14 Jul How To Add Your Geeky Personality to Your Home Decor
I am a sucker for home decor. There’s something about finding the perfect item for that shelf or pillow for the couch that brings your personality to the forefront. I’m always looking around for ways to pepper both of our very unique personalities throughout our home while still remaining true to our decor style. All while keeping it classy. Let’s talk about how to add your geeky personality to your home decor.
Can I be honest with you for a second? It’s often difficult to be taken seriously as a geeky adult. I mean, I don’t know how many times my mom has called us “Toys ‘R’ Us Kids” because our Sunday outings have included trips to the comic book store. Aaaand maybe, at times, to the literal toy store.
Semantics.
Oh, and to most people our geeky collections look like actual toys. But they’re not. They are very specific and often pricey items of fanfare that enhance our passions and make us happy to be alive.
Among other things, of course.
So trying to add pieces of geekery to our decor style can really ride that fine line between ‘Oh, I see what you did there!’, and ‘Oh wow, you guys have a Marvel museum in your living room.’ Is there anything wrong with that? Not if it’s what you’re going for? But personally, I prefer a subtle approach to a geeked-out home decor style that doesn’t scream Disney attraction, if you know what I mean.
We just want the best of both worlds. Is that too hard to ask?
On top of that, hubs and I had slightly different decor styles coming in. He loved the sleek, grey, mechanical modern minimalistic look; while I marched in with my collection of vintage typewriters and a love of history. We had to devise a compromise. While looking at places to live, we both fell in love with the industrial style, which (to me) combines the modern lines and tones that he loves with a touch of the aged and raw history that I love. This is how our combined love for the new and old blended into the modern industrial-chic design style that we love so much.
There’s a bit more to it, but that’s the nutshell. I’ll tell you more about finally finding our style in another post. You came here for the geeky decor advice, no?
What is the mistake many geeks make while decorating their homes?
The easiest mistake to make in home decor is thinking in themes.
I know, I know; pointing out one’s mistakes is not a great way to begin a conversation. But this is really the mistake many geeks make when decorating their homes. Bear with me – often the epiphany comes when we realize our mistakes and learn from them.
True story: We had a Mario-themed kitchen in our last home – green pipes and all – and although it made quite a few people stop to stare and take pictures, it became kinda kitschy, kinda fast. We loved it, though, and kept it until we moved. Again, if this is what you’re going for, then go all in. But decorating in themes often traps us in the literal and keeps us tied to just one specific niche or fandom. There is seldom room for creativity once you fall into the trap of buying items just to represent that theme.
Geeky Themes in Home Decor
When do themes work? Well, they totally work when you’re a fan of one genre and love only one character. Say, for instance, you only love and play Dungeons and Dragons – then your theme would be D&D all over. Themes also work for weddings and birthday parties. But I’ll be honest – I’ve not yet met a geeky acquaintance who had only one fandom to follow, or who got married every season. We (Geeks) are exceptionally enthusiastic about many fandoms that include a variety of characters, places, and time periods that span across books, television, games, space, and time.
For example, I will die for Star Wars…
:: raises eyebrow in challenge with no regret ::
…while hubs loves Batman. But he also is a hardcore X-Men fan. And he gets super excited about Spiderman. I am crazy about Black Butler the anime and The Ancient Magus’ Bride manga. Among many others. But I also love Marvel characters and stories, and DC animated shows. We both collect comics and Pops, and we both cosplay from all those genres.
I can’t even imagine throwing all of that into our living room and calling it a done deal. And we basically did that in our first home. At first, we loved it and thought it was so cool; but then it started to feel crowded – there were too many genres and characters and they were all screaming for attention. So this time around we chose to compartmentalize and decorate with ‘ideas’ and ‘concepts’ rather than themes.
Ideas in Geeky Home Decor
Decorating your home space in ideas and concepts rather than themes may not a novel ‘idea (heehee)’. Or even a real ‘concept (okay, I’m done)’. After all, I’m not a designer by trade. But focusing on an idea or a feeling is how we have been able to maintain home decor sanity while still having fun with our style. So rather than choosing a theme and trying to fit as many things as possible into our space within that theme, we chose an idea or a main concept. With a home decor idea, you create a feeling or a concept. It’s not as literal as a theme. Both of these concepts are inspired by something (for example, a Mario-themed kitchen); however, the execution is different.
