Minimalism is design through simplicity—of form, colour, volume and detail—yet this aesthetic isn't simple to achieve. Go too far in one direction, and the result is cold, even sterile; cross the line the other way, and messiness begins. Hitting the sweet spot involves an architectural and decorative language of unity and repetition and the clever manipulation of space—not as an element to be filled, but as one to be celebrated—as well as light.
"Good minimalism recognises that light is integral to design,” says Trish Bragg of LIV Sotheby’s International Realty in Denver. “There has always been a passionate base of people who gravitate toward this style of home,” she notes. “Buyers feel they will live more simply, with less stress, in a minimalist home: less clutter, more room to breathe.”
A property that Bragg represents uses minimalism to great effect. A 13,000-square-foot residence built on private wooded acreage in the middle of the city, the Denver Art House, as it is known, is modern, symmetrical and conceived to maximize the beautiful Colorado sunlight. The home’s architect, Jim Olson, founding partner of Olson Kundig in Seattle, notes that “minimalist architecture frames what is important,” in this case, an impressive art collection, nature and light. “People want happy, inviting spaces that inspire them to live better lives,” says Bragg. “Minimalist architecture is a step in that direction.”
New York-based writer Iyna Bort Caruso has contributed to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Newsday and others.
MONTERREY - MEXICO
Conceived as an active interface between man and nature, the Ecoscopic House is a formal complex optimized to channel the energy flows and harvest the material resources that come into contact with it. Situated in a residential area at the feet of the Sierra Madre Oriental on the outskirts of the city of Monterrey, this property offers spectacular views of the mountains.
