Minimalism in interiors traces back to Bauhaus and Japanese design traditions and was crystallized into a contemporary style in the 1990s. The principle is reduction: every object should earn its place, and every surface that doesn't need to do something gets quiet.
In practice, minimalist rooms have neutral palettes (whites, greys, occasional black), monolithic surfaces (a single material running across a long counter, a wall painted floor-to-ceiling without baseline interruption), and intentionally limited furniture. Storage is hidden — the visual noise of stuff is the antithesis. Where ornament does appear, it's deliberate: one strong artwork, one architectural light, one piece of sculptural seating.
Minimalism gets criticized for being austere or "cold" but the best minimalist rooms aren't — they substitute material and proportion for ornament. A minimalist living room with quarter-sawn oak floors, a deeply textured plaster wall, and a single perfectly-cut piece of stone for a coffee table doesn't feel empty; it feels considered.