25 Trendy Minimalist Living Room Ideas

A few pieces of furniture and lighting with a simple design are enough to evoke the “less is more” feeling, associated with natural materials and neutral colors, preferably in a modern living room. However, since the 1980s, some decorators have been practicing rigorous minimalism, described as cold and sometimes impersonal.

Thanks to their expertise and a new generation of designers, the minimalist living room experiences are evolving in the Japandi, and Scandinavian trends, moving towards warmer interiors than before, noble materials, and a few soft or more sustained colors. As for the gallery apartments, they decline the emblematic concept of industrial minimalism, in favor of works of art. The volumes are refined, white is de rigueur, while the furniture is reduced to its simplest expression, paintings, sculptures, or unique pieces of furniture are put in the spotlight.

What are the principles of a minimalist living room?

1. One of the recommended rules for a minimalist living room is to leave some wall sections free, decorated with an abstract painting, a light fixture, or a large wall mirror. A few minimalist frames can be part of a limited color palette, neutral beige or light gray tones. The brightness of a white living room does not prevent the expression of intense colors – generally, three are enough – in uniform touches, on a cushion, an armchair…
   
2. Minimalism does not necessarily rhyme with austerity and follows the trend of the home as a refuge. Furniture with softened geometric lines brings softness and lightness, covered with highly textured fabrics, velvet, curly wool, tweed… The centerpiece of the minimalist living room, the plain-colored sofa sits enthroned with a rather XXL seat, placed in a corner. The complementary elements of the minimalist living room decoration, coffee table, and accessories mark the functionality and harmony of the place.
   
3. We keep the essentials without the minimalist interior seeming empty, according to the theory of the Japanese Hideko Yamashita, author of the Dan-Sha-Ri formula. Getting rid of the superfluous allows you to create a real space of freedom but also to consume less.
   
4. Raw and natural materials, such as marble or wood, are often in the spotlight in the minimalist living room. The matte or shiny finishes bring nuances to a sought-after simplicity and elegance. On the floor, we favor a beautiful contemporary or antique rug, a pure wool carpet… If we opt for minimalism, the spirit of the decorator John Pawson is inspiring, or according to the 6 examples to follow, in the current trend

25 Amazing Minimalist Living Room Design

Light tones, walls left bare, except for a few functional accessories… This is the style given for the layout of the creative apartment of Martin Ehmele and Vince Bennett, located in a former military complex of the Arsenal in Vienna. The idea of a minimalist interior dominates and enhances the unique historic building. The owners fell in love with the vaulted ceilings which take on their full meaning in this very low configuration.

Semicircular arches almost five meters high, thick walls, furniture arranged (almost) at ground level… A serene and luminous sensation emanates from this balanced composition, while most of the furniture is vintage pieces found in flea markets or antique shops, like the vintage Ikea Söderhamn sofa, the Bidar ceiling light (House Doctor).

The modernism and functionality of this 1930 apartment, located in a Parisian building designed by Jean Ginsberg (1905-1983) and François Heep, won over the owners. The renovation was entrusted to the architect Baptiste Leguédes who restored a timeless and versatile brilliance to the open living room. In a bright white setting, the travertine table (Talka), and the two armchairs upholstered in fawn-colored fabrics by Gerrit Thomas Rietveld (Cassina), the curled wool chaise longue (Bureaux Lacroix) give the living room a cozy and modern atmosphere, while the original architecture extends the original Art Deco spirit.

By using white all over the walls of the living room and all the rooms of this English country house, the Cover Noir design studio has instilled a minimalist spirit, both modern and delicate. It has preserved the elements that make the charm of this historic Georgian-style house built in 1750: the moldings, and the parquet floor, by removing the superfluous without overloading the volumes. The white on the walls, the beige touches of the curtains, the marble of the coffee table, and the roundness of the armchairs create a slightly outdated atmosphere, punctuated by the central chandelier with tassels and a mirror above the renovated fireplace.

