Can you REALLY go Minimal and Comfortable?
The short answer: Yup. Read on, and I’ll show you how. In fact, I’m going to point out the five ways we stayed Modern in this home, but still comfortable and casual. Because while you want your home to look beautiful, you also want to relax in it.
Sleek & Modern California Living
Hi friend, welcome to Postbox Designs, I’m Kristin! I’m a former biochem nerd turned Interior Designer, and while I worked as a traditional designer for over a decade, for the last three years I’ve been exclusively working via Online Interior Design. And I got to tell you…it is the best gig in the world. I work with the best clients all over the country. These fabulous people want a beautiful home that works in Real Life (no “look-but-don’t-touch” rooms here!), but they feel overwhelmed with trying to pull together a finished look all on their own. When we pair up to work together, I create a fully custom design for them. After designing my clients room, I create a Room-Inside-A-Box with all of their drawings, shopping lists, instructions, and material samples, and send it right to their door!
And recently this California client reached out to me-she and her husband and just remodeled their home. But they now needed to finish off their rooms for a polished, completed look. And my client was very sure of her style: she likes modern, minimalistic decor in neutral colors, but it still needed to have a comfortable and casual feel to it. And while she liked the white, gray, and black palette, she also requested pops of her favorite color: orange.
Modern Dining Room Makeover
My client not only needed Dining Room furniture, but she also wanted to create a soft seating area in their Dining Room. She and her husband wanted to be able to hang out and read here. We also had some big factors to work around-such as a large wall of sliding doors, a TV focal point, and a fireplace. I wanted to create a modern, minimalistic look for her, but one that was comfortable at the same time.
This photo (#1) was an inspirational photo we used from her Pinterest board to create her custom design. We started with this All Modern Dining Room table (#2) but with comfortable, upholstered chairs (#13) with clean lines. The fabric on these chairs is also a commericial grade so it is going to be more durable and easy to clean than the standard fabric (a good thing to think about when food is around the furniture!).
We created her soft seating area with this mini sectional from West Elm (#3) pair up with a pop of graphic pattern in this CB2 ottoman (#12). To make it feel more comfortable we added in some throw pillows, including giving her the pop of orange she wanted (#9 and #10). We created a Gallery Wall for her, showing her exactly where to hang each picture, and what size to order (not shown). We used minimalistic photography of items that hint to her California surroundings (#3, 7, and 8). The black and white photography will help create this calm, minimal look.
Modern But Comfortable Tip #1: Choose the Right Furniture Silhouette
I know, when you think minimal, you think hard, uncomfortable haute couture furniture that you can’t even sit on. Well not here baby! You can still get a sleek modern look, but with furniture you can curl up on. When you are looking at upholstered furniture (think sofa or armchair), the silhouette of the piece is where it is at. Look for these elements for a modern piece of furniture. (such as that West Elm sectional sofa below, #4), it has all of these:
Straight arms or a boxy silhouette
Minimal Open legs (usually straight or angled out slightly)
Wood or metal legs
Natural, textured upholstery
But don’t forget comfort! In this sofa, it has angled back cushions so it is comfortable to actually sit on too. Plus, we chose a “Performance” fabric that is more durable and easy to clean than traditional fabric. The slightly textured upholstery is soft yet modern
And finally, she requested a buffet for storage, that also had room for her tea service. This modern buffet (#16) can be topped with two lamps (#14) and a single oversized print (#15) can be hung right over it. A neutral rug from West Elm (#5) helps unify the whole area.
But I always include a round of revisions with all of my designs.
I have found it is so much easier for my clients to give feedback off a specific design, than try to describe their dream room from scratch.
So in Version #2 we made a few swaps. My client wanted to see a rectangle table (#4) this time. She also wanted to see two armchairs (#1) instead of the sectional sofa. I also included new pieces to show her a completely different look. But the best part is both designs are meant to be mix-and-matched, so she can choose the items she loves best from either design.
