Nostalgic 90s Home Décor Ideas

There have been many trendy things in the 1990s, and some of those things are related to home décor. While the 90s was considered a decade full of “extreme” trends, home décor items during that decade were much more subtle and simpler. If you want to know more about popular home décor items in the 90s and how you can give your home a 90s-style interior, here are nostalgic 90s home décor ideas.

Blond Wood Furniture

In the 70s and 80s, darker-colored cabinets and closets were quite trendy, but by the 90s, people opted to go for lighter colors when it came to different pieces of home décor. The lighter-colored furniture is made from blond wood, which is composed of different types of wood that are light in color, and these include maple, birch, and ash. Because of how good blond wood furniture looks, they are still quite popular today, so you won’t have difficulties finding pieces for your home.

Here are a few pieces of furniture that feature blond wood finishing:

Folding Screens

room with folding screen

Folding screens started becoming popular in the US during the 90s, but it has been around since 200 BC in Ancient China. Folding screens used in ancient times are made of wood frames that have fabric sewn onto them. Then, the fabric is decorated with intricate art that is related to Chinese mythology and architecture. Folding screens eventually became popular in other countries, and it soon reached the US, where folding screens were typically simpler. The modern folding screens are primarily used to cover specific parts of the rooms, like the area where the bed is or the dining area.

Check out these three folding screens that you can buy online:

Sponge-Painted Walls

sponge painting pattern

In the 1990s, there were many houses that had interior walls painted using sponges. The sponges create unique patterns and textures to the walls, which is what many people in the 90s preferred over painting the wall over using a brush or roller. From afar, sponge-painted walls look like they are covered with suede, which is a type of leather that has a hair and plush texture.

Animal Print Pillow and Sofa Covers

zebra print

Animal prints were very popular in the 90s for clothing. Eventually, the animal print trend spread into home décor. You will see so many homes in the decade have animal print pillow covers and sofa covers in their living room because of how popular the said print is. Before, animal print covers were made from the actual skin, fur, scales, and feathers of various animals, including leopards, tigers, and zebras. However, after criticism and protests from animal advocacy groups, many companies that produce animal print products started using fake fur and skin made from natural or synthetic materials.

Here is a short list of pillow covers with animal prints that you can purchase online:

Inflatable Furniture

Another popular home décor in the 90s is inflatable furniture, which is affordable while still being able to elevate the look of various rooms. Inflatable seats were best-sellers in the 90s, and they are often considered as a much more affordable version of bean bags, which were trendy in the 70s and 80s. Other pieces of inflatable furniture that were used and displayed in homes during the 90s include side tables, lounge chairs, and couches.

Take a look below for three pieces of inflatable furniture that you can add as décor for your home:

Parquet Flooring

parquet flooring

Parquet flooring was almost everywhere in the 90s, from commercial buildings or establishments to homes. In case you don’t know, a parquet is a mosaic of wood that is composed of slabs that are arranged geometrically into different patterns, which include triangles, squares, and diamonds. In the 90s, herringbone was arguably one of the most popular patterns for parquet flooring. The herringbone pattern is created by placing two rectangular slabs of wood in a way that they form an “L” shape, and this pattern is repeated for the flooring.

Glow-in-the-Dark Decals and Stickers

Many kids in the 90s would have glow-in-the-dark decals on their bedrooms’ ceilings. In order for these decals to grow, they have “phosphorescence,” which allows an object to absorb light and reemit it at a much longer wavelength. So, the glow-in-the-dark decals will only glow when they are exposed to a light source, like a light bulb or the sunlight, and it will glow brightly once you take out the light source. In the 90s, decals that were shaped like planets, stars, and moons were very popular, but today, you can buy packs that are filled with other shapes and patterns.

Here are three packs of glow-in-the-dark decals that can be great home décor for bedrooms:

Track Lighting

track lights

Track lighting is a lighting method where small light fixtures are installed or attached to a rail or track device that has electrical wire and conductors inside. So, by installing small lights onto the track, they will be given power to light up. These track lights are primarily installed in ceilings, and while many restaurants use track lights to enhance the lighting of the establishments, homes use these lights to highlight specific areas of the home, like bookshelves or artwork placed onto a wall.

Check out these three track lighting kits if you want references on what to buy:

Bead Curtains

bead curtain with flowers

Bedrooms in the 90s would often have plastic or wooden bead curtains on the windows or around the bed. These bead curtains are purely installed for aesthetic purposes, as they aren’t really effective in blocking out sunlight and other sources of light. Besides bedrooms, bead curtains are also utilized to cover doorways that don’t actually have doors.

Below are three bead curtains that can help elevate the look of your home’s windows or doorways:

Fake Plants

Fake plants were also abundant in homes during the 90s, and this trend emerged after palm tree pots became popular in the 80s. Because of how difficult it is to take care of palm tree pots, many people opted to decorate their homes with fake plants, which was becoming more common in the 90s as plastic began to be much easier and cheaper to produce during that decade. In addition to plastic, some fake plants are also made using silk or cotton.

Here are a few fake plants that you should take a look at if you are planning to buy one:

Cordless Phone

Before the 1990s, phones were connected to a public telephone network through wires. The wires then prevent the phones from being moved anywhere, so you are basically stuck in one room while using the phone. But, by the 90s, cordless phones became more available. These cordless phones connect to the public telephone network remotely instead of through wires, so you can bring the cordless phones anywhere inside the house, as long as the remote signal is still connected to the network. 

While cordless phones are rarely used today due to the popularity of smartphones, there are still some cordless phones available for purchase online. Here are three cordless phones that you can still buy today:

Wall Posters

movie posters

Posters on walls were found in many kids’ bedrooms in the 90s, and these posters often represent their favorite movies, TV shows, or video games. Posters on walls can come in different sizes, but the kids during that decade loved the biggest posters they could buy or get as a gift from their parents or other family members. Some of the best posters that you can buy today that are related to the 90s include the ones for Titanic (1997), Jurassic Park (1993), and Pulp Fiction (1994).

Those are some of the best home décor items that you would usually find in households during the 90s. If you want your home to look like the 90s from the inside, you should check out the link we have provided above so that you will have an easier and faster time finding the best home décor items to buy.