"Clean lines, concrete, expansive glass windows, and muted color palettes are also needed. Such are the hallmarks of a minimalist dwelling. Reduce that further, and you end up with all that epitomizes those three famous words of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the ultimate master of minimalism: "Less is more. "While some decry minimalism as stark, soulless, and formulaic, thoughtfully executed minimalist spaces have an undeniable poetry. Japanese architect Tadao Ando once noted, "If you give people nothingness, they can ponder what can be achieved from that nothingness."