We’ve just set up our Twitter handle (@LDNminimalists if anyone wants to follow/ connect) and over the weekend I was looking for people to follow and chat to.

I was really surprised to find that #minimalism brought up a lot of design and fashion websites extolling me to ‘get the minimalist look’.

This involved buying clothes and furniture to make myself and my home look more minimalist. This really made me chuckle because the irony of buying minimalism seemed to be lost on the fashion pages and home design websites I found.

Minimalism does seem to be having a bit of a renaissance in the design world, maybe as a counter to the over-the-top, vintage, kitsch, antique shop look that has been so prevalent in recent years (I must admit that before the pre-minimalism epiphany I was guilty of cultivating this look in our home – the picture above is just one corner of our old house before the declutter!)

And while I’m pleased the idea of owning less and to some extent being more environmentally conscious, is becoming more fashionable, I think we’d all agree that buying minimalism just isn’t possible.

The main aim of minimalism is to buy less stuff and use the money you would have spent on a new cushion or candelabra to buy an experience that means something to you, or shock-horror (!) not buy anything at all.

No matter how hard those advertisers try buying a #minimalist outfit isn’t going to beat buying a new experience.

In fact, minimalists are pretty much advertisers worst nightmare!

M