Cozy doesn’t have to mean cluttered. Minimalist doesn’t have to mean cold.
Myquillyn Smith’s book Cozy Minimalist Home: More Style, Less Stuff beautifully encourages readers to strive for a balance between minimalism’s all-encompassing benefits and cozy’s comfort and charm.
In Chapter One, Smith writes:
Recent scientific research has shown that the level of cortisol—a stress-response hormone—rises in women when we are faced with the excess stuff in our homes. It’s fascinating. The study reveals that this level doesn’t change in men, only in women. Yep, clutter and chaos cause us to feel actual anxiety, stress, and even depression. I don’t need a scientist in a white lab coat to convince me of the truth in that statement, and I’m guessing you don’t either.
It’s our job to find the right balance of cozy for our homes. Coziness and abundance can be inviting and warm, but too much stuff can be overwhelming and feel like a burden we were never meant to bear.
Smith has strategically built one chapter on the other, so this is one book you won’t want to skip around in. Each section offers practical and fresh ideas, starting with the basics (how to purge excess, finding a room’s focal point, learning to love “quiet” spaces), then moving on to specifics like furniture placement and the crucial relationship between rugs, drapes, and lighting. Only after considering these structural issues do readers dive in to a discussion about where to place wall art and accessories.
With lots of white space on the pages, an easy-on-the-eyes font, and crisp, clean photos on every page, this book is a delight to read one page at a time.
Reading this book was almost like having a good friend wander through my home and help me rethink my space.
And like a good friend, Smith guides readers to the moment when we can say “enough” and enjoy living in, and loving in, our thoughtfully designed homes.
Reader, what do you enjoy most about your home?
Here with you,
Laura
