Simple Nail Design - The 11 Simple short Nail Design

Many people associate nail art with long nails, but even if you keep your short nails, you can decorate them with simple, sophisticated designs that will give you the same look as a traditional manicure without the added expense. Below is a list of 11 simple nail designs that you can use to accentuate short nails. From monochromatic manicures to neon-colored French manicures, there is a design for everyone. Read on to learn more about short nail designs that are eye-catching and easy to do.

What Is The Reason We Need Simple Short Nail Ideas?

Long nail manicures look great, but there are many reasons why you should rather cut and manicure your nails short. Here are just a few reasons why you should choose a short nail design:

• Avoid breakage. If you deal with your nails breaking easily at longer lengths, manicuring your nails short will prevent the issue. And if you have a long manicure, nothing is worse than breaking off a single nail since it’s so noticeable.
• Ability to dress: Having long nails can make buckles, snaps, and zippers difficult to manage. Short nails are more practical if you have to change in and out of layered clothing a lot.
• Saved money: Short Nail is a lot easier to upkeep at home without having to pay for expensive salon manicures, and you’ll spend less on polish, too.
• Hygiene: If you do a lot of work with your hands, wearing long nails almost ensures that you’ll get a bunch of dirt and grime caught under them. For people who work with food or in medical settings, long nails are often forbidden by the dress code for this reason. With a short Nail, you can still wear cute nail designs without being unsanitary.
• No pokes and scratches. If you’re prone to accidentally poking yourself in the eye with your nails or scratching people when you hug them, having a short nail can keep people from getting poked or scratched.

Short nail designs give you many of the same options as longer nails, but with much less maintenance.

What Makes a Simple Nail Design?

With a simple nail design, you can also maintain your nails much easier. But what makes a simple nail design when it comes to nail art? Here are some of the criteria you should look for when choosing a simple nail design:

• Limited colors: To keep a simple nail design, choose only one or two colors to use per nail. This helps reduce the amount of time you need to let your nails dry between layers and can keep the design looking unified.
• No nail accessories: Nail accessories like stick-on jewels and sequins look great for a dramatic night out, but they don’t really make for a simple nail design. Instead, stick with flat designs that don’t add any additional texture.
• Do-it-yourself difficulty: One of the big advantages of simple nail designs is that these designs are easy to replicate at home rather than having them done in a nail salon. This can save you hundreds of dollars over the course of the year in salon fees.

The advantages of a simple nail design are twofold. First, it’s much easier for you to create this look even if you don’t have an experienced manicurist at home. Second, simple designs are often more aesthetically pleasing than complicated designs.

Simple Nail Design for Short Nails

Want to wear a simple nail design but don’t know where to start? Below are eleven of the easiest nail designs you can get for short nails.

1 - Floral Manicure

Usually, nail design is not really easy, but if you add a floral design to a pretty pastel shade like periwinkle or purple, you can visually enhance your short nail design without overdoing it. There are nail decals in many different floral designs to fit almost any preference. You can choose a decal that blends in with the background color or one that stands out.

2 - Monochromatic Manicure

One of the easiest ways to keep a simple short nail design is to limit the number of colors you use in your design. However, that doesn’t mean you have to limit yourself to just one shade. Use negative spaces and a glittery or metallic variation of the shade for accents so that a monochromatic manicure doesn’t look bland.

3 - Dots and Stripes Manicure

Limiting your simple short nail design to just two colors may seem restrictive, but you can still make this manicure interesting by combining different geometric patterns, like dots and stripes. One advantage of this simple pattern is that you can more easily apply dots and stripes freehand than other patterns during a DIY manicure.

4 - Black Manicure

One of the simple nail designs to do with short nails is the classic black manicure. Matte or glossy, this look gives both women and men a cool rocker vibe. When using black nail polish, make sure to cover your nails with a cuticle barrier so that the polish doesn’t spill over and make your manicure look messy.

5 - Colorful French Manicure

French manicure is a popular nail design for both short and long nails. In this, the simple short nail design is a colorful variation of the classic French manicure, where the tip color and base color are replaced with bright shades instead of the traditional white and nude. This manicure has a sophisticated look, but the bright colors add a touch of whimsy. You can use any combination that you like. 

6 - Black and White Geometric Manicure

Simple geometric patterns are a great way to make nail design more interesting without necessarily making it more complicated. Geometric patterns also look just as good on short nails as they do on long nails. Black and white are both neutral colors, so this design can be worn with outfits of any color without clashing.

7 - Multicolored Metallic Manicure

Most simple nail designs are limited to one or two colors, but if you want a colorful look, it’s best to color each nail on your hand a different color. This metallic manicure combines gold, crimson, ocean blue, and forest green. Multicolor metallic nails are also a cool nail design that you can match to the colors of your favorite team or to the colors of an outfit you match.

8 - White Manicure

All-white nails are one of the simple short nail designs you can wear, and the great thing about them is that they go with everything. While a black manicure makes for a dramatic evening look, white nails are perfect for casual daytime looks or a fresh spring aesthetic. If plain white nails are too simple for you, you can add nail decor to your ring fingers for a special accent.

9 - Two-Tone Manicure

Another unique look that involves multiple colors is to do half of your manicure in one color and half of your manicure in the other color. By making one color solid and the other with some gold foil or a decal, you can enhance the contrast between the two colors. Another way to enhance the contrast is to make one half of your manicure glossy, a cute simple short nail, and the other half matte.

10 - Accent Nail Manicure

Another simple short nail design that involves two nail colors is an accent nail design. In this design, all the nails on the hand are painted in the same color except for one, usually the nail on the ring finger. This nail is painted in a contrasting color. A manicure with accent nails looks especially good if you are trying to show off a ring, as an accent nail on the ring finger will draw attention to it.

11 - Pastel Manicure

Pastel short nails are the perfect spring look and are as colorful as a basket full of Easter eggs. This simple nail design is a bit more expensive than others because several colors are used, but the overall design is still simple because each nail has only one shade. This design looks good with both a glossy and matte finish.

How to Get Started on Creating a Simple Nail Design

Once you’ve decided on a short, simple nail design, the next step is to get the perfect manicure. Luckily, you don’t need a lot of experience to get a good manicure at home if you keep your design simple and follow a few simple tips. Here are a few ways you can get the most out of your simple nail design

• Shape your nails. Any design on your nails is going to look uneven if the nails themselves aren’t filed down to the same shape. File your nails after exfoliating your hands and before you start to add polish. You can either file your nails to a short rounded shape or square them off, depending on your preference and the shape of your fingers.
• Push back your cuticles. You want to avoid trimming your cuticles if possible because this layer of skin helps protect the bed of your nails design from bacteria and injury. However, pushing the cuticle back with a cuticle tool after rubbing cuticle oil on it can make your nails look tidier and help your nail polish lay smooth.
• Use a cuticle barrier. A cuticle barrier is a liquid latex that you can spread around the outside edge of your nails before painting them. This barrier prevents the nail polish from overflowing your nails and leaking onto your fingers, creating a messy and unprofessional look. Once your nails are dry, you can easily peel this latex barrier away.

If you follow these three simple steps, your simple short nail manicure will turn out much more neat and refined. If you make sure to clean and prepare your nails before you start painting, you can get a manicure that is just as beautiful as anything you would pay for at the salon.