These 90s interiors trends are live and kicking
It all started with an age confirming shopping trip
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‘I’m either 13 again or I’m too old for this shop’, I typed half smiling, half bemused into my phone and pressed send to my girls Whatsapp group. The message was attached to a photo of a clothing display showing off lilac cargo trousers with big leg pockets and drawstrings at the ankles, and a baby pink cropped cardigan to seemingly go with them.
A young girl shopping next to me was wearing a cute denim jacket adorned with gem stones and diamanté tassels, and she was carrying a shiny fuchsia baguette bag. A flashback to teenage me in Tammy Girl. But only I’m now 33 and I was in Primark, my favourite haunt as a youngster now a forgotten store but a cool ASOS line. Her bag probably had an iPhone in it while mine would have been jammed with a Nokia 3310 nestled closely to a fruity roll-on lip gloss and a pink furry purse holding my pocket money.
I’d popped in to kill some time to have a bit of a mooch and see what was new but quite quickly realised that aside from tights, trainer socks and wardrobe basics, this particular Primark was not selling goods aimed at me (I’m not sure I could rock a pair of purple cargo pants, I hasten to add, and give me a top without a crop or section missing pur-lease!).
This whole 20 second scene has quite obviously stuck with me as I am now recalling it here to you, as well as via my phone’s messages (the response to which by the way was a resounding LOL and a comment on how cargo pants are apparently all the rage now).
As well as the 90s/00s being huge for fashion, beauty and hair (you won’t see me sporting gelled bangs again, of that I am categorically sure), I wondered what impact the decade(s) had on our homes and if any of the hot trends then, are hot again now. Spoiler: they are.
A few years ago, my team at KBB magazine and I put together the 30th anniversary issue and the best bit was delving into the archives. 30 years of kitchen, bedroom and bathroom design at our fingertips – lots of which before the internet or social media, imagine that.
I took a memorable trip to the British Library in London to access the very early editions, the first of which launched in 1990 just in time to showcase the looks of the day. I remember I had to specially request access to the magazines I wanted to see and they were collected from the vaults at the library – can you only imagine what’s documented there? Then I was allowed to read them within a designated room, which had famous newspaper covers blown up large on the walls, like ones announcing election results or war or the birth of a new royal. I found the whole experience fascinating, and came away with mountains of photocopies to take back to the office for further inspection.
There were carpeted bathrooms (no thanks), computers the size of a small car (or near enough, I embellish), flouncy upholstery and grand canopied beds, and more on top of more on top of more. For the early half of the 90s at least. The latter half, as we edged closer to the millennium and became slowly more au fait with technology, saw the rise of a minimalist aesthetic – perhaps as an antidote to the maximalist styles of the 80s and early 90s.
When you think of a 90s house, you might also think of heavily patterned wallpaper with borders, shabby chic patterned sofas, farmhouse-style or blonde wood kitchens, the colour purple (not unlike those lilac cargos) and walls that have been sponged or treated to a decal or two. Now, while many of these tropes may not have resurfaced (never say never), some of the trends I’ve come across in my quest to see if the 90s are back have, to my surprise, been ‘back’ for some time – although in a more subtle way.
East meets west was hip and very happening circa the early to mid 90s, according to Architectural Digest, and it wouldn’t have been uncommon to see giant fans or kimonos adorning walls as art. Neither would it have been strange to see the a greige colour palette, shoji screened doors or room dividers, and simple furniture chosen for its beautiful form as well as its function. Designers like Kelly Hoppen rose to the fore and the self-confessed ‘queen of taupe’ is probably the one best know for the east meets west style to this day. Despite the elaborate nature of some of the trends from the 90s era, this one feeds into a feeling of calm, signifying more of what’s to come as the noughties loomed and minimalism gained pace. In fact today, the likes of Japandi (a fusion of Japanese and Scandinavian design principles) and the desire for calm spaces like spa-inspired bathrooms and boutique hotel-inspired bedrooms, plus the growing popularity of neutrals, show that this trend hasn’t gone anywhere.
Another mainstay of a trendy 90s home (or bar) would have been neon. Now I ask: how many Insta homes have a lit sign in them? Does yours have one? I’ve toyed with the idea of getting one for my dining room. Most shops now sell some variation of a light-up sign with whatever word you fancy – I bet that Primark had a version, in fact.
What else? Edging into a country-style vibe, wicker saw popularity in the 90s, too. Along with lightly distressed finishes to make things look ‘lived in’, panelling, fabric skirting and gathered curtains in gingham or with a ruffle. It was about getting a shabby chic farmhouse look. The #cottagecore craze comes to mind, no? How very 2022…and 2023. I’m writing this and have a wicker tray to my left and I can’t tell you how many rattan or basketry shopping pages I’ve seen in the last few years.
A wooden kitchen would have been central to this country-inspired look, but pine and unpainted blonde wood cabinets were all the rage across the taste spectrum. For those with more contemporary tendencies, veneered units would probably have been paired with modern-for-the-day speckled black worktops. Having spent the past six years writing predominantly about kitchen design, I can say that those ‘natural’ wooden looks are gaining strong pace – it’s all about letting the beauty of the natural wood shine and, in turn, creating that organic, calm look. So probably minus the ruffles and sponged walls. But hey, if you like it, you do you.
You know the phrase: ‘what goes around comes around’. And just like fashion, interiors is the same – just a bit slower. I’m curious to see whether after the gargantuan rise of maximalism in recent years, we’ll take a very ‘noughties approach’ and clear the decks for a paired back home. I can see this happening already as earthy shades, wooden accents, ‘mindful’ Zen designs and fitted storage to hide away clutter see demand. For me this makes sense culturally too – a way to bring calm after the storm of everything we’ve lived through in recent years. I guess only time will tell.
Fancy a bit more 90s nostalgia?
I loved looking through this gallery of 90s interiors from House & Garden’s archives. You’d be forgiven for thinking that some of the spaces wouldn’t look out of place in houses today. Click here to read.