Modernism is a classic, timeless design style that adds sophistication to any household. It emphasizes the use of a neutral color scheme, strong geometric shapes, and minimalism to create a balanced, clean-looking environment. Many homeowners choose to implement modernist interior design into their homes due to its simplistic and classic feel, which virtually never goes out of style. If you’re interested in learning how to make your home look more modern, check out these modernist interior design tips.
Go minimal
Modernist interior design is all about minimalism. When aiming to implement this style in your home, start by eliminating all unnecessary items and decorations. For guidance on determining how to decorate your rooms, follow the “less is more” approach: keep walls mostly bare, and limit decorations to a few purposeful pieces. Decorations should make a statement without being loud or distracting—steer clear of loud patterns, especially when it comes to choosing furniture. Instead, aim for simple, timeless fabrics.
Before adding new items to your home, make sure they serve a distinct purpose. They should complement the look of your home’s architecture and furniture rather than conceal and detract from it. As such, most of your design budget should go toward high-quality furniture pieces that can stand on their own and serve as focal points in a room. By implementing a minimalist mindset when styling your home, your space will look cleaner and larger, as it won’t be overwhelmed with excess belongings and clutter.
Stick to a neutral color scheme
A neutral color scheme is essential to any modernist home. Many people envision cold, stark-white rooms contrasting with black accents when they think of the modernist design. However, many modernist homes incorporate a variety of warm—yet neutral—tones such as tans, browns, and creams. Including these earthy, natural hues into a home’s color scheme create an inviting atmosphere that never goes out of style. Plus, painting your walls and ceiling with these colors can also make space appear larger.
Add contrast
Adding contrast to your home will make a striking impact without being overly flashy. It also helps add depth and interest to a room while maintaining a classic look. One of the main ways to add contrast to a room is by using color to offset the neutral color scheme. For a dramatic look, choose a darker or more vibrant color to complement the neutral walls and use it as an accent color, incorporating it into decorations or furniture throughout the room.
Utilizing different shapes can also add contrast to home. As you’ll read below, furniture and decorations in modernist interior design usually consist of hard lines and shapes such as rectangles and squares. A great way to add contrast to a modernist room is to incorporate a few rounded light fixtures or pieces of décor.
Incorporate natural elements
Without incorporating natural elements, modernist interior design may end up looking a little cold and unwelcoming. As such, you should consider including earthy elements such as natural eucalyptus or bamboo flooring, or even an indoor garden. Adding some plants throughout your home will lend a nice touch of color to the neutral tones of your home and help liven up the area. You could also experiment with other natural elements such as stone flooring or faux leather furniture.
Use geometric shapes
One of the main trademarks of modernist interior design is straight, strong architectural lines, so geometric shapes appear frequently throughout modernist homes. Because furniture often serves as the focus of modernist homes, try to stick to rectangular or square shapes when furnishing your home. However, as we mentioned above, don’t be afraid to play around with curves when it comes to decorations or lighting fixtures. Many modern homes also feature cylindrical columns which form a nice balance of strong, vertical lines with rounded shapes.
Find classic pieces
Unlike other design trends whose concepts fluctuate over time, the principles of modernist design remain consistent. Its main characteristics of simplicity and minimalism never waver. As such, you should search for classic, sophisticated pieces when designing the interior of your home. When choosing decorations and furnishings, try to steer clear of trendy pieces that will go out of style in a few years and instead opt for ageless pieces that will stand the test of time.
Utilize reflective surfaces
Reflective surfaces are often utilized in modernistic interior design. Exposed glass, mirrors, metals, and other shiny surfaces can be used in decorations and light fixtures or incorporated in furniture such as coffee tables for a sleek, modern look. Implementing these reflective surfaces helps increase the sense of space in a home. Also, they improve the lighting in an area by bouncing artificial and natural light around the room.
Open up your floor plan
The modernist design seeks to create a feeling of spaciousness, regardless of the size of your home. Opening up your floor plan is one of the many ways this style helps make your home appear larger. An open floor plan concept eliminates the walls between two or more rooms in the house to create a larger space. For example, the kitchen and dining room may not be divided by a wall separating the two rooms. By adopting an open floor plan, you’ll reduce the number of small, enclosed rooms in your home and give it an airier feel without having to expand your property.
Keep it clean
After you have designed and decorated your space, it’s important to keep it clean. Cluttered countertops and messy floors go against the simple and minimalist design principles of modernism, so you should make an effort to declutter as much as possible. You should also refrain from steadily accumulating items that will distract from your home’s sleek feel. To keep clutter in check, make use of storage areas in your home, and invest in stylish containers, which will help minimize the appearance of untidiness.
By following these tips, you can establish the clean, timeless, and simple feel of modernist interior design in your home.
