VT Home: The Luxury in ‘Less is More’

This kitchen is the perfect example of luxurious minimalism. The use of black and white with the neutral marble floor is clean and timeless. Also notice the lack of ‘unnecessary’ baseboards in the form of floating walls.

When architectural master Mies van der Rohe coined the term ‘less is more’ he was referring to the concept of minimalism. In a nutshell, minimalism is the stripping away of any unnecessary elements and focusing only on what is needed. While minimalism is technically the opposite of decoration, it has become quite popular in the past two decades as the world around us has become increasingly chaotic.

A very good friend of mine is a wildly creative force in the fashion industry and can only live in a minimalist environment. Nearly everything in his home and office is white and you can count on one—or at most two hands—the amount of objects in each room. When I began studying interior design, I asked him what was with the all white theme. He explained that because he is constantly being bombarded with images, color, and ‘noise’, that he finds comfort in a clean (and white!) slate.

Are you a minimalist at heart? Find out by answering these three easy questions:

1) Do you like the look of clean surfaces and monochromatic environments with very few objects?

2) Can you count the number of objects in each room and is every object functional and necessary?

3) What is the color story?

It is true that a minimalist would prefer mostly white, or white and black, or grey, but this doesn’t dictate whether the room is minimalist or not. You can still use one color or just one object of color as a pop—this aesthetic is more avant-garde but still qualifies as minimal.

It’s important to note that minimalism doesn’t necessarily mean cold. Nowadays, designers use wood and other natural stone elements from the period of the home as a base, the result is warmth and a certain degree of coziness.

Read on for a few examples of minimalism that will help you decide whether it’s the right aesthetic for you.

This room is an incredible fusion between ornate architectural details and minimalist styling.

This minimalist kitchen is masked by beautiful classically detailed panelling and moulding. It lends itself to a relatively classic contemporary home or even an extreme avant-garde.

The apartment of Emmanuel de Bayser in Berlin.

A very chic, sexy, and masculine, minimalist bathroom in black slate and concrete.

Architectural style and interesting textural elements work very well with minimalism. These brick floors and incredible moulding detail is perfect with contemporary furnishings.

This is another example of complex architectural elements working beautifully with a minimalist aesthetic. The pop of yellow also works brilliantly.

Using warm saddle colored leather cushions creates a luxurious vibe in this cool minimalist room.

This incredible space epitomizes bohemian rustic loft minimalism.

A masculine, minimal bedroom in black, white, and grey. Remember, minimalism doesn’t always mean black or white but you what you will notice is clean and simple use of fewer colors.

This brilliantly clean minimal moment is actually a lower level basement turned zen garden. The play on light creates a perfect open and airy environment for a home library and playroom.