collecting decor, especially thrifted and vintage items. But I've come to learn that curating your home to look and feel how you want, is so much more practical than just collecting all the things you think would look good, or that you like when you're in the store.
I've been guilty of this so many times, I see something that's super cute in the store, just to bring it home and realize it looked better on the shelf than in my home.
If we aren't careful with what we bring into our homes we can end up with a lot of things that just feel out of place, like they never belonged in our homes to begin with.
Obviously even when we are super intentional this can still happen from time to time.
The key is when you realize something just doesn't work, Don't try to force it to work, return it or donate it.
3-YOU DON'T ALWAYS HAVE TO MAKE DUE
Maybe you haven't been told this but if a piece of furniture just doesn't work for you. It's okay to upgrade. If your bed is hurting your back, or your couch is falling apart, it's okay to get something different.
I know this one can be hard, I am a huge advocate for making due, for being frugal, and working with what you have first.
But sometimes we just have to get honest with ourselves. If you can't stand to sit on your couch, or your dining table is way too big for your space. You have full permission to do away with it.
Although there are some caveats here, maybe you don't have the money to get something new, in which case I recommend.
Either saving up for a quality replacement or
Searching secondhand, facebook marketplace and thrift stores for great alternatives instead of buying new (just make sure you don't settle for something you will regret later)
4-TAKE YOUR TIME
It took me years to get my home to a place where I truly love what we own. As I said above, curating your home is so important, but it isn't an overnight process, it can take months or even years to get your home to a place that you really feel cozy in and feel that it reflects who you are.
Your tastes will also ebb and flow throughout this process, and you might realize you don't like the same style that you used to.
I used to love farmhouse style, but now I'm indifferent to it. I really prefer to have more of a natural, boho aesthetic, while still maintaining a cozy neutral environment.
What makes you feel cozy may be different from me. But just make sure you are giving yourself time to curate your personal style.
5- DECLUTTER
This ones obvious but if you want a cozy, minimal, and simple space, you're gonna have to declutter the excess stuff, and declutter the decor that doesn't reflect you.
This one may seem daunting but is actually a lot of fun once you get into the groove of it. Decluttering and simplifying can become exciting the more you build up your decluttering skills. You start to feel less overwhelmed and more motivated once you see progress and change beginning to take place.
6- DON'T BE AFRAID TO PAINT
If you want a neutral cozy space, but your bedroom is bright yellow or red, it's gonna be a lot harder to curate a cozy home around that color palette.
When I started really diving into minimalism my house was bright sky blue. I tried to work around it for a long time before I finally decided to paint it a beige color, but even that color choice felt off in my home and kind of dingy. I finally made the effort to paint the whole house except for one bedroom a bright, clean white. I'm SO happy I did, it made all the difference.
Now I understand you may be renting your home. So what I would suggest is maybe when you're looking around for an apt or home, keep in mind the colors used on the walls, and whether the landlord will let you get away with neutral paint changes. If you are already in a home that needs to be painted, it doesn't hurt to ask your landlord if they are willing to paint or if you can. If that isn't feasible for you maybe ask about temporary changes like a stick on wallpaper that can be taken off later.
If you own your home and have more wiggle room in this area, then try to pick a paint color, that is classic and timeless, a beautiful white, or neutral color, that will go well with cozy and simple decor.
7- TRY NOT TO USE A LOT OF KNICK KNACKS
These little pieces can start to overwhelm a space very quickly, it's okay to have a couple small pieces that you love, but when there are a lot of these items, your home will start to look cluttered and chaotic instead of simple and cozy. We can make just as much impact (if not more) with just a couple intentional pieces that are unique to
us.
8- KEEP WALLS ,CORNERS, AND SURFACES EMPTY
This one is really more important than it sounds, our brains can easily get overwhelmed by stimuli and it can be helpful to break up our decor and furniture in a way that still leaves empty space and breathing room.
This goes for the unseen space in our homes as well. If we open a drawer and find that it's packed full and messy, we are automatically going to feel overwhelmed or maybe even frustrated by this.
It's important to give ourselves room to breathe, to have open spaces that feel airy and very intentional. Especially in those spaces that our eyes wonder too , like the floors, countertops and walls that are within eye level.
I'm still working on clearing my countertops, and surfaces, but the more I simplify, I begin to notice how much more spacious my home feels. We can begin to feel closed in when we are surrounded by stuff and that does not lead to a cozy and minimal vibe.
9- ADD TEXTURE
When we add different elements and textures to a room, it gives it depth without becoming chaotic. I like to use a lot of neutral woods, wickers, ratan and wicker, linens and cream colors. I remember a blog post by Amanda Pahls which you can read here that was titled “Layers are the secret” and I couldn't agree more.
When we layer different textures, like a fur blanket on top of a side chair, or cozy blankets and throw pillows we can add a really warm and inviting vibe to our home.
10 - DON'T OVER COMPLICATE IT & BE INTENTIONAL
The key to a truly minimal, warm & cozy space, is to not overcomplicate it.
You don't need to have everything perfect, or even to follow every tip I've laid out.
It's more important that you take the time to be intentional about your space, and to simplify it. Go with your intuition, you can sense what feels cozy and peaceful, and that may look slightly different to each individual.
Go with your gut, when you're curating your space.
In the end it is supposed to make you and your family feel cozy and reflect what you love about minimal and simple living. So bring in the elements that inspire you from others homes, but leave the rest.
I hope these tips bring you inspiration and motivation to start your journey towards a simplified and cozy space.
