Whether you love it or hate it, ’80s style is back in fashion. In that polarizing and decadent era, the very notion of good taste was openly flouted and clashing influences were used in loud and often excessive ways that reflected the times (and eventually ushered in ’90s minimalism). Today’s designers and home decor enthusiasts are riffing on some of the ‘80s most memorable trends, from Memphis Design to Art Deco-inspired geometric shapes to clashing patterns, all-over floral chintz, color pairings like pink and green, bright neon colors, and other hallmarks of the style. Check out these current bedroom ideas that reference ‘80s style for inspiration.
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01 of 15
Add Miami Vibes
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Design by Hannah Park of HIDA Modern
Hannah Park of HIDA Modern decorated her ’80s-inspired Los Angeles studio with vintage and flea market finds that reference Miami, postmodernism, and the decade’s pop culture. Park focused her bedroom design around rounded forms, ubiquitous light-reflecting mirrors, tropical plants, and the bright neon colors that marked the era. The bright and airy room painted white with pale-toned hardwood flooring keeps it all feeling current without dipping too far into museum display territory.
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02 of 15
Incorporate Graphic Patterns
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Design by Mary Patton Design / Photo by Molly Culver
This graphic black-and-white bedroom from Mary Patton Design has bold bronze accents that recall the signature gold-toned metallics of the decade that have made a comeback in recent years. “The inspiration was actually my childhood best friend’s room in the ’80s,” Patton says. “I remember it being so magical and wanted to create a similar environment for my daughter. The mix of the canopy and Fortuny used in an ’80s Laura Ashley way is a fun twist on something from my childhood.”
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03 of 15
Let It Clash
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Design by Gunnar Larson / Photo by Nathan Kraxberger
This bedroom from Gunnar Larson has ’80s spirit but feels current, with its bold use of clashing patterns and color. According to Larson, making ’80s design work for today “is all about stripping away the bulk and mixing comfort with sleek modern lines.” He says he particularly likes how furniture designers are updating overstuffed ’80s furniture, say, by incorporating sleek metal framing to create a current take on an old style. “It is fun to see how ’80s design is getting deconstructed and reinvented for our design-forward trends yet having our bodies’ comfort in mind,” Larson says.
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04 of 15
Mix Pink and Green
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Design by Mary Patton Design / Photo by Molly Culver
This bedroom from Mary Patton Design embraces the ’80s penchant for pink and green and floral prints in a room with vintage bona fides. “The bed is actually from the client’s parents’ house from the late ’80s,” says Patton. “We updated it with modern bedding, lamps, and end tables, but I love the mix of old and new.”
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05 of 15
Hang a Neon Sign
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Design by Sarah Barnard Design / Photo by Steven Dewall
This bedroom from Sarah Barnard Design is a modern take on ’80s style, with its bold plum and lavender color-blocked walls; curvilinear black walnut Autoban bed frame lined with purple velvet; red upholstered ottoman; and plush black carpeting. A neon sign above the bed spelling out “phantasmagoria” channels the vogue for everything neon during that decade.
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06 of 15
Embrace Southwestern Vibes
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Design by Caitlin Jones and Chris Willcox / Photo by Seth Caplan
In this converted ’80s dance club loft in Los Angeles, Caitlin Jones and Chris Willcox of vintage retailers Asparagus turned the separate bedroom into its own pop homage to Southwestern design, another popular trend from the 1980s. They sourced the colorful rugs and bedding from a road trip through the American West.
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07 of 15
Try Color Blocking
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Design by Atelier Steve / Photo by Bertrand Fompeyrine
Architect Pauline Borgia of Atelier Steve renovated this Paris apartment with bold contemporary moves that could have been inspired by the ghosts of ’80s interior design. This included an updated color-blocked take on the era’s signature pastel pinks and greens, here in a saturated forest green and deep salmon color palette. Bold mismatched bedding recalls the era’s penchant for clashing fabrics in everything from home design to fashion.
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08 of 15
Add a Sleek Update
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Design by Kara Mann
This sleek ’80s-inspired bedroom designed by Kara Mann as part of a furniture collaboration with CB2 is a fresh, polished, and contemporary take on the decade. The bedroom is a confident mix of high-contrast warm whites and muted blacks, with a mauve-colored velvet ottoman and bold geometric shapes that recall the best that the decade had to offer.
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09 of 15
Accent With Neon Paint
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Design by Vanessa Scoffier / Photo by Hotel Henriette
Using a touch of neon, whether on the walls, or in linens, art, or decorative objects is an easy, low cost way to give your design a jolt of personality that can be changed out easily. In this room at the Hotel Henriette in Paris, interior designer Vanessa Scoffier used graphic wall stripes of neon pink in a slightly off-kilter pattern to loosely define the bed era and introduce some punchy ’80s vibes into an otherwise neutral bedroom.
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10 of 15
Smell the Lavender
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Photo by Kelley Kish Photography
A simple way to add ’80s vibes to your bedroom without going full retro is by drenching the walls in lavender, a color that has come back around in recent years.
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11 of 15
Paint a Color Block Mural
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Emily Henderson Design / Photo by Sara Ligorria-Tramp
Emily Henderson Design answered a client’s call to make their daughter’s bedroom “a little bit 80s” by painting the closet-turned-art nook with a custom color block hand-painted mural in shades of purple, peach, and pink.
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12 of 15
Go for Kelly Green
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There are echoes of the ’80s in this modern Miami bedroom from interior designer Maite Granda, with its loud and proud Kelly green upholstered bed frame and clashing prints and patterns.
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13 of 15
Bust Out
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With its soft shades of pink, mauve, and gray, rounded furniture, and wall-to-wall carpeting, this Kansas city luxury condo bedroom from Will Brown Interiors has ’80s vibes that are brought home by the Grecian bust on the bedside table, a recent trend that hearkens back to the decade when the craze for Grecian-style furniture and decor was at its height.
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14 of 15
Embrace a Nautical Theme
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Nautical decor was another ’80s trend that embraced the symbolism of coastal life, like this Florida boys’ room from interior designer Maite Granda that is decorated with sailor stripe textiles, illustrated sailboat wallpaper, and a bedside lamp with a coiled rope base.
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15 of 15
Stay Preppy
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While the ’80s was a decade of wild experimentation and competing trends, it was also an era defined by everything preppy and yuppie. This boys’ bedroom from Brexton Cole Interiors was born yesterday but looks like it could have been like this for decades, with its shocks of red and green, vintage-style furniture, and collegiate- and sports-themed wall art.
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How do you make a bedroom look like the ’80s?
You can add some ‘80s style to a modern bedroom by embracing any number of trends, from Pop Art to Art Deco-inspired geometric shapes to clashing patterns to bold wallpaper to Laura Ashley-style prints used everywhere from the bedding to the curtains. Popular ‘80s color palettes include pairing pink and green and shades like mauve, peach, and lavender, as well as bright neon shades.
What was the interior design style of the ’80s?
Defined as much by yuppie style as punk rock and postmodernism, ’80s interiors were dominated by such disparate trends as chintz; Laura Ashley floral prints; Pop Art; neon colors and lighting; asymmetry; color palettes that ranged from red and black to pink and green to peach or mauve everything. Marble was everywhere from furniture to accessories to paint effect wall treatments. On-trend interiors could have been alternately preppy, decorated with Art Deco-inspired geometric forms and rounded edges, Southwestern influences, nautical themes, or postmodern style from the Memphis Design movement founded by legendary Italian designer Ettore Sottsass.
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