To furnish your minimalist living room, it’s not enough just to have less furniture but to pay attention to the simple elements that are enough to decorate it. Here are 5 key tips to achieve this:

1. Get rid of anything that clutters your space and your field of vision. The decor of your living room must be readable. Each piece of furniture and object thus becomes easily identifiable. Always keep in mind the minimalist adage of Mies van der Rohe: “Less is more”.
2. Choose furniture with simple curves, furniture with straight lines, and soft colors to bring lightness to the room. A minimalist-style living room is airy, elegant, and bright.
3. Favor noble and solid materials that impose themselves with simplicity, such as marble or dark wood which combines simplicity and elegance.
4. Leave several sections of the walls free and place a large wall mirror on one of them. You can also hang some thin frames of abstract and minimalist art.
5. Keep in mind that all decorative objects must have simple shapes and be made of sober and qualitative materials.

As mentioned, choose a few pieces of furniture with a simple design, cleverly staged in a spirit reminiscent of the modern style. A calm and harmonious atmosphere guaranteed! Furniture with clean lines is very appropriate for a minimalist look. In a version closer to trends, furniture with organic shapes such as rounded sofas will also inhabit your living room without the need to add other elements.

When it comes to color, choose a simple palette to dress your walls, furniture, and accessories. Opt for white, gray, beige, or greige that you will enhance with dark tones. Black, of course, remains the preferred color for furniture finishes. This contrast will give a sober tone and a strong relief. You can also emphasize the elegance of your white-dressed living room with chrome notes.

In a spacious living room, you can zone the space using:

• Sliding partition with glass (regular or frosted) and a metal frame (preferably black) – used to separate the kitchen area, allows you to instantly transform the space, creating two separate rooms.
• Architectural structures – minimalism allows you to fit voluminous geometric modules into the space, for example, cubes, suitable for placing a dressing room, workplace, mini-bedroom, and such structures are usually highlighted with color.
• Shelving (can be stationary and mobile) – open models are relevant, not violating insolation, but roomy.
• Finishes – plaster and wooden panels, paint, and wallpaper with a 3D effect are combined, and cladding with expressive relief or design is used to highlight the accent wall behind the sofa or in the TV zone.

It is not worth installing partitions, massive shelving structures, and decorative screens in a small room, so the main semantic load when zoning a small living room falls on the furniture. With its help, the following is highlighted:

• a recreation area – it is formed by a sofa, a coffee table, an armchair (pouf), and a floor lamp, and is outlined by a carpet.
• TV area – low cabinets, consoles, paired display racks with blank facades, and laconic shelves are in demand here.
• mini-dining room – can be represented by a dining group or a bar counter.

Accessories and lighting are also actively used to zone a small living room – local lighting is provided by table lamps, floor lamps, sconces, and pendants.

For decorating a minimalist interior, neutral colors and concise color schemes are preferred. And the most popular ones are:

• Monochrome. It can be done in gray, beige, or milky tones, but in any case, such a color scheme involves using up to seven shades of the chosen range in the project. The play of textures helps to further enrich the space – here the neighborhood of smooth and embossed, polished, and matte surfaces is appropriate.
• Dominant white. This option involves white ceiling and wall finishes, as well as a light wood floor. Against this “background”, light furniture and black accessories (lamps, shelving) will look advantageous. As for the shade of white, the choice depends on the illumination of the room: if the windows are to the north, and there is not enough light, we choose warm tones, and a fully lit room with windows to the south will not be damaged by shades of snow, which can add coolness to the interior.
• Dynamic contrast. The priority contrasting solution is a black and white mix, the graphics of which are smoothed out by light wood. The leading role in such an interior can be played by both white and black, but more often black is used for details: elements of sliding partitions, shelving, shelves, lamps.
• Coffee-chocolate range. This option occupies one of the first places in the list of fashion trends since it guarantees comfort. And to implement it, up to five shades of the selected palette are used.
• Bright accents (red, blue, emerald, lemon). The role of bright interior items is played by furniture (armchairs, poufs, sofa), textiles (curtains, blankets), and accessories (sofa cushions, posters). And the background (finish) in the living room with bright details is usually neutral.

