Can Minimalism and Colour Ever Go Together?
To so many of us Minimalism refers to clean lines and black and white things. But you don't have to see the world in two colours to be a loyal Minimalist! Minimalism doesn't mean that no colour is ever allowed in your life anymore.
People nowadays tend to take things into the extreme and that might be the one and only problem of minimalism. Somehow over the time minimalism became a competition, instead of way of life. We're not focusing on how to declutter our space to make ourselves feel happier and free of consumerism.
Instead, we're almost addictively getting rid of our stuff just to be able to say “I didn't buy this. Instead, I threw away couple things and donated half of my wardrobe. How awesome am I?” Well, if you became minimalist just to seek praise, maybe you should reconsider your intentions.
But don't worry, because Project Nord is here to guide your through the confusing waters of minimalism and colour.
So what is it about then?
Minimalism isn't just about getting rid of things. Of course, decluttering your space is number one step according to any minimalist guide. But be careful though. As Jonathan Vieker warns us in his article, once he take up on minimalist lifestyle and started to get rid of things that “didn't add value” into his life, literally the only thing he took up was a new sort of addiction.
He got so consumed by throwing things away, that unnoticeably, he became obsessed with it. And switching one addiction for another definitely isn't and never was a purpose of this movement.
Another side of the problem, when we just lose control over the whole situation is mentioned by Joshua Fields Millburn in one of his videos on famous Livingroom Conversations. He talks about the problem of going too far with Minimalism, but in particular, what thing do we actually need.
Or more specifically, imagine this situation. You've made a decision to become a Minimalist, and so, logically, you start getting rid of things, keeping only the ones that, as previously mentioned, are “having value in your life”. But what if the things you thought you need and are valuable, actually aren't?
What if you abandon things that made you happy just because, from a logical perspective, as a minimalist you're not supposed to own them. And you exchanged them for things that practically you may use, but they spark no joy in your life.
So what is the whole thing actually about? In a words of true minimalists, it's about consciously choosing things that makes you feel happier. And that's where the colour question steps in.
You will understand what we mean when we say we need a bit of colour in our day if you're living up north just like we are. As adapting Scandinavians, we still have those moody times, especially on dark and short autumn days. So having a bright joyful poster hanging in our living room might just be the one thing we needed after a long day.
So, with that said, minimalism and colour are not only compatible, they are more or less inseparable. It's definitely not true, that minimalism doesn't have colour style, or personality. You can still experiment, even if you love monochromatic palettes. But of course, there are some rules.
Minimalism and colour
As Joshua brilliantly explains, the fact that you're a minimalist now doesn't necessarily mean that you have to avoid colour as it's your worst enemy. Minimalism and colour can definitely go together, especially if you find colour as element that brings joy into your everyday life.
We totally understand that from time to time you need to look at something else than empty white walls. That's why we didn't put all of our posters in one Minimalist collection or solely sticked with Line Art in all black and white. Even though these are pretty amazing, of course.
You don't necessarily have to throw it into garbage. On the contrary! As a true minimalist you have to understand that throwing things into trash is just about as bad as storing them in the back of your closet.
The things you no longer need and you know it's about the time to let them go, you can always donate them or give them as a gift to someone who may find them useful and beautiful. And when it comes to sentimental object, you can always ask around your folks at home. That way, you will let go of the things that became more of a burden, but sentimental one, so it'll still stay in the family.
So, like all the material things, colour works pretty much the same way. You want to even things out. The fact that your a minimalist now doesn't necessarily mean you have to only wear black and white clothes, because they are easy to combine. Colourful things are still easy to complement in your wardrobe, the most important thing is to find your own way to do things.
What we mean is find your own style. And it goes for everything, your clothes, your books, your interior, your hobbies. We could go on and on.
Even things out
One of many amazing things about minimalism is that it gives structure to your space and stuff you own. So, decluttering is step one, but adapting minimalism fully in your life will change your perspective in so many ways! Consumerism is a challenge we all face today, and it's about time we do something to break this unhealthy habit.
So if you made a decision to become a minimalist, you're on the right track. But same as with getting rid of your things and cleaning out your living space, when it comes to the new style you're slowly leaning towards, you have to find the balance that fits your personality. Not just living according to some universal rule you googled yesterday. Otherwise you're missing the point.
So switching to capsule wardrobe or painting over the bright orange wall is a great decision as long as in result it makes you happy. Of course, some changes can be a bit uncomfortable at first and yet still necessary. But, you always have to bare in mind what the end result will be. Maybe you have that one red sweater you haven't put on in ages, but it's just carrying so many memories.
The more you fit your personality with everything you do or buy, the happier you'll be. The less purchases you'll have to make in order to feel satisfied, the more precise idea you'll have when it comes to future decision making, the easier it'll be for your close ones to favour you with stuff you'll actually enjoy!
We for example love to go with a season. You don't have to change every item four times a year. The amazing thing about minimalism is that you can reuse more or less anything you own now.
Minimalism is all about versatility, and so from your wardrobe to your stationary or furniture, it's easy to change things up and don't overproduce .
If you're tired of switching seasons, you can always go for one rich option and then one more subtle. Or in translation, have things that are easy to wear or combine with anything, and some that will make instant impression.
And then whenever you feel like colour, you can wear super colourful sunglasses as a statement piece with an all white outfit. Or put up multicoloured poster in the middle of you minimalist living room when you feel like thing have started to fade out.
The possibilities with minimalist colours are countless!
Colour scheme for minimalists
Even though we consider ourselves true minimalists, one of our favourite collections from Project Nord's web shop is still Multicoloured Posters. Minimalist is represented by the things we like and just like life, they're not always black and white.
Speaking of colour, some designers might even argue that black and white are not colours at all. They're shades on the edge of a spectre. We disagree. And all the minimalists should. Black and white are as much colours as any shade of red or blue. Well, quite literally, since they are the very extreme shade of red or blue.
So with all of that in mind, there are colours that you can implement in your life outside the B&W colour palette. The easiest way to do it would be opting for a monochromatic colour palette. But you may want to make things a bit more interesting than that.
As soon as you know which path is the one you want to walk along, your style will become obvious to you and the others as well. And that's the point you want to reach. Those will be your guidelines. And after that, that's when the true minimalism kicks in and you don't have to be scared to experiment anymore, because no matter how much colour you use, you will never go overboard.
Written by Lujza Grossman
Pictures sourced from Pinterest