Having a clutter free home is a priority for our family. Having minimal possessions within our home has allowed us to have more time in our lives for what truly matters. Come with me and explore our clutter free home.
We bought our home in the fall of 2022. We had been living a minimalist lifestyle for years prior so we knew we would carry that lifestyle philosophy over to our new home as well.
Our home is a little over 1700 square feet. In the current housing market this size home would be considered small but it was exactly what we were looking for. A large part of us having a minimalist home means not having more “home” than we actually need. The square footage of our home is perfect for our family of five. Having “less” space encourages us to be clutter free.
Built in the 1980’s, it seemed a little out of its time. When I think of the 80s, I don’t visualize vaulted wood beam ceilings, reclaimed hardwood floors, an oversized brick fireplace with separate wood storage or a vintage bathtub. This house had an early century charm, and we loved it from the moment we saw it.
However it still very much had some lingering 80’s design that we have since updated. I am going to show you the charm of this home, and what we did to both preserve it’s character while updating key parts – and future plans (we definitely aren’t finished yet).
Our Land
We adore the land of our home. Sitting on 2 acres, we have plenty to work with. We wanted a place that would allow our children to play outdoors for a majority of their time and enjoy nature. Most of our home projects so far have been indoors, but we have certainly added our touch to the outside as well.
Wrap Around Porch
The wrap around porch was near the top of our list when looking for homes. The porch definitely gives our home a farmhouse style.
We have done several things to update this area of our home. We repainted the porch floor to give it a fresh look, but mainly for weather protection. We also replaced the light fixtures to match the farmhouse style. Our latest project for the porch was replacing all of the railing because of rot. We kept the simple minimal picket design pictured above and will paint everything with a fresh coat of white paint this spring.
We LOVE the oversized window which looks into our dining room. It provides an amazing view of our land during meal time. The trim also caught our eye.
We have kept our porch decor very minimal. We have two adult size rocking chairs as well as two small ones for the kids. The chairs, hanging flower baskets and a humming bird feeder are the only things that decorate our porch. We want our outdoor spaces to be clutter free as well.
The Barn
The previous owners of our home built a huge, 40’x40′ pole barn with a huge loft upstairs.
When we first bought the property we were a little perplexed as to what we wanted to do with this space. But that’s the wonderful thing about living a minimalist lifestyle. There is no pressure to feel the void whether its physical or emotional.
We eventually decided it would be perfect to host events and gatherings at our home. A big reason that we choose to live a minimalist lifestyle is so we will have time for the things/people that matter in our lives. This includes our family and friends and bringing them together for community.
We bought a bunch of tables and chairs from a church that was selling them on facebook marketplace. We now have a wonderful space for friends and family to gather.
The first year we lived here we had a family gathering of about 15-20 people, a summer party for our business which ended up being about 15-20 people, and lastly a friend reunion with 20 adults and 20 kids. We are definitely getting great use out of this space.
Interior
When walking around outside of our home it was easy to forget that our home was built in the 80’s. However, when you walked inside you were quickly brought back to reality. The house boasted a chair rail trim and a two color theme – a beautiful pumpkin orange color and tan.
Despite the poor paint color choices and the abundance of stuff we were able to see the possibilities of this home. We were drawn to the dark brown trim and chair rail. We knew the two color theme would look great if the right colors were chosen.
My husband and I both love craftsmen style design. We love earthy colors with plenty of wood to give a home a warm and cozy feel.
The first thing we did was have the entire interior of the house painted. When we bought our first home we painted and refinished floors all by ourselves. We had a much more limited budget at that time. It was a small home but it was a lot of work and time to get those projects accomplished. This time around, we decided to delegate a little more.
The two colors we chose for our walls were from Sherwin Williams. They were Timeless White for the top portion of the walls and Accessible Beige for beneath the chair rail. In the rooms without the chair rail we did all Timeless White.
This did wonders to brighten up the house and provide a fresh, warm upgrade. It provided a perfect balance to help the brown trim define the space without being too dark.
