Designers and decorators often draw inspiration from various sources, themes, and aesthetics when setting up a living space. More often than not, two variable aesthetics are combined to form a subcategory of its own according to a homeowners’ wants and needs from their space.
The modern-minimalistic aesthetic draws inspiration from two design categories with several similarities, as well as some significant differences. However, you’re not combining water with fire here. You’re basically taking in aspects from each individual design to bring out something that suits and celebrates your individuality.
Defining Modern and Minimalistic Designs
Credits: Pexels, Mikhail Nilov
Modern Designs
The term ‘modern’ is perhaps one of the most difficult terms to define in the world of design. People tend to confuse the term with contemporary design choices basing it off of the age of the design. ‘Modern’ is actually a misnomer and refers to the influence of modern art in interior design dating back to the 1960s.
This type of design features clean, crisp, and bare structural elements in neutral or natural color palettes. If you’re thinking of modern décor, you’re thinking of a room with sharp horizontal or vertical lines, minimal curves, and bare elements often in natural color schemes.
Minimalistic Designs
Minimalistic designs draw on inspiration from Ancient Asian designs that featured minimal furniture and focused heavily on Zen. However, the aesthetic gained significant traction in the late 20th to the early 21st century.
This type of design features minimal furnishings with a key focus on decluttering your living space. The principle is simple: If it doesn’t bring you joy, don’t keep it. Minimalist designs incorporate dual furniture, clean surfaces, and natural elements (natural lighting, greenery, etc.).
Incorporating Pendant Lighting
Credits: Renopedia, De Exclusive Interior Group
Pendant lights are arguably the most versatile lighting elements there are. From fancy glass ones to humble wooden ones, there’s a pendant light out there for everyone. What designers find particularly helpful, however, is how pendant lights are easy to incorporate into any living space.
Incorporating lighting into a modern-minimalist living space might be tricky. Several factors have to be considered:
- Lighting solutions that don’t take up much space or overpower the entire aesthetic.
- Lighting fixtures that offer more flexibility (you’re using minimal lights).
- Lighting options that blend with the décor, but are not engulfed by it.
- Lighting embellishments that can be altered and modified if need be.
Most of these factors are pretty standard for any lighting element. However, for a modern-minimalist one you need to take note of the fact that the pendant light maintains its own individuality whilst blending with the overall aesthetic.
We’ll be going over these considerations one-by-one:
Do Not Overpower the Entire Aesthetic
Credits: Renopedia, Design Story
A common decorating dilemma: |How do I make this particular design element stand out, without it shifting the entire focus away from other elements?” This is a particular concern for modern-minimalism since everything has to stay neutral.
Go for pendant lights that fit the color scheme of your living space, albeit not so much so that it creates monotony. For example; your probable color options are beige, white, pastels, and greys. If you’re going for pastel colors in your living space, use a pendant shade that’s a shade lighter or darker than the wall colors.
Alternatively, you could feature a pendant light with structural elements found in the modern side of your living space. Steel and wooden finishes are commonly considered for pendant lighting.
More Flexibility
Credits: Pexels, Skylar Wang
Most people are under the misconception that lighting solutions do not offer enough, if any flexibility. To the novice home decorator, a lighting element is necessary solely to provide illumination. Illumination is, understandably, the key element of any lighting solution, but it’s not the only one.
Your pendant light controls the entire vibe of your living space – dimmers vary the lighting intensity throughout the day or for special occasions to match the general outlook of the room. Some pendant lights can even stand as art pieces in their own right if installed properly.
Blending In, But Not Being Engulfed
Shown in the Image: Langley Porcelain Bottle Pendant Lamp
We’ve talked a little about having your pendant light blend in with your overall aesthetic, and now we’ll talk some more on how it shouldn’t be engulfed by it either. While these points seem to be in direct contradiction to one another – they’re actually reinforcing the same thing.
Your pendant light, besides illuminating your space, is a structural element or component of your home or apartment. You’re wasting its potential if you allow it to be nothing more than a bulb. On the other hand, you’re wasting money if you get a pendant light that doesn’t even match your décor.
Pendant lights come in various colors, shapes, and sizes. You can have your pendant light blend in with the overall aesthetic without it being engulfed by it either.
For example, a structural pendant light made out of wood with clear corners in the shape of a triangle or no corners in the shape of a circle.
Modifiable
Credits: Renopedia, Todz’Terior
Perhaps something every homeowner looks for when they’re buying anything for their living space: Value for money. Value for money is typically defined as how much you can get out of something you’ve bought. This is usually evaluated based on how long you can use the particular object for or how modifiable it is.
Pendant lights are highly modifiable. They come as singular, multiple, long, short, big, and small variants to name a few. Not to mention countless design options to match.
You can easily swap out a pendant light by modifying its covering or adding in more to the bar (or whatever it’s fixed onto).
Conclusion
Modern-minimalist homes combine the best of both worlds: The finesse of modernism and the refinement of minimalism. Together, we have a design aesthetic that features clean, sharp, and natural elements that honor Zen.
Finding the right pendant light that fits this aesthetic might seem difficult at first. However, there are catalogs upon catalogs of pendant lighting elements to choose from.
To explore your options and make well-informed lighting choices, visit Light Vault today.
