20 November . 2025
Maximizing your space like a minimalist
Ahhh, nothing like a blank slate. Time to add that swivel chair you found on sale, that cool bookcase you saw on Instagram, and that amazing loveseat perfect for cozy rainy days. Hmmm...that entertainment center doesn’t quite do the trick, so maybe this shelf would fit better? Oh wait, that’s where the couch goes. Okay, let’s flip things around because the TV catches glare over here, but maybe these blackout curtains would fix that?
And just like that, your blank slate has become a crowded jumble.
Whether it’s scooping up a gorgeous walnut console before a rainstorm rolls in, or ordering a piece that would fit perfectly in the empty corner, bringing furniture into your home can be easy, perhaps too easy. Saying goodbye? Not so much.
When you are home in Tehaleh, surrounded by evergreens, misty mountaintops, and a culture that is built around the outdoors, clutter inside can start to feel like visual noise. Minimalism here is about bringing intention to your spaces so that you know where things go, what purpose they serve in your life, and so that when you’re home, you’re not thinking about this massive mess you’ve inherited.
Project Shoes: A Small Step Toward Clarity
Every great decluttering project starts small, which makes your collection of shoes the perfect test run. Hiking boots from that Mt. Rainier hike back in September, still caked in dirt. Daily sneakers for bringing the dogs to Hounds’ Hollow. The ‘someday’ shoes that never quite make it out of the closet. Start sorting them by purpose. The pairs you wear daily should be easy to grab, while the others can be tucked away.
This simple exercise will teach you to separate the essential from the occasional, which is a practice you can then use to map out each segment of a room.
Define the Heart of the Room
Again, start with the purpose of each item before you start organizing. Before moving furniture or boxing things up, ask yourself what you want the space to do for you. Dining tables and kitchen islands often get covered with incoming mail and packages and you find yourself eating dinner on the couch.
Identify those common places where the space takes on a combination of tasks. Your mudroom, your garage, your office/guest room, and your kitchen. How do you make those spaces easier to navigate on a daily basis without taking away the purpose of them? Does the chaos of your storage rack already work for you, but you just despise the look of it? Installing a curtain could help to separate that mess visually so that when you’re having a Zoom meeting, you don’t have to apologize for the mess each time you’re doing business.
Minimalism doesn’t have to be about having less but making the immediate world around you as enticing as the one outside your door. Forget the pressure to get rid of everything. Instead, be a bit of a curator. Your home is a museum where everything represents who you are, and you get to choose what that looks like.
Small changes to your decor can make a huge difference. Hang up your old road bike in your office, build a live slab shelf for you to place all your outdoors focused books. If it looks good, it should feel good (and vice versa).
Try this: fill a single box with the items that don’t quite seem to fit the new “vibe” you’re going for. Put it away and return to it in one week. What did you miss? What did you forget? If you can go a week without it, it can remain in that box. Rinse and repeat until you feel confident that your hideaway box can be put away for good. You may even end up with multiple, which you can then decide if you want to keep, sell, or donate.
Store Smarter, Not Harder
One often-overlooked fix? Hanging storage. Garages and laundry rooms are perfect for overhead racks, shelves, built-in cabinets, or ceiling mounts that free up valuable floor space. Go vertical with wall-mounted shelves, pegboards, and floating cabinets. Multifunctional furniture can do wonders throughout your home. Ottomans with hidden storage, folding desks and tables, or benches with bins inside can all be useful ways to get two birds with one stone.
While you’re at it, tame that tangle of cords behind your TV or desk. A simple cable channel painted the same color as your wall can hide that mess better than you ever imagined.
As you’re making decisions about your furniture, think about what’s made living in Tehaleh such a natural place for you to be. Go for natural materials like cedar, pine, or maple that not only look timeless but echo the neighborhood’s elements.
Design for Flow and Light
The shifting, sometimes moody, light in the PNW provides a lot of different opportunities to shape our interior spaces. Arrange furniture to welcome in as much light as possible. Sheer linen curtains, blinds that start at the bottom and extend upward, as well as mirrors can each bring a great deal more light into the home. This helps with the transition from inside to outside as the two operate as a balancing act. When your rooms have a rhythm, even the grayest days can feel light.
A Touch of Green
Minimalism doesn’t mean everything has to be stoney and sterile. A well-placed plant can transform a space more than a dozen small décor items ever could. A tall fern, snake plant, or fiddle-leaf fig brings balance without clutter.
Bring the outdoors in through materials that reflect the region: a bowl of smooth river stones, a piece of driftwood, or handmade pottery in earthy tones. Local art, woven textiles, and natural shapes add warmth without visual noise.
Streamline and Refine
When your home reflects what truly matters, it supports the way you live instead of complicating it.
Remember that blank slate from the beginning? Minimalism doesn’t mean never filling it but choosing what belongs there with intention. When every piece has purpose, your home stops demanding attention and starts giving it back to you.
Start small. Pick one room, one corner, or one drawer. Clear it out, redefine it, and let it breathe. Because sometimes, the biggest transformations start with a single, simple decision: to live with intention.
If you want to start planning out the home you deserve and want a perfect neighborhood to start fresh, Tehaleh is that stunning spot you’ve always dreamed of living in. Get in touch and our team will be there to help you on your way.