Dining Room
The dining room had several charming character traits we felt were not being shown to their full potential. We were excited to re-work this space to highlight the natural architecture already there.
We were thrilled with the results in this room. It still holds its farmhouse charm while gaining a brighter atmosphere and warm minimalist decor. We purchased a minimal, Amish made table, off of Facebook marketplace like many of our other home decor items. We love how crisp, clean and clutter free this room feels.
We originally thought the ceiling had a bronze or tin appearance that could create a nice vintage look but once we saw it in person, we realized it had to be changed.
We decided to use the Timeless White on the ceiling as well, hoping the design would still pop.
It did!
As a minimalist I love finding statement pieces for my home. These are pieces that we love and that stand out in a good way. I found this vintage glass light fixture (on Facebook marketplace as well) and I knew it was perfect for our dining room.
We still have plans to add some bookshelves in this room. Once we begin homeschooling, this room will serve multiple purposes as both dining room and school room. If you have any ideas as to what type of shelving would look good in this space send me a comment or message!
Warm Minimalist Living Room
Our living room is by far our favorite room of the house. The wood beam ceilings, the wide wooden trim along the walls, double french doors that open onto a deck, and an oversized brick hearth with a floor to ceiling design equipped with wood storage and a one-of-a-kind solid wood beam mantel reclaimed from an old country store.
This room had so much to offer! It needed a few tweaks — not to change it’s character but to emphasize it’s personality.
Here are a list of things we did:
- New wall paint
- Installed duel ceiling fans with brighter, white lights
- Removed both sets of curtains and added blinds to the window
- Switched out the fireplace grate to an all black one
- Switched out yellow and black outlet covers to white
When it came to decorating our living space we wanted to keep it open. After all our goal is a clutter free home. The brighter color furnishings complement the wood trims very nicely so there is a good balance between light and dark. We set up the furniture intentionally to leave a big open space in the middle of the room.
I think when most people envision a minimalist home they think of a cold space with one chair and black and white color themes. A minimalist home can look this way if that is your style but for our clutter free home we wanted a warm, cozy minimalism. We were slow to fill the spaces in our home. We took our time to get pieces that fit the warm, cozy minimal design that we were looking for. We lived in our house several months before buying any new furniture. Being a minimalist isn’t about not having anything it’s about having special pieces that truly mean something to you. Like my husband’s piano.
From CJ, my Husband:
This was my grandmother’s piano, who died before I was born. My mother had it in her home and I learned to play piano on it. She always told me whenever I had the space I could have it. It’s in my top 3 favorite pieces. Take your time when filling your home. Don’t waste space on things that don’t matter. Fill your house with pieces that bring you joy. Otherwise, keep a space empty and bare until you find it.
Above the piano is our television. We intentionally hung our TV off to the side in an inconspicuous place. We didn’t want to design our family room around the TV. We don’t believe television should be the focal point of a room or our lives.
Re-design your space to accommodate community without the aid of the TV.
We went with the Samsung Frame since it was designed to mimic just another art piece on the wall. Most of the time our TV is on art mode.
Minimalist Office
Another selling point of our home was the finished office space with bathroom on the back side of the garage. My husband works from home most of the time and we liked the idea of a “separate” space from the house. The previous owners of the home kept their dogs in this space so it definitely needed some work.
We had it cleaned and repainted the walls, baseboards, trim, and ceiling with the left over Timeless White color we used in the house.
More Coming Soon
We are still working on the other areas of our home and will have pictures coming soon. We can’t wait to show you our minimalist bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchen.
Everyone’s minimalist home will look different. Remember minimalism doesn’t mean cold and unwelcoming. I believe minimalism can be warm and cozy with a greater potential of making others feel welcome. I would love for you to share ways that you make your own home minimal and how it has changed how you and your family live life. Everyone’s journey towards minimalism look different…let’s make it a joyful one. Hugs to you all!
