TV stand or entertainment center. You’ll also spend less time and money acquiring dust-collectors to fill it up. Buffet or sideboard. Here are five of her fifteen items:
1. Given that furniture is often larger and more costly than other home purchases, spending a few minutes thinking along extreme lines might help you reconsider what you really need before you buy, and it might save you money and space that you could then devote to things that you truly love or need. But if you’re not ready to go that route, you can simply hang it on the wall. In my opinion, all those extra little tables that live in corners, and at the ends of couches, are just magnets for clutter. Dresser. I’ve eliminated the need for this monstrosity by ditching my television altogether. (Yes, they’re handy, but when you have five of them in a living room, it’s probably time to pare.) Are there other pieces that she didn’t mention that you could do without, or are there some that she did list that seem absolutely essential to you? *Re-edited from a post originally published on 8.16.12 — AB
(Image credits: The Binghams’ Budget Design Friendly Family Home House Tour) But in the words of Francine Jay, thinking like a minimalist can be «a fun little thought-experiment on what’s truly necessary.» If you want to play along, here’s her list of 15 pieces of furniture that you may be able to live without. 4. There are items on here that I certainly couldn’t live without, and Miss Minimalist herself acknowledges that people should not «sit around on floor cushions in empty rooms» and that her suggestions aren’t well suited for «those who have bad backs, frequently entertain, or long to sink into a sectional at the end of the workday.»
Fundamentally, though, the type of mental exercise that she’s doing is a good one. 5. Do away with the tchotchkes and knickknacks, and you can do away with this massive (and potentially expensive) furnishing. This list made me rethink my desire for a sideboard, and it also helped me cut down on my desire for so many occasional tables. Minimalism certainly isn’t for everyone. I use them myself for socks, undies, and folded clothes, and in my baby’s room for everything from onesies and sleepers to bibs and washcloths. 3.
