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I’m guilty as charged that I like this type of content. I remember getting a comment that this type of content is soulless. It might be that these kinds of content show performative aestheticism. They show hyper-curated and stylized homes that are almost impossible and can be disconnected from reality. However, this is aspirational content. Who wouldn’t want to have an aesthetically pleasing space to live in?
I want to have an aesthetically pleasing home to go back into. I like curated sofas, curated arts, lamps, and even a colour palette that matches the concept of the house. I’ve always been hugely interested in interior design; I have talked about interior and exterior design for many years. Having to visit multiple cafes and such, it wasn’t only the coffee that captured my heart. It was the aesthetic of the place that bewitched me. Long story short, I wanted that piece of heaven brought back home.
Honestly, whenever I watched that content, I felt like it subtly whispered to me that I was falling short—that I was too poor to even dream of having such an aesthetic.
Who changes furniture every couple of months? I could never know beyond and behind the screen but sometimes these type of aesthetic content can seem like a facade and only follows the trend.
Even the minimalist movement once had a specific type of aesthetic to it. The joke was that you’re not a minimalist if you don’t have beige or black-and-white curated decor, fashion and styles. It was also branded as something only the middle to upper class could afford. The thing is, that was true. As a trend, minimalist was marketed that way; it was the aspirational content everyone wanted to see. That is ironic as it’s just another way of introducing consumerism and straying from the core of minimalism.
Only this year did the movement move away from that definition. This year was the turning point that to be a minimalist, you don’t have to be aspirational. It was marketed differently but has changed into some other trends and names despite the messaging that it’s minimalism’s true spirit.
In my personal experience, I was drawn to the allure of this aestheticism that minimalism portrays. Well, not specifically that I wanted a monochrome colour home, but just that sleek, hospital-like area appealed to me. Until I moved to my home, which started like a broken canvas that needed a lot of repairs; you see, I recently visited my biological family’s house. They have this extended house that is empty. It was like a mini gallery and a cosy home. I could live there and could dream of building my own swimming pool but I chose the broken canvas one where I had to start from scratch.
My current home may not look like a Pinterest board or the YouTube content for now, but soon, it’ll reflect my efforts and creativity-— a space that I could call home and not a projection of someone's perfection. It’s a lot make and do for now. I still need to pierce the house together again and making sure to stick to the original concept, a contemporary Mediterranean home. I don’t know when I’ll ever finish, but I am sure I am not chasing trends; I am projecting a space that feels much like me with intentional aesthetics and things inside it.
Now, in another note ever since I lived with my mom, who has a different lifestyle than mine, I also needed to be realistic that having a hospital-like house would be nearly impossible. She likes cluttering her space, and my grandma would probably scream from her grave. My grandma was a minimalist and borderline OCD, and my mom is nothing like her. I am sure she would get so worked up seeing her space and the clutter if she were still alive today. The house was minimalist when my grandma was still alive. Now, with my mom moving in and such, I could safely say I can kiss goodbye to have the dream of having a youtube channel showing a perfectly curated home.
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But at least I can find a middle ground. Just as I touched on the subject that perfection has its cost, and with the current economy going downhill, I can see the appeal of reusing and finding new uses for an old item. As you know, it helps with saving money. For example, I split this bottle of mosquito repellent and used my mom’s old bottle. So, instead of buying two, we’d have two bottles in half-and-half amounts, which is enough to last us for a couple of weeks. The same goes for furniture and such. I am reusing old carts that can still hold my things, and I did minimal work on them. It might not be as aesthetically pleasing as newer furniture, but it’s still functional, and with a little organization, it could look as good as new and fit into my room’s aesthetic.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if a house is a patched-up, broken canvas; as long as it brings comfort and contentment, that’s the way to be grateful.
 | 𝘔𝘢𝘤 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘢 & 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘳 . 𝘈 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴, 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨, 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴, 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴, 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯! 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘱𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘈 𝘳𝘦-𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘰. |
I'm happy Abu this shift in the minimalist movement, where people see that it's ok to have your personal style and still be minimalist.
It's interesting to hear your views, since you're from a country that I'd say has a huge influence on minimalism design.
That's strange eh? It's like a generation gap.
I'm sure you'll eventually have a dream house or a dream acfe one day Mac. Just keep believing and working towards it:)))
I see this in one of my old school friends too. Her parents were very strict and clean and their house was NEVER messy. They weren't minimalist, but the kids had lots of chores so the place was spic-n-span all the time.
