Barbie Land Has Reached the Interior Design World
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Since the hype around the highly anticipated Barbie movie has been building, we've felt a hot pink energy shift. While the film—directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling—is scheduled to be released in theaters on July 21, many people are ready to feel like they live in a Barbie world. The trend started with fashion and beauty (think monochrome pink outfits and bleached hair) and has unsurprisingly trickled into interiors: We have officially entered the era of Barbiecore.
"I love colorful interiors, and I’m so happy to see them taking off more," says TikTok-famous DIYer Tay BeepBoop, who recently gave her own closet a pink makeover. "When I think of Barbie homes, I think of large colorful pieces. I don’t envision a lot of clutter, because Barbies don’t have water cups, delivery boxes, and junk mail strewn about the house everywhere. Barbie is minimalism meets maximalism. I think of big, colorful statement pieces, such as an orange velvet sectional, pink polka dot wallpaper, and a gorgeous chandelier," she says.
For the closet makeover, BeepBoop added a magenta polka dot wallpaper with scalloped edges by Otto Studio and a pink locker from Mustard Made. Her wardrobe is also filled with vibrant clothing, cementing it as a closet Barbie would surely envy.
To bring the trend to life in your own home, BeepBoop recommends making a big statement for a small price. "Instead of having to buy dozens of small pieces to create the Barbiecore look, you can achieve it by buying just a few larger pieces—and it doesn’t have to be expensive," she says. "Start by adding pink glitter contact paper on the back wall of a bookshelf. Paint your bedroom door purple. Get one giant fuzzy colorful rug for your living room."
Another major source of Barbiecore inspo is the TikTok account The House of Adora. The Nashville home is practically a human-scale Barbie dream house. It has a pink exterior (complete with a pink painted walkway featuring shimmering gold painted cracks), pink kitchen, and pink bathroom.
"I only very recently heard the term Barbiecore, and I love it," says the owner Adora, who often rents out her glamorous residence for photo and video shoots. She continues: "Barbie pink is glamorous and unafraid. I’ve had people on social media tell me they used to be embarrassed that they liked the color pink but that they aren’t anymore. It makes me sad they were ever made to feel that way. But I'm so happy the tide is turning. Pink is such a wonderful color, and I love that more people are embracing it. Like how could I not be happy every time I walk onto my pink porch? Barbie-inspired design feels like the ultimate meaning of living your best life!"
Hot pink can also make a once-dull space feel lively, as it did in The Brownstone Boys’ own laundry room. While originally inspired by RuPaul's Drag Race, the laundry room is equally suitable for achieving a Barbie-influenced aesthetic. It features Sherwin-Williams’s Exuberant Pink paint and a pink brick-patterned wallpaper from Spoonflower. “We absolutely dread doing laundry, so we decided to make it the brightest and most fun space in our entire home,” the designers explain.
If hot pink is too much for you or you don’t want to go all in on the trend, there are plenty of subtle ways to incorporate it into your space. Molly Freshwater, a co-founder of Secret Linen Store, recommends introducing shades of pink through bed linens, towels, and throws. You can also introduce nostalgic touches through decorative objects and wall decor. “Barbie was in her heyday in the ‘80s and ‘90s, so a great nod to the Barbiecore trend is to introduce some subtle retro pieces,” she says. “Think tassel lampshades, vintage coffee table books, or old-fashioned landline phones. Bonus points if they are in pastel shades.”
Freshwater also suggests turning back to the days of poster-covered walls. “The Barbiecore look is all about casual wall decor that resembles a real-life Pinterest board,” she explains. “To avoid the not-so-appealing look of curling posters, the more mature take on the trend is to use wooden poster hangers or wire wall grids that allow you to peg on postcards, prints, or photos.”
As we embrace all of the vibrant interiors to come, we’ll be dreaming of how the production design team will bring Barbie and Ken’s home to life for the live-action film. We have high hopes!
Love looking at designer spaces for inspo? Us, too. Let’s obsess over them together.
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