We have never in our adult lives had a Christmas tree, since we have never spent a Christmas at home. But this year, even though we will again be gone over the holidays, hubby’s one request was to set up a tree in our new home … which I acceded to, but on my own (minimalist) terms.

Eight months after moving into our condo, my overhaul of our light fixtures is complete. I have heavily relied on them as a design feature in a home where we’re prohibited from touching most things, so it looks like my renter-friendly hat is never coming off!

In my haste to pull together our condo on a condensed timeline when we moved in 8 months ago, I made some less-than-perfect decisions that I am now finally diagnosing and rectifying. Live and learn!

After holding out for years, I’ve decided that the time was right to get my daughter a play kitchen for her third birthday. I am very specific about the things that I bring into my home, so this toy has to earn its keep, proportional to the square footage it takes up in our place (2.9 ft² to be exact).

I’ve been a playing a bit of “musical chairs” with my furniture as I figure out what’s been working in our new home and what purpose each piece should serve. Because when you’ve got multifunctional furniture, you’ve got options!

When we purchased our condo, I jumped on the chance to replace a few ho-hum light fixtures as a way to add style without adding clutter. I’ve since continued to (more gradually) swap out lights as I look for further opportunities to upgrade and insert a point of view into my home’s design.

The builder-grade hallway bathroom in our new condo was super boring, so I made a couple swaps to the lighting and decor to create a more visually interesting space that I’m finally ready to say something about.

A backsplash is not the only way to add color and pattern to the kitchen. A far more simple but similarly impactful project is to deck out the kitchen island instead!

We’ve made a concerted effort to get everything done and our new home is ready for show-and-tell!

I made the mistake of not measuring the height of the ceilings in the new condo before going out to buy curtains, meaning that my purchases ended up being too short! But I employed three easy fixes that were quick to pull off and hopefully look intentional rather than accidental …

In my pursuit of minimizing the amount of stuff in my home while stopping short of stripping it bare, I am always on the lookout for functional decor ideas. It’s all well and good to display art and things I like to look at on my walls and my horizontal surfaces (which I do!) but it’s even better if they serve a function besides eye candy.

I usually take my time deliberating what to add or remove from my home, tweaking rather than overhauling, but a move is the exception. A lot of things are coming in and out at once as I prep for our new home, and only time will tell if I miscalculated or missed something.

Despite not planning to retain any of the kids’ artwork, I’ve recently started to keep a few pieces to tape up in a growing gallery wall. Idk if this is here to stay or a passing fancy, but the process has been fun and not too onerous yet.

I planned the layout and decor of our current home far in advance of moving, and while I largely liked it, I realized after a few months that a couple things could be improved. In a small, multifunctional space, rearranging furniture can feel like playing Tetris, but every tweak brings greater functionality and enjoyment.

Between the laptop, tablet, and 2 smartphones, our family of 4 rotates screens depending on what each person is doing. We haven’t felt the need to have a TV since we said goodbye to ours 5 years ago.

A chandelier adds instant definition and personality to a space, IMO. I decided to make my own faux “chandelier” for our dining area, so I could get just what I wanted within the constraints of apartment living.

I periodically unearth pain points in our home as my life, needs, and pet peeves change and evolve. Some can be easily remedied while others are out of our control. This time, it’s the former category — we are waving toodle-oo to our textiled wall decor.

After years of each having our own personal laptop (and in my case, also a company-issued work laptop), I decided to move us onto one family computer for my husband and me to share. It’s not perfect, but if it works 80% of the time, I consider it worth it to get rid of unsightly devices and cords!

I am unsurprisingly not much of an impulse-buyer, but it worked out for me (and the kids) on this occasion — I swapped out our old rug in the kids’ room for a “play town” rug that my 5yo can drive his cars on. Multipurpose items have a special place in my minimalist heart and home!

In my search for an aesthetically pleasing but minimalist “bedscape,” I’ve tried various configurations of bedding over the years, always striving to find a smart, simple, and stylish solution with staying power.