10 Minimalist Decorating Essentials for All Seasons
Keep your room decor stylish and uncluttered with these basic accessories
Laura Gaskill
January 4, 2019
Houzz Contributor. I cover decorating ideas, Houzz tours & the monthly home maintenance checklist. My favorite pieces to write center around the emotional aspects of home and savoring life's simple pleasures. Decluttering course + discount for Houzzers: https://www.lauragaskill.com/welcome-houzzers
Houzz Contributor. I cover decorating ideas, Houzz tours & the monthly home maintenance... More
It’s easy to fill up on seasonal decor: A turkey platter here, a Christmas pillow there, and pretty soon you’ve got enough to fill a garage (or storage unit). If you’re ready to create a clean slate — whether you’re starting from scratch or paring back — consider leaning on these 10 core decorating pieces that can transition effortlessly from season to season, and enjoy the breathing space.
1. Decorative Bowl
Fill a decorative bowl with pine cones or nuts in the shell in the fall, ornaments around the holidays and fresh fruit at any time of the year. The most versatile bowls are wide and relatively shallow, and in white or another neutral hue.
2. Tall Glass Vase
Displaying freshly cut flowers or foliage is one of the quickest ways to help your decor reflect the seasons. A glass cylinder works equally well for bouquets of cut flowers and taller spring branches.
Find vases in the Houzz Shop
Fill a decorative bowl with pine cones or nuts in the shell in the fall, ornaments around the holidays and fresh fruit at any time of the year. The most versatile bowls are wide and relatively shallow, and in white or another neutral hue.
2. Tall Glass Vase
Displaying freshly cut flowers or foliage is one of the quickest ways to help your decor reflect the seasons. A glass cylinder works equally well for bouquets of cut flowers and taller spring branches.
Find vases in the Houzz Shop
3. Clear Glass Hurricanes
Hurricane candleholders are a smart investment of your decorating dollars, because they can be used indoors or out and can make a simple pillar candle look special. Leave them plain and simple or, for a seasonal touch, surround the bases of the candles with greenery in winter and sand in summer. You can even remove the candles entirely and fill the vessels with finds from nature, like pine cones or seashells.
Find glass hurricanes in the Houzz Shop
Hurricane candleholders are a smart investment of your decorating dollars, because they can be used indoors or out and can make a simple pillar candle look special. Leave them plain and simple or, for a seasonal touch, surround the bases of the candles with greenery in winter and sand in summer. You can even remove the candles entirely and fill the vessels with finds from nature, like pine cones or seashells.
Find glass hurricanes in the Houzz Shop
4. Wire Basket
In winter, a wire basket makes a stylish home for cut firewood. Use the same basket to corral colorful beach gear in summer and stacks of quilts or throws in fall. It can also be called into duty in the playroom to hold wooden blocks or picture books.
Browse baskets on Houzz
In winter, a wire basket makes a stylish home for cut firewood. Use the same basket to corral colorful beach gear in summer and stacks of quilts or throws in fall. It can also be called into duty in the playroom to hold wooden blocks or picture books.
Browse baskets on Houzz
5. Neutral Throw
A soft throw in cream, gray or beige is a welcome touch year-round and can easily be moved from the living room to the bedroom to the porch and back again. You’ll even want to reach for it in summer when the air conditioning gets a little too chilly, or when the spirit moves you to stargaze in the backyard.
Shop for throws on Houzz
A soft throw in cream, gray or beige is a welcome touch year-round and can easily be moved from the living room to the bedroom to the porch and back again. You’ll even want to reach for it in summer when the air conditioning gets a little too chilly, or when the spirit moves you to stargaze in the backyard.
Shop for throws on Houzz
6. Faux Sheepskin
Whether you use it draped over the back of a chair, warming a bench or layered atop another rug on the floor, a faux sheepskin is ready to warm up any space you put it in.
7. Serving Tray
A round or rectangular tray with handles can be used as a bar setup for a party, a mobile coffee or hot-cocoa station, or a platform for displaying books and favorite objects on the coffee table.
Shop for serving trays
Whether you use it draped over the back of a chair, warming a bench or layered atop another rug on the floor, a faux sheepskin is ready to warm up any space you put it in.
7. Serving Tray
A round or rectangular tray with handles can be used as a bar setup for a party, a mobile coffee or hot-cocoa station, or a platform for displaying books and favorite objects on the coffee table.
Shop for serving trays
8. Upholstered Bench
Does everyone need a bench? Probably not. But I think there’s a strong case for including one in your home: You can put it at the foot of your bed (of course), but you can also move it in front of the fire in winter, warmed up with a faux sheepskin on top, or even pull it up to the dining table when you need to squeeze in a few extra seats.
Browse benches
Does everyone need a bench? Probably not. But I think there’s a strong case for including one in your home: You can put it at the foot of your bed (of course), but you can also move it in front of the fire in winter, warmed up with a faux sheepskin on top, or even pull it up to the dining table when you need to squeeze in a few extra seats.
Browse benches
9. Sculptural Bud Vase
In addition to a tall glass vase (see number two), it’s worth adding a few small, sculptural bud vases to your flower-arranging setup. These little vessels can be tucked in just about anywhere, and look just as good empty as filled.
Shop for bud vases on Houzz
In addition to a tall glass vase (see number two), it’s worth adding a few small, sculptural bud vases to your flower-arranging setup. These little vessels can be tucked in just about anywhere, and look just as good empty as filled.
Shop for bud vases on Houzz
10. String Lights
String lights are magical mood-makers. Pick up a strand or two of indoor-outdoor string lights, and you’ll always have somewhere to put them: above the dining table for a cozy dinner party, draped over a full-length mirror in the bedroom or illuminating the patio on a warm summer evening.
Find string lights in the Houzz Shop
Share: What are your decorating essentials? Please tell us in the Comments.
More on Houzz
Get That Calming, Minimalist Feel With Any Decor Style
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String lights are magical mood-makers. Pick up a strand or two of indoor-outdoor string lights, and you’ll always have somewhere to put them: above the dining table for a cozy dinner party, draped over a full-length mirror in the bedroom or illuminating the patio on a warm summer evening.
Find string lights in the Houzz Shop
Share: What are your decorating essentials? Please tell us in the Comments.
More on Houzz
Get That Calming, Minimalist Feel With Any Decor Style
Find an interior designer or decorator near you
Shop for home decor
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@HU-3528769468122 vertical blinds...seriously?!
I enjoyed the photos here but, I really love my minimalist lifestyle. The main reason I say this is that a lot of the things I have seen here and see in other places are just things made in China type decor where everyone has the same things. I think that if you are a true minimalist, you will focus on the less is more idea. By that, for me anyways, it means that the things I have around me, in my home and in my space mean something. Some examples are books because I love to read! I have them to read and I collect some and also they are my decor in every way. A few pieces of furniture that someone has made me or a few pieces I have really saved for and were made locally by a company that uses reclaimed wood. I even have a pantry created from a hall closet we took doors off of where the food I love and use daily can be stored in baskets and on shelves and becomes decor. And yes, I'm also a little weird about neatness but I am also a true believer that if you can not read it, eat it or drink it or use it every day at home, you probably don't need it. Having said that, some things are ok if you truly love them. Examples... handmade pottery, plants, photos, art that is thoughtfully collected and even your clothing can be displayed artfully. Keeping the things that you love around you creating a unique picture of your uncluttered life to me is more than important than having things that everyone else has.
Who would put a tray on the floor? That is just crazy. Everyone going by this room in my life would be picking it up and putting it on a table. It would be a fun experiment to try.