Aaahh, the cube. There are few shapes as satisfying as the perfect cube to those who appreciate geometry; there’s a reason cubes are so popular in home decor. They’re angular, geometric, and effortlessly sharp; the blocky shape is perfectly balanced by other naturally occurring shapes.

Trouble is, those cubes – like every other good thing – can be overused to the point of abuse, especially in minimalist homes. Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to soften them up; they’re absolutely fabulous when their sharpness is offset by circles, ovals, arcs, rounded edges, and even other angular and abstract shapes.

(To summarize: cubes good. Only cubes bad.)

With that in mind, check out these awesome rooms and fixtures that are the ideal mix of cubic and, well, non-cubic.

Cubes are perfect for seating, storage, and catchall surfaces (can’t fool us, we know that those cubes at the foot of the bed are covered in yesterday’s clothes when you’re not doing a photo shoot). Just look out for those corners!

But the cube ottoman is not exactly a new concept in design, so start branching out to cubes in the bathroom (that’s a weird phrase), beyond the ice-cube block wall of bygone decades:

Or add cubic style to every room with a cube light fixture or accessory:

Which shape is your favorite? Weigh in on the cube (and your faves) in the comments!