Layered, textural, patterned, heritage interiors are our bread and butter at Homes & Gardens, but that doesn’t mean we think simplicity is boring. In fact, it’s sometimes only by stripping away the color and texture from a room that the bones really shine. Kim Kardashian’s ‘minimalist monastery’ home in the Hollywood Hills wonderfully demonstrates this principle.
In 2020, the Skims mogul and her then-husband, Kanye West, worked with the Belgian designer and tastemaker Axel Vervoordt to transform their suburban Los Angeles home into an otherworldly, minimalist masterpiece. Every wall and ceiling is finished with a matte bone plaster, creating a shift in perspective as you walk through the door, as if the design goes on forever.
This eerie effect is most visible in the home’s entryway, which embodies the idiosyncratic philosophy behind the property. As Axel puts it in an Instagram caption about the home: ‘simplicity and proportion are the only decoration.’
Though this idea feels more applicable to an art piece than to a residential space, Kim’s home breaks down the dichotomy between the two, demonstrating that when you strip everything back, you are left with the walls themselves shining. The arching ceilings of the entryway are the perfect example. In another space, these curves might be an afterthought, but here, they are the center of the design.
In this way, the home’s look prioritizes ultimate simplicity. Axel told Architectural Digest: ‘Kanye and Kim wanted something totally new. We didn’t talk about decoration but a kind of philosophy about how we live now and how we will live in the future. We changed the house by purifying it, and we kept pushing to make it purer and purer.’
In 2026, as maximalist interiors are returning to fashion, it feels like an important time to return to the elegance of a more understated space so we can understand both ends of the spectrum.
Shop The Minimalist Sculptural Edit
Though most of us probably won’t go quite as minimal as Kim in our interiors, textural white pieces can still help make your home feel like a sculptural masterpiece in the same way as hers. These are our editors’ picks for adding personality, subtly.
This luxury-style piece feels like a true designer pick, while hiding quietly for under $55 on Amazon. It’s gently undulating curves and ridges imitate the movement of Kim Kardashian’s home.
Sculptural pieces don’t have to be hard and angular; this gorgeous white sofa boasts a compelling silhouette that you want to sink into. It would be the perfect furnishing for creating visual respite in a more matte living room.
Sheer curtains are ideal for anyone who wants to make sunlight a permanent fixture of their home. Like the philosophy in Kim’s LA property, its simple but compelling.
Amber Modern Swivel Chair
This stunning chair is upholstered in a light, neutral fabric, and features a low back and flared arms, making it a perfect silhouette for adding a new shape to your living room. It’s perfect for tucking in a corner that needs an accent.
If you don’t want to add color, adding texture is the next best choice. Like Kim’s plaster walls, the roughness draws the eyes in and keeps them there.
There’s nothing more elegant than a tall cream taper candle, and our editors are in love with these ones from Amazon. They’re perfect for adding to a mantelpiece or dining table for a touch of neutral interest.
Though some people find these swaths of white to be stressful (what do you do with your shoes?), for Kim, minimalism is how she brings calm to her home. ‘I love the simplicity of the design,’ She told AD in 2020. ‘Everything in the outside world is so chaotic. I like to come into a place and immediately feel the calmness.’
Of course, this approach to design is polarizing. Many people want their homes to feel warmer and more lived in. However, if you hope to create something more unsettling, like a visit to a gallery, Kim’s minimalist entryway presents an interesting method of highlighting by paring back.
It’s not just celebrities who embrace this technique; certain members of the design community also subscribe to a less is more method for creating beautiful homes. In fact, the mastermind behind the project, Axel Vervoordt applies this approach to all of his work. In a 2013 interview for 032c Magazine, he explained: ‘I don’t believe in style rules. It’s just listening, seeing, feeling, and a kind of humbleness. I generally prefer the more hidden qualities. I don’t want things to show off too much or be too loud. I like it more silent.’
As Kim’s hallway shows, for many people, the lack of style can be a style in and of itself. Axel stated: ‘I think to make something beautiful and pleasing is always a bit dangerous. I try to avoid it. I think it’s fantastic when it is pleasing, but more importantly, for me, is that you feel the spirit and that you create a positive tension – a positive connection between the objects and yourself.’
He continues: ‘For myself, I try to be as little present as possible in the sense of putting forward my own style. I prefer to have no style. It’s my way of doing things. I love doing simple things in a great way.’
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