A themed room is one with many items and elements that point to the specific theme. Like green pipes above the cabinets, a coin-shaped ‘beaded’ curtain, and Mario characters on wall art. Yep. We did that. I mean, I’m not going to lie, it was cool and people loved it. But when you walk into a room decorated like this, you feel like you’ve just stepped into a Mario Kart game rather than a room with a cool Mario vibe. You really don’t want to overcrowd your space – it’s not a competition to see how many things from one favorite episode you can fit into one room. Unless it is. Then I guess, do you?
And there is a difference between items thrown everywhere to represent a theme and having an actual collection. We geeks take our collections very seriously, and there is nothing wrong with using your collection as a statement piece in your decor.
What could we have done, instead?
However, a decor idea, or style, takes that inspiration and surrounds you with a feeling rather than a bunch of objects. Maybe we could have created a Mario-inspired game room using concepts like ‘bright’ and ‘charming’ to create a sense of being in Mario World. If we ever recreated that concept again, I would decorate with green pillows – maybe even one with dots like the Toadstools – and use succulents and a couple of Venus fly traps in white pots to bring it together. We’d probably then put our old-school Nintendo out with the controllers on display and keep the space light and airy.
Ah, to do it all again…
This Mario-inspired decor doesn’t scream “Lets-a-go!” at your guests when they come to visit. You know that there’s something there, but it may take you a moment to figure it out. It’s subtle. I like to say “If you know, you know.” If you get it, welcome to our inner Geek circle. But if you don’t, that’s okay – the hope is that you still enjoy your time in our home.
Geeky Decor Takes Time
I want to emphasize that this is not a race. In other words, take your time. It has taken us years to finally come to terms with what we like as geeks and what will work in our decor. Geek collections and items are often higher-priced, so you have to plan your geeky purchases with other things – like furniture. Aaand food.
We started with just tossing our favorite fanart into frames on the wall with no real purpose or direction. It was nice, yes, and our pillows matched our artwork, which matched our rug. But it was just everything everywhere all at once and that is not as great a design style choice as it was a movie. We have since moved and decided that instead of throwing a few (or all) of our favorite geeky things onto the wall and bookshelves we would take a step back and really think about what we wanted reflected in our space.
Design should be like slow fashion – quality over quantity and long-lasting. We want our home to represent our personalities and our relationship, but to also be an inviting, comfortable, and fun place for our guests. We don’t really have geeky family members, per say; so it’s sometimes harder for them to appreciate the easter eggs that we often find clever and charming – especially if it starts to look like, well, a Toys ‘R’ Us store.
Yep. Full circle, guys.
And with that, let’s talk about how we can use our fandoms in our decor by turning them into ideas that evoke that geeky feeling we’re looking for when we walk into our space.
Seven Ways to Add Your Geeky Personality to Your Home Decor
- Start with the basics
- Use color
- Infuse textures or scents
- Add Artwork
- Lifestyle
- Sentimental Decor
- Plants & Flowers
Start with the basics.
In fact, after advising you to take your time, I would add that figuring out your decorating or design style is the first step. I will go over that in more detail in a future post. But be sure to pay attention to what you’re drawn to when you’re shopping for things in your home. This will give you an idea what your design preference is when you’re ready to officially classify your decorating style. This is a great place to start if you’re still unsure where you want to go with your geeky decor.
As yourself: What does your hardware look like? Are you drawn to silver? Gold? Sleek and modern, or more ornate? What about the lights in your home – if you could choose, what kind of lighting would you fancy? Have you wanted to paint your walls? Or just one feature wall? What colors are you most fond of? These basic questions can clue you into what your décor style is, and from there you can begin sprinkling your geeky favorites throughout with intention.
Use color.
I think color is one of the best ways to liven up your space. It has a way of defining your intentions to others without having to say a word. It can also be tricky, which is why so many people choose neutral color palettes, or just plain white.
Some characters have one or two defined colors that would make it easy to incorporate into your decor. Take Loki, for instance…
Oh how I love Tom Hiddleston as Marvel’s Loki :: fans myself shamelessly ::
Automatically, I can picture that gorgeous green as a couch or as pillows, just like the shade he wears. Imagine combining that with gold hardware as your main metal. If you can find a gold or bronze bull statue to represent his Marvel headpiece, that would be subtle and cool as hell. Wait, are they bull horns? I can’t really find an answer to that.
If you’re leaning more towards the Loki in Norse mythology, he doesn’t wear a helmet, but he does have three children – one a serpent and the other a wolf. You could find animal statues to represent Loki and his children. Your design style might be modern Gothic or Romanesque; or you can go with a Norse-inspired decor style – maybe rustic Scandinavian for a more modern take on it.
Sorry, I get carried away with all the ideas. But you get the picture.
