Minimalist design features have flourished as a kickback to the busy and ornate design trends of old. In today’s world, decorating your home minimally offers the added benefits of saving money, looking chic, and creating a calm atmosphere in the home to reduce stress and help you keep an orderly life.
It’s a design that functions especially well in the kitchen – a place where you go to prepare food and eat in peace, undisturbed by the potential mess of the rest of the home (children’s toys strewn across the living room; clothes spilling out of the wardrobe in the bedroom; etc). Keeping clean, uncluttered surfaces in the kitchen is also a common-sense option for those with children – keeping your utensils locked away should prevent any accidents due to small wandering fingers.
When considering a modern, minimalist kitchen renovation, discuss your ideas with Renovation Capital, Australia’s best kitchen designers who specialise in minimalist styles and can bring your vision to life. To inspire you, we’ve listed 5 simple ways, as well as some key considerations to think about, so that you can turn your kitchen into a minimalist haven, and create a tranquil atmosphere that you will love spending time in.
1. Open Space
Clean, open space is a must for minimalist rooms of any kind and can easily be achieved in the kitchen. Even better is to have an open-plan kitchen, living and dining area; but if this isn’t a possibility for you, start in the kitchen by having nothing on the main floor area except a table and chairs. Floor space is important for creating a visual illusion of a bigger room – perfect for small kitchens. Keep all other appliances and amenities integrated as part of your kitchen benchtops and away in cupboards.
2. Natural Material
Exposed brick walls, hardwood tables, stone benchtops – all are perfect for creating a cosy Scandi-cool minimalist kitchen. Try to use as many light colours as possible – if you have dark wood flooring, for example, offset this with white walls and pale-coloured benchtops.
Alternatively, you can go the other route of minimalism and use man-made materials like acrylic and laminate if you prefer a high-shine, white glossy finish to your minimalist space.
3. Clean Lines
Flat-door cabinets with no handles, large cupboards, and symmetry are all important features of minimalist spaces. The aim is to make everything as clean, unfussy and easy on the eye as possible; and creating clean lines in your space is the perfect way to do this. Try to line up all your tabletops with your benchtops and ensure that above-benchtop storage flows in line with below-benchtop cupboards. Choose angular shapes, like square tables and chair-backs, rather than circular and curved. Geometry and sharp edges are staples of the minimalist theme.
4. Everything In Its Place
The other basic foundation of modern minimalism is to keep your space uncluttered. Usually, unnecessary decorations and ornaments don’t feature, and only functional objects are kept in the room. These are all put away when not being used – e.g. all utensils are kept in drawers and cupboards, mugs are stored away, and the functional design of the kitchen is allowed to do the talking. This is supposed to create a calm and relaxing space: a tidy home means a tidy mind.
This isn’t to say that you can’t show your personality in your kitchen. Display some candles, some small pictures on the walls, and a flower vase – but keep trinkets and adornments to a minimum.
5. Spotlight
Cast your kitchen in the spotlight by incorporating carefully-placed recessed lighting. Simple lighting options like this, rather than heavy chandeliers or decorative light shades, are best for not stealing the show from the minimalist design. If you don’t like recessed lighting, metallic pendants are a modern option enjoying popularity at the moment, as are exposed bulbs. Use dimmed bulbs to prevent over-lighting the area.
Key Things To Consider For A Minimalist Kitchen
Consider The Colour Scheme
There are many benefits to finding the right colour scheme for your kitchen. Minimalism and a modern kitchen can go hand-in-hand with sleek benchtops and stainless steel accents.
Or, minimalist kitchens can be very neutral and natural. Grab your paintbrush and get a solid colour scheme in mind! Neutral tones are essential for decorating in modern and minimalist kitchens. This does more than make the room look simple – it also creates the illusion of more space, which is great for small kitchens. This is amplified by making sure to use colours from the same colour family.
Special Occasion Dinnerware
Oh, sorry – were you planning to only use that gorgeous set for Christmas or your anniversary? Think again! If you have different dinnerware for everyday use and special occasions, your minimalist kitchen might get a bit cluttered.
Minimalism means that you keep the things that make you happy – so use those special occasion sets every day! What’s the point of keeping multiple sets when you never use some of them? You may as well make every single day a special occasion!
Get Food Wise With Your Minimalist Kitchen
As much as we love to talk about kitchen aesthetics, we don’t forget functionality. Yes, colours and flat-panel cabinets are beloved, don’t get us wrong. However, food is really the heart of the kitchen – so make sure you have space for it.
Even if your minimalist kitchen doesn’t have a pantry – buying a rack can make your home look more busy than necessary. If you ensure that your cabinets are decluttered from the get-go, you won’t need to buy more storage space to clutter your kitchen surfaces.
Look at your food – do you see expired items, things you forgot you had, freezer meals that have been there for months, or a meal kit you have yet to use? Remember to use what you have – and then restock.
Do You Actually Use That Juicer?
Appliances can absolutely clutter up a kitchen. If you love having lots of appliances to do lots of different things – you might need to take a step back and rethink. Do you really use your rice cooker, toaster, knife block, coffee plunger and coffee machine in your home? Do you really need a cheese slicer and a cheese grater? Often, the answer is no.
If your appliances don’t have select places to live in your kitchen – they’ll take up counter space. Keep what you love and use often – otherwise, say goodbye or put it away to keep so that it doesn’t take up unnecessary room.
Wrap It Up With A Minimal Kitchen Design
A minimalist kitchen can be a beautiful touch to your home. Declutter, open up the space, and embrace minimalism! If you are looking for the best minimalist kitchen design, give Renovation Capital a call today. Our interior design team can help you achieve the minimalist kitchen of your dreams – whilst helping you to keep things that you truly love and use.