Finishing materials for a minimalist living room are selected in light colors, and preference is given to natural cladding (wood, natural stone, brick) or realistic imitation.

Walls

The following are suitable for wall decoration:

• Acrylic paint – the color depends on the concept of the project.
• Plaster – Venetian, imitating concrete, textured.
• Wooden panels – with a smooth surface, corrugated, slatted, in the format of a panel, assembled from small fragments of a geometric shape.
• Stone slabs – marble, onyx, slate.
• Brick – plain, tinted, with a vintage effect.

The ceiling in a minimalist living room is predominantly white: plastered and painted with acrylic paint. But other options are also allowed, for example, a suspended structure made of wood or a floor “transitioning” to the ceiling. A white matte stretch fabric with hidden LED backlighting looks no less successful. And an ultra-fashionable non-standard choice is a concrete-look finish.

As a floor covering, a material with a wood texture is suitable:

• Parquet board – the most popular is the universal deck laying (the offset can be half or 1/3 of the plank), the classic “herringbone” (single and double), and squares.
• Laminate – a budget alternative to parquet board.
• Quartz vinyl (modular linoleum) – a wear-resistant option that does not require complex maintenance, optimal if pets live in the apartment.

The minimalist style implies conscious consumption and the use of only necessary things. And furniture for the living room is selected based on this principle. And the ideal furniture set includes multifunctional products:

• Sofa (straight, corner, modular) – transformable models with a low back are preferable, suitable for installation not only against the wall, but also in the center of the room, and used as a sleeping place for guests.
• Coffee table or a pair of coffee tables – act as companions for the sofa, suitable for placing table lamps.
• Compact storage systems – low chests of drawers, hanging cabinets, and console-type cabinets, placed in the TV zone.
• Built-in wardrobe – it is better to integrate furniture into a niche and complement it with mirrored facades that will work to expand the space.

Furniture items should be simple in shape but made of expensive materials: solid wood and veneer, natural leather, high-quality textiles, matte aluminum, and glass (matte is a priority).

The list of popular decor for a minimalist living room includes:

• Functional items: carpets with graphic design or plain, bright sofa cushions, floor vases, and designer flower pots.
• Mirrors, which are used in small rooms to expand the space, – in the format of decorative panels with elements of geometric shapes or large canvases that occupy walls and niches.
• Art objects – engravings, photo panels with macro images, abstract painting.

Minimalism is simple and concise, which makes it a suitable companion for more pretentious interior styles.

Eclecticism

Building an eclectic interior ensemble based on minimalism is a successful decorating idea. This option allows the presence of non-standard things in the interior (a designer chair in lemon or orange shade, printed textiles, and catchy ethnic ornaments will do).

You can add an urban mood inherent in high-tech to a laconic minimalist living room with the help of concrete-like plaster, neon lamps, and matte metal: metallic elements can decorate panels, screens, furniture, and lamps.

If your home has a lot of white or grey, you can liven things up by adding a colorful piece of furniture. Or, if you’re already happy with your furniture, you can just reupholster it with a bright fabric.

If your living room gets a lot of natural light, take advantage of it! Install large windows with clear glass to let the sunshine flood in and brighten up the space.

The showstoppers in this living room are clearly the center tables. While the chevron design of one of them adds an element of fun, the geometric design of the other one adds a feature of comfort with its clean lines. Not to forget the two unique lampshades that also help in quirking up the decor of this minimalist living room.

Wall decoration in this concept is reduced to the maximum, which is also why this style is very different from others. Place a large colorful painting with very graphic patterns, this allows you to bring life without overdoing it. To personalize your walls, if you have a somewhat ordinary living space, arrange battens in the style of paneling or moldings found in character apartments and paint them in the same shade as the wall, this will give rhythm to the space without distorting the minimalist side.

This minimalist living room embodies Scandinavian style with its soft colors, natural elements, and textures. The slanted wall and round table create a unique look, while large branches add a touch of nature that can be changed seasonally. Ample seating is provided by a large sofa and a simple accent chair without overcrowding the room.