The way most minimalists approach color—specially the ones who jumped on the bandwagon as the minimalism fever was starting is a bit limited and we all know that. And even though that contrary to what many believe, black, white and beige are colors, I can also support that we need to stop being so afraid of all the other colors in the wheel.
My constant urge to always question everything that looks "ruly" convinced me very early that there wasn't a point in simplifying, cutting down and making everything functional if that deprived me or anyone else of the joy that life brings and even if you are adept to the thinking that colors that veer from the old black and white (maybe some grey in there) isn't minimalism, you surely can agree that different strokes for different folks and that there is an inherit sense of joy that some colors bring to people's life and it would be pointless to remove that just for the sake of minimalism.
If you, reading this feel daunted by the task of adding more color into your life / interiors and are holding back from fear that you will regret painting that wall or buying that set of blue sheets (that would be me) or maybe you just want to finally get some artwork on your walls let me tell you this: You won't regret doing something that will lift up your mood and that gives you a sense of new possibilities.
The way to introduce color into a minimalist home is "slowly" and also mindfully:
1. Don't tackle a big change but small changes and stick to the values of one in-one out so that you don't end up accumulating unnecessary things
2. Add pops of color first; a vase, a pillow or maybe a nice coffee mug to replace that dodgy old white one with coffee stains stuck at the bottom—we've all had one of those, os is that just me?
3. Stick to a palette by making two colors the base—let's say beige and black (let's give harsh whites a little rest)—and work around that adding complimentary pops of color like desaturated blues, earthy greens or muted yellows, whatever tickles your fancy but in a way it makes sense for you in your minimalist life
4. If you're not ready to paint the walls add texture to it or a nice piece of minimal art
5. If all of the mentioned above still scares you, bring in nature, whether a new plant or maybe flowers in a color you never got — and on that, I have to confess I spent years getting white flowers and clearly missing out. So bring in the hydrangeas, the daisies, the sunflowers — you name it
Personally, I've never had anything against color but it just didn't make sense in my life before. Now I enjoy a beautiful beige surrounding with big pops of black, blues and greens and is it just me or does that dining room seem incredibly inviting, fun and nostalgic for some reason, all that the same time?
© jake curtis
