10 Essentials for the Perfect 90s Bedroom

Thought it was time to rip down your 90s band posters and cartoon bed sheets? Think again. The 90s are back, and about time too. Nostalgia is always big news in interior design, and this year, we’re revisiting the decade of the Spice Girls, bean bag chairs and lava lamps. How you do it is up to you. If you want to go the whole hog and clad your walls in FHM cut outs and aggressively purple wallpaper, feel free. If you’d rather keep things just the right side of subtle, there’s plenty of ways to add some 90s flair without making your home feel like a shrine. So, how exactly do you create the perfect 90s bedroom? For a start, you get some of these ten essentials.

1. A Bean Bag Chair

As sure as apples are apples, you had a bean bag chair in the 90s. Or at the very least, you really, really wanted one. For a while, these squishy, squashy chairs were the height of desirability. If you wanted to impress your friends, you got a beanbag. If you wanted to throw a sleepover, you got a beanbag first. Basically, if you wanted to be seen as a someone rather than a no one, getting a beanbag chair was your way to do it. Back then, they were usually covered in a slippery vinyl. Thankfully, you can now get the beanbag without the dodgy cladding. Choose from suede or velvet for a 90s hit without the side effects.

2. Caboodles

Remember Caboodles? No? Then you clearly weren’t a teenage girl in the 90s. Back then, these useful pieces of kit where were every girl with a Lancome Juicy Tube and a nude lip liner kept their stash. The nude lip liners may have gone but the caboodles remain. And thank the heavens for that. After all, where better to keep your curling irons and makeup brushes then in a portal make up case designed, as the marketing logo goes, ‘to fit in with any style to make you shine wherever you go’?

3. A Floral Neutral

If you were female, breathing, and at an age where you could make your own styling decisions, a floral neutral would have featured heavily in your 90s experience. Recreate the look with a floral bedspread – look for soft, faded flowers set against a creamy background for a take that will evoke the 90s without putting you on a fast train back there. Frilly pelmets optional.

4. Layered Posters

10 things I Hate About You is a classic 90s flick, and one definitely worth watching if you want to learn a thing or two about the 90s bedroom. Domino.com recommends you check out how Bianca’s sweetly sentimental, floral heavy space stands in stark contrast with Kat’s angsty, cluttered zone. We, on the other hand, recommend you check out those layered posters – the ultimate 90s-bedroom necessity and a must for anyone who wants to recreate the look for the 21st century. You don’t have to stick to cut outs of Buffy, of course, but you might want to consider at least a couple of throwback worthy posters to get the vibe.

5. A Rainbow of Color

The 1990s were anything but subtle. They were loud, proud, and rainbow colored. As hgtv.ca writes, the typical 1990s bedroom was basically a hymn to color. And not just one or two colors. ALL the colors had a place in the 90s bedroom, with no color combo deemed too clashing or too much of an eyesore not to work. If you thought you could get away with a bland white color space for your 1990s bedroom, think again. You’re going to want lime green, bubblegum pink. violent purple, and more teal than you thought was legally possible. Go to your local paint store and buy at least 5 tins of different color paint. Anything less would be an affront to the concept.

6. A Beaded Curtain

What the point of them was, no one’s ever been able to work out. But that they were essential is a scientific fact. What are we talking about? The beaded curtain, a glorious accessory that managed to become an essential item of the 1990s bedroom despite serving no earthly purpose whatsoever. If you want to recreate the 90s bedroom, you’re going to need one, pronto. They might get tangled occasionally, but for a pop of color and a dose of cool, there’s no beating them.

7. A Mini Hifi

Mini hifis may be a little tricker to track down than they were 20 years ago, but if you really want to recreate a 90s vibe, you’re going to have to try anyway. Back in the day, these miniature sound systems were the height of cool. As lifedeathprizes.com (https://www.lifedeathprizes.com/lists/things-we-wanted-in-our-90s-bedrooms-16631) points out, their ability to roll a tape deck, radio and CD into one compact system was enough to blow our minds in the pre-smartphone era. You might not have anything to play on it these days, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need one anyway.

8. A Canopy Bed

if you want to go to bed in the 21st century and wake up in the 20th century, there’s only one way to do it. Invest in a canopy bed. These dreamy concoctions were the height of sophistication in the 1990s, and for good reason. As The Spruce notes, a gauzy canopy bed with its fluttering white fabric made it seem like you were waking up each day to a beach vacation. If you want to keep things bang up to date without losing the nostalgic feel, skips the 90s ruffles and plethora of fairy lights and opt for a pared-down covering with crisp, pristine bed linen and a minimalistic tone.

9. A Wicker Chair

Want the 90s feel but can’t quite face a bean bag chair? Don’t worry, there’s an alternative, an alternative that goes by the name of wicker. In the 1990s, wicker and rattan were big business. 20 years later, and the time is ripe for a resurgence. Pick up a cheap rattan or wicker chair from your local thrift store, recover it in a palms and foliage-covered fabric, and bam! 90’s glam with a 21st century slant – what could be better?

10. A Scented Candle

What 1990s bedroom was complete without a scented candle or incense stick? Fortunately, you don’t have to swear allegiance to patchouli (THE scent of the decade, in case you didn’t know) to get the same vibe. Whether you go for citrus, vanilla, sandalwood, or rose, a scented candle will add a waft of deliciousness to your bedroom and a major hint of nostalgia.

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