Moving away from minimalism and what this means for real estate.

Over the past few decades, minimalist designs have become more popular in home decor, art, and public infrastructure. While minimalism has existed for centuries (look at Buddhist minimalism or the legacy of Greek philosopher Diogenes), it was not recognized as an official art movement until the 1960s. Minimalism emerged in art, music, and design as a way to remove everything that could distract from the main focus of a piece. This ‘less is more’ philosophy became prominent in interior design and more buildings adopted clean lines, limited ornamentation, a neutral color scheme, and natural materials. Minimalism means many things to many people. For some, minimalism is a way to fight back against capitalism and consumerism. For others, minimalism is simply visually appealing. Historically, minimalism has been a default design choice due to poverty.

For the most part, minimalist designs have been associated with the words ‘beige’, ‘boring’, and ‘sad’. Jokes about minimalist celebrity houses looking like museums and being void of color, as well as jokes about ‘sad beige babies’ are what many think of when they hear the word ‘minimalism’.

It seems like modern interpretations of minimalism have pushed the majority of people way from simplistic designs. In 2021, Forbes reported that interior design trends like ‘all white kitchens’, ‘single space areas’, ‘open floor plans’, and ‘neutral colors’ were being swapped for maximalist designs. Many new homeowners and renters have taken inspiration from themes such as ’80s Retro’ and ‘Cottage Core’. Moreover, many minimalists have gravitated towards ‘relaxed minimalism‘. This style trades out beige for similar neutrals such as dark green and swaps out all white throw pillows for ones with patterns and colors.

However, maximalists need to be concerned about how their bright, patterned wallpaper and DIY home improvements will affect the value of their property. For many, hyper-personalization is not appealing when it comes to buying or renting.

This blog post is part of the CIMA Law Group blog. If you are located in Arizona and are seeking legal services, CIMA Law Group specializes in Immigration Law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Government Relations.