Modern Rustic Minimalism – Our New Build Design Aesthetic

We are building a new house! Choosing a design aesthetic is an important step before you even begin building. Come see how we are using a Modern Rustic Minimalism approach to our new home!

I am by no means a professionally trained interior designer. However, I’m a firm believer that you can do anything you set your mind to. You can teach yourself whatever skill you want. Now with that said, sometimes I think the lack of formal interior design training makes a few things difficult for me. Number 1 – what to call things. Of course, I can recognization a traditional house. The farmhouse style is quite obvious. There are some things that I do know. But when it comes to what I’m calling our Modern Rustic Minimalism Design Aesthetic, I’m just making that up, haha!

I can tell you that’s what catches my eye on Instagram are photos of houses in the Mediterranean. Not the bright blue Santorini vibe, but the earthy, organic, neutral textures you often find over there. I also see a lot of this style on the pacific coast. It’s almost desert-y but not quite. Let’s just dive into the details and see if that makes more sense! I’ll be sharing some Instagram photos along the way of what caught my eye, as well as current photos of our build.

Clean Lines

The absolute number one thing I want in this house is clean lines. I don’t want anything super busy. Over the years I’ve come to grips with the fact that I have anxiety. Clutter, messes, all those things bring it on and it can seriously put me in such a bad mood. And since we are building a house I was able to have complete control over the whole vibe this house offers. I find these “almost empty” organic spaces very relaxing, and I want to feel relaxed in my home! Here are a few ways I made sure we were using clean lines throughout our home:

Windows

I didn’t want any trim on our windows. I want what’s outside the window to be the focal point. By choosing sheetrock returns I feel like this really makes the exterior pop and brings that organic vibe into our home. I did do some window grilles, but they are very minimal. If I had a gorgeous beach and/or mountain view, I probably would’ve left those out and gone for a full view.

Doors & Trim

For our doors and trim, we kept everything very simple. No intricate routing, just nice clean lines. I don’t have any pictures of these yet, because they haven’t been installed, but I promise to share them as soon as they are!

Cabinetry

For a lot of our cabinetry, we went with a standard shaker style because of their classic, timeless, and clean lines. However, in our kitchen, I really wanted to emphasize that minimalist approach, so it’s our fun take on a standard shaker cabinet. I know curvy islands are IN right now, and to be honest I considered it. But this was one of those times I had to set aside my love of what others are doing and ask myself if it was something I wanted or just something I liked. Liking something is very different from wanting it in your home. It’s important to recognize the difference when designing a space!

Balance in Rustic Minimalism

As soon as I made the decision to incorporate clean lines all over our home, I knew I would need to balance that. I’ve always been a fan of high contrast. Black and white, straight and curvy. Whenever I can incorporate an opposite, I do it! Now we have clean lines all over our home. How do I balance that? You’ll notice that just about anywhere I have a clean line, it will have a counterpart to breaks up the harshness, but doesn’t take away from the cleanness. Some of the areas this will be accomplished with furniture and decor, some of it you’ll notice in the permanent fixtures.

Arches

I’ve always been a huge fan of arches. Since before they really became a thing. They just aren’t always easy to put in unless you want to rework some walls. But in my opinion, an arch needs to make sense, so I never really found a place for them in any of our existing homes. By designing our home from the ground up I was able to put them exactly where I wanted to. We have 3 arches in our home. From the main portion of the house into our master bedroom hallway, from the kitchen to our mudroom, and in our master bathroom to our closet. I love seeing straight lines matched up with arches. It just soothes my soul!

Organic Shapes

Throughout our home, I will incorporate organic shapes. There will be round objects, like our hardware. Light fixtures will be round. Organic items will be added. There will be plants. I’m going to do my best not to kill them, but now that I know I won’t be moving (for at least a good long while) I want real plants. Like indoor tree types of plants. Feel free to give me all the advice on that here in the frozen state of Wisconsin, haha!

Decor

A lot of this balance to the clean lines will come in the decor. I foresee lots of pottery and art that provide this contrast I’ve been seeking during this entire build!

Texture

There’s going to be so much texture. I want leather, chunky, soft, rough, sleek, smooth, bumpy, and basically just all the things. Wood will be a big component! You’ll likely see this come out in accessories, curtains, decor, furniture, and textiles. This part will definitely be a journey because I know I don’t have all the things I’m envisioning for this part of the design.

Colors and Tones for Rustic Minimalism

I’m not really known for my love of color around here. So if you’re one of those people who hates all white houses and the use of only earthy tones… I’m probably not your girl. Like I said… I’m seeking a relaxing place for my family and me, and that is not a ton of color. If color relaxes or inspires you… paint that ceiling yellow my friend!

I’ll share my paint colors soon, but overall I’m sticking with whites, blacks, and organic tones. There will be a really dark earthy green (what we used on our fireplace), and my daughter really wants some kind of blue! My plan is to let our kids dream up their own rooms so they are a reflection of who they are, so the upstairs might look a little different ; ) There will definitely be some wood tones throughout with our white oak cabinets and floors. I can’t wait to see those final installations because it’s going to make a big impact on the overall feel! This is a previous design board I did, but it captures the overall feel pretty well for this home!

Modern Rustic Minimalism Inspiration

Let’s just take a look at some beautiful inspiration….

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Want to see our Floor Plan? You can check that out here!