Meanwhile, as soon as she moved out and got married (she got married young), that friend and her husband's home has always been chaotic. No judgement, people probably think I'm chaotic, but it's like after years of having to keep everything tidy, she rebelled. xD
That's interesting. I wonder if that's the case with my husband. His mom needs everything spic-n-span all the time, and he's the total opposite.😂
Happy Holidays:)))
Happy holidays to you, too!
Thank you 🤗
🤣 I wonder if there's really generational gap since that seems to be the case? my other grandma is the same. She's neat and clean but the rest of her children aren't. So I think there's definitely something there.
I like the spirit of adaptability here! I don't think it contradicts any minimalist ethos or whatever finding practical use for old items. :) Also, who in the hell replaces furniture every few months? It seems the antithesis of minimalism - sounds like great wastefulness and consumerism :D
hahahaha that's how it was before. I am just happy it doesn't marketed that way anymore.I mean these people can replace their furniture so often cause they are paid for it hehe
The house reflects you? You mean its painted from top to bottom in coffee colour and the lights are on all the time because it never rests? ;-)
The first picture is gorgeous, a couple of rugs and bean bags and it will be the most chilled room ever!
Never stop doing what youre doing, and never stop simply being you!
lmaooooo that's so on point. The craziest part is that my room has overheard 30 watts that are 20% on all the time haha. Most bedroom here only requires 20-17 beyond that it's gonna look like the house is partying all the damn time haha
Someone commented to me that these perfectly curated influencer homes look like galleries or show house, not places where people live and definitely not cosy. Me, I'm working to get as many things off the floor as possible so I can have one of those robot cleaners. Carts are great, I love the little trolly things you can get from IKEA and other places and, in the short term, while I'm saving up, I will probably stick everything behind floor to ceiling curtains. I have a large bolt of calico that I can see a future for (I have been carrying it around for about twenty-five years, it's time it earned its living)!
I like the idea of the broken canvas house and gently bringing it together as you want. It reminds me of kintsugi. Looking forward to seeing how you create your home.
They are definitely like a show house or they just have this strictly routine and habit to maintain the state of their house. I mean, I have cats and you can imagine how messy it can be with their furs and them scratching the sofas haha.
I wish by next year they're more livable. I'd love to invite friends over and have a room ready for them 😊. I am an only child in this family and I always love having people enliven the house. Thank you for checking this one out, I really appreciated it 😊
I think they are often rich enough to have help 😂
Haha ... just imagining the cats! Pets definitely bring you down to earth 😍.
I'm sure that little by little you'll get things how you want, I'm enjoying reading about you creating your home. It inspires me.
Oh, I'm with you, I like the aspirational content of this sort where it's more about cleaning and such. Do you follow Nami on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@naminokurashi/videos)?
I am in the middle between minimalist and maximalist, in that I very much have the patchwork reuse aesthetic, I like seeing colorful, beautiful things around my home and I don't like plain beige and empty walls, but I don't want a lot of stuff, if that makes sense. I live in a small one bedroom apartment (~52sqm) and I don't want it to be taken over with stuff, but I do like to SEE the things that make me happy. I call myself the Reformed Hoarder because I've had to learn to get rid of things, and it makes me very happy the progress I've made. An actual minimalist would never call me minimalist, but compared to where I was, it's a big change. And an actual maximalist who is collecting things wouldn't call me a maximalist because I don't want to add more and more, but I do have things all around. LOL
PS I love your curtains!
I don't follow Nami on youtube but because you showed me her page, now I do. I think it's fine to match whatever is needed for your comfort. I can see how small space can feel cluttered fast, I used to live in 6sqr and that was so tiny. It's also why living minimal is my go-to and that also goes when I am now living in much bigger space.
Thank you for loving the curtain, they do look great and somehow looks cozy as well 😊
6 square meters? Or am I misunderstanding that? 😮
yeah, I used to live in 3x3 room 😄 now I live in 200sqm house
Oh my goodness, that room is tiny! No wonder you developed a minimalist aesthetic.
I enjoyed reading this post. Sometimes I also wonder what actually is minimalist. I think I am one but am not 100% sure though. It reminded me when people were asking what's the theme of my place when I bought one a few years back and did renovation. I didn't have an answer because I just had a practical and simple mindset and wanted to only have stuff that is functional in the house. At the end of the day, like what you mentioned, it's all about contentment and the mindset. :)
I think you are a minimalist when you put things into your home intentionally instead of buying for the sake of buying. So, I suppose in a way you're a minimalist hehe
Hehe you are right in that sense! :)
Thank you so much for the extra appreciation 😊
It's our pleasure, always:)))
@macchiata, you're rewarding 7 replies from this discussion thread.