Modern But Comfortable Tip #2: Choose the Right Patterns
An easy way to go minimal is by choosing the right patterns and textures in your room. But this has nothing to do with comfort! We still layered on comfy throw pillows and a cushy ottoman into her design, we just kept the look modern with the fabrics we chose. When looking to create a modern look:
Go with mostly neutral fabrics, keep interest with textures
If using a pattern, go subtle such a simple stripe
Use bold patterns sparingly: We used one pop of graphic pattern in this ottoman (#2)
Stick with a neutral palette: Whites, creams, grays, tans, blacks with a small pop of color if you want
Modern But Comfortable Tip #3: Add in Cozy Textures
Another way to soften a minimal or modern look is by adding in some comfy, cozy textures. Try a faux fur pillow or throw (see Item #8 above), a soft, plush rug (#5), or even a throw blanket. On her Dining Room chairs, even though the silhouette is very modern (Tip #1), it is an upholstered West Elm chair (#10) so it is going to feel sofa and comfortable.
A Modern Home Office & Guest Bedroom Makeover
I’m sharing two of the four rooms we worked on together in this blog post (be on the look out for the next few rooms in a future post!). The second room we tackled was their mixed space Home Office and Guest Bedroom. They already owned this Ikea sectional sofa (#4) that pulled out as a guest bed. So we had to design a room that would work equally as well for overnight guests, as family TV watching, and for her Home Office.
Storage is your new BFF: A Minimal but Comfortable Bedroom Makeover
The #1 priority for this room was LOTS of storage. So in this version we started with the Ikea Besta system-it is modern and sleek, and chock full of storage. She can use the cabinets for Home Office supplies, and put their TV in the middle of the unit.
Then we sprinkled in some modern California casual beach artwork (#6 and 7), and some modern textured pillows for her sofa (#8, 9, and 10). A side table (#10) and lamp (#11) were requested items for their overnight guests when this sofa was doing double duty as a bed. And finally, we added in her favorite color with this orange abstract rug (#15).
Modern but Comfortable Tip #4: Add in Plants
Plants and greenery always make a room feel more REAL. It brings in life and light, and makes a room feel more comfortable. If you are like me and have a brown thumb, you can totally go faux as well. To avoid looking like your crazy great aunt’s house where plants are taking over, you can go with more modern looking plants. Some types that work well in a modern setting:
Succents
Cacti
Snake Plant
Ferns
Fiddle fig
Rubber Plant
Use a sleek, simple vase (See Item #11 and 12)
For Version #2 of this Home Office and Guest Bedroom, we kept the same neutral, minimal look, but with a different twist. My client wanted to see a storage unit that didn’t need to be attached to the wall, so we went with a free standing storage piece (#1) as well as a modern side table with extra storage (#5). Simple modern botanical line drawings (#6) and this modern print with her pop of orange (#7) add a sleek element to the room.
We added in lots of neutral, textured pieces with these pillows (#9-11) that add in a subtle graphic punch.
Modern But Comfortable Tip #5: Keep It Natural with Wood
To avoid a cold, sterile look you want to break up stark white or black pieces with plenty of warm, natural woods. Adding in warm woods automatically makes a room feel more comfortable and real (just like with the plants from Tip #4). In this Home Office we used items like the above side table (#13) and the wood lamp (#2). Even thought we have plenty of sleek, glossy white furniture, these natural pops help bring some ‘realness’ to the room. We did the same thing in her Dining Room with the wood buffets and wood table legs. What woods work best in modern decor?
Light: Beech or Birch
Medium: Light or Natural Oak can go modern (stay away from yellow or orange tones)
Dark: Walnut, Cherry (stay away from red tones)
How Do You Create a Room that is Modern But Comfortable?
They do NOT have to be mutually exclusive. And if one spouse loves modern and the other loves traditional? You can combine the two, I promise. Here is a wrap-up of my tips for going minimal but comfortable:
Tip #1: Choose the Right Furniture Silhouette (square arms, open legs)
Tip #2: Choose Modern Patterns (stick mostly with textured solids, adding in some subtle pattern or one pop of graphic pattern)
Tip #3: Layer in Cozy Textures (faux fur, cushy rugs, soft but modern pillows)
Tip #4: Add in Plants (succulents, cacti, rubber plants, snake plants all work well)
Tip #5: Keep it Natural with Wood. Adding in wood tones into a modern room give it a warmth and coziness
Want to see even more Modern But Comfortable Designs?
Check out the Before and Afters of these makeovers! And believe me, they may look modern, but they are also comfortable and casual. Check them out and get some ideas for yourself.
A Modern Living Room…That You Can Actually Rent!
A Modern Living Room On a Budget (And the drool worthy sofa…)
Grab Some Free Designs
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Questions about anything you have seen (or about your own project)? Send me an email at kristin@postboxdesigns.com
and we will chat all about you!
Cheers,
Kristin
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