Minimalism: Beauty in Simplicity
Filipinos are notorious hoarders. We keep something as trivial as plastics from a recent grocery trip or something as meaningful as our college ID. We are so accustomed to keep objects of all sorts because they meant something to us or that they may be of use someday, the most common reason being that these things have sentimental value.
This behavior alone keeps our house desks crammed with dust covered frames fitted with old family photos and graduation pictures of you or your siblings, walls where laminated diplomas hung and shelves filled with fragile plates and utensils that we only take out for special occasions. And there you have it, a typical Filipino home anyone can relate with.
However, what if we could level up our game?
- What if there was a way to keep all the memories without throwing things away?
- What if there was a way we could transform our home not only as a makeshift museum of the past but also free up space to create memories for the future?
- What if we could clear up some space, make things simpler, and more beautiful at the same time?
The answer? Minimalism.
This brainchild of modern architecture focuses on building homes and organizing interiors in a manner that is both fancy and functional. In a nutshell, it’s a way of managing your house in such a way that frees up space for you to have more freedom, and allows you to live with things that are only essential.
With much of the Filipino household clinging to the old ways and old things, this movement doesn’t really speak tradition. Living a minimalist lifestyle places our hoarding instincts in check, and if things aren’t being used, they have no place in the space.
For us to have a clearer picture of what minimalism is, we must have a concrete example and in this case, let us examine the features of this house in particular.
As you can see, one of the most noticeable designs of the minimalism is its linear simplicity. At first glance, you can compare the house to linked boxes, with cut outs that make up for windows and a flat roof on top.
These features are reminiscent of a time when we would get into cardboard boxes and let our imagination be the limit. And that’s exactly what the concept of minimalism gives us: the freedom to think, and the space to create.
Some people, even families, would take an extra mile to live a simple, clutter-free life. A minimalist home is going back to the basics–function more than fashion. You’d want to go back home to get back to the basics, to family and to rest.
Minimalism’s need-centered principles are materialized in this house’s exterior, with its clean aesthetics, contrasting colors and functional design. It stands out not in complexity, but in its simplicity. At one glance, you can see the simple details of the house; simple gate painted in black, that just does what it suppose to do.
We can see how the fences serve to protect the property as well as to give a view of the house’s façade. These reinforced steel bars painted in black contrasts with the white finished wall columns to give an elegant touch to an otherwise bland wall. The plants below also provides a homey feature to the structure.
From this angle, minimalism emphasizes on function. If you notice, the firewall both serves as a partition to the property as well as part of the garage that extends to the second floor of the room. It also acts as conscious architectural design that maximizes function as it provides additional shade to the parking space.
Now let’s hop right in to the property. Let’s start with the lawn.
As you can observe, the principles of minimalism extends to your choice of plants to grace your lawn.
The new lawn may look plain and empty, but it’s off for a great start! With a clear view of what is in front of you, you can have the freedom to clearly see what fits into your space.
This amount of lawn and vegetation leaves you much needed creative space to relax and bring forth ideas which could further beautify your home.
Tiled concrete walkways equally spaced for strolling provide geometric contrast and affinity to the house and the wall. This also serves as an exterior alley from which you can go out from the side doors towards the back or the front where the garden is situated.
As it is a limited space, you may choose to dress it with ornamental plants or you can create a vertical garden to maximize the space. However, this must be planned appropriately as too much things can impede mobility.
Now let’s check how minimalism manifests itself inside the house.
Even simple things can accentuate the house’s interior design.
Upon entering you will be greeted with the sheer space that minimalism promises. As followed in this house, the white painted walls help create an ambiance that visually expands the living room.
The generous usage of rectangular glass windows allows natural lighting to come in. The large expanse from floor to ceiling could also be observed. This design offers ventilation and airflow inside the house.
The same could be said with these stainless steel-framed sliding glass doors. They provide lighting, sleek design and affinity with the monochromatic principles of minimalism. The metallic feel also blends well with any color as it reflects the natural hue around them.
These allow maximum lighting to the dining room, which is closely placed near the kitchen.
Contrasting dark shades of dim wood and black steel railings on the stairs and second floor could be observed as this as well is a manifestation of minimalism.
These contrasts serve their function so as to guide the homeowners a sense of direction in the spaces they are traversing through.
Just before we fly up the stairs let’s take a peek at what minimalism does to a kitchen.
- First, it makes good use of space. The corners created by the stairs were carefully carved out to serve as extension of the kitchen.
- Second, by purposely picking black granite as the counter, and wooden furnishes to the drawers and shelves, minimalism carefully labels working spaces. These contrasts give visual signals that help declutter your vision so that you could conveniently spot objects that don’t belong in place or spaces that need cleaning.
- This concept was also applied on the stairs. Function could easily be seen in the navigable steel railings painted black and the wooden flight of stairs. With these contrasts you can clearly follow your step and avoid tripping.
These consciously smart designs could be evidently seen in the second floor as well.
As you can see, the protective railings and the glass stopper provide you with a clear view of the entrance and the living room.
This duality of form and function makes minimalism so relaxing to the senses as it allows the observable exterior to naturally decorate the interior of the house.
This is what minimalism allows you to do, it allows you let the surrounding simplicity to do the talking and sets your mind free from worrying about what decoration should fill up your walls.
Now we get to the part where we can be sneaky about the things we keep. Minimalism enables you to do this with the concept of Simple Detailing and Functional Decoration.
As you can see in this room, previous principles of contrast and expanse are present.
The built-in cabinets fit perfectly with the specifications of the room, it contrasts with the colors, and blends well with the wooden tiles.
Now, the monochrome does its magic. The singular wooden finish on the cabinet helps make an illusion that it is part of the wall, hence rendering it partially invisible – as if it was just a wall.
As you may have noted, the doors follow the same motif, giving the second floor a more unified and consistent theme. Furthermore, you can also notice how there are windows at every angle, especially in areas where human activity is expected to happen.
This is consciously designed as a way to provide radiant lighting to mundane but daily activities like opening the door and walking to and from rooms.
The fact that the walls are white also boosts the sunlight passing through, giving a wider feel to the otherwise narrow spaces.
The same could be said with the built in toilets for each of the three rooms in the second floor. These contain furnishings that forego the dark wooden tiles but maximizes the monochrome widening effect by opting to use tiles that match with the walls.
All are equipped with showers, lever operated flush toilets and ample areas for the sink – all white so as to promote spaciousness and continuity.
And that’s just a preview of what this minimalist house has to offer.
It may have simplicity as its core characteristic but it also uses that same trait to innovate space to let nature, and our imaginative Filipino culture to thrive in the confines of a modern home.
For inquiries regarding this property you may contact Ms. Arleen De Guzman – Viray of Iloilo Prime Properties and she will personally walk you in to experience the next level Filipino home located here in Iloilo City.
Photos credit to: minimalhouseiloilo.blogspot.com