Textures & Scents
Feathers, faux fur, wood, metallics, and linens are some of my favorite textures to work with. Texture can bring warmth and life into your home – much like plants.
One of my all-time favorite video games, Horizon Zero Dawn, is an excellent example of mixing textures. Furs, feathers, and metals. Oh, the things I could do with that! The industrial-chic style is also one that has its selection of textures – woods and metals mixed with a bit of sherpa or knit is a lovely way to combine the two seemingly opposing material types.
You can also use candles, diffusers, incense, and fragrance sticks are also a great way to bring the essence of your geeky favorites into your décor. You have earthier scents, airy scents, and floral scents that can give you the sense (lol! not on purpose, I swear!) of a character or place.
Artwork
This topic right here can be its own series of posts. I. Love. Artwork. And I love creating unique pieces of art to display. Fanart is amazing and so much fun to collect. We get the best fanart directly from the artists at Comic Conventions; these pieces are often limited and you know there won’t be a bunch of copies floating around. Fanart is also tricky…
If you’re being intentional with your choices, then you’re looking for specific pieces in specific styles that will fit into your decor. When you’re bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at your first convention or art sale, you just want all the things that have all your favorite characters.
I speak from experience.
The best way to display art from your favorite artists is by creating a gallery wall. You don’t have to stick to one character. You don’t even really have to stick to one art style – although I find that once you figure out what you like, you can’t really help being drawn to that specific style. Arrange your art on the wall using the same frame or frame color – this is where you will keep it cohesive.
We plan to bring all the artwork we didn’t use in the common areas back to our bedroom where we keep gorgeous glass-door bookshelves with our comic book collections displayed. We will have a gallery wall with our favorite fanart and convention artists on one wall. The theme? Just our bedroom where we like to read comics and look at fan art. LOL… More on this later, of course 🙂
There are two kinds of artwork that we hang in our home:
Statement Pieces
Not technically wall art, but definitely works of art, statement pieces generally have a big impact and are larger scale. If not in size, then definitely in price!
Displaying something you’re proud of, like that $300-700 Ahsoka Tano lightsaber set, is the perfect way to set your decor intentions.
Meanwhile, I’m over here setting intentions for manifesting those lightsabers. Priorities.
I don’t think anything is too geeky if it’s used as a statement piece. As long as you don’t start tossing similar items around to create a cluttered look. Having a glass cabinet on one painted wall with your completed Lego figurines is such an amazing idea for a statement or accent wall. You want to draw attention to that collection or statement piece – not away from it. So you can have lights in the cabinet, and then go with a neutral color palette for the rest of the room. Add square elements like throw pillows, square ottomans, or square vases or pots, and you have yourself a Lego-inspired space.
:: screams internally – SO COOL ::
Original Creations
If you have a talent for art or design, then you can create your own geeky wall art to display. It can be fanart, patterns for fabric, or even home decor pieces with a customized design.
Lifestyle
Using a lifestyle as a decorating choice can be a lot of fun. When I say ‘lifestyle’, I mean the things you love doing in your spare time (or if you’re lucky enough, for a career). Gaming is a lifestyle – tabletop, board, and video games are also considered lifestyles that can each carry their own decorating style.
So is cosplay. And my dream sewing space would be cosplay-inspired: I would have a few sewing books and even more manga, so I’m thinking a bookshelf with books and figures (mostly Funko Pops) of the characters I’ve cosplayed would be a great addition to the space. A proper sewing table would be a dedicated place for all my sewing machines, and baskets on top for my fabric. I would have several dress forms wearing my favorite costumes, and one for fitting. I would also have a wall-sized mirror and a chic chair. To finish it off, I would have plenty of hideaway storage, a clothes rack, and hanging plants.
Dream homes, am I right?
Sentimental Decor
Decorating your home with those geeky things that mean something to you, represent your life or relationship, or show milestones in achievements is the perfect way to bring your geeky personality into your home.
This can include things like a caricature wall for every geeky trip or Convention you attend. Or a shelf of awards you’ve won for your costuming. Anything that means something and makes you feel good whenever you look at it can be part of your décor.
It doesn’t have to be all cosplay. Maybe you got engaged at a Ren-Faire. You can incorporate some sentimental decor there.
Plants and Flowers
Plants are everything, and they are an amazing addition to your home. I have amassed quite a collection of houseplants that are now my children.
Now imagine if you could find plants for all your fandoms. You already know I’ve thought this through and am working on a geeky plant post. I got you covered!
When you think of Star Wars as a possible decor style, I bet you think of space and the galaxy (far, far away).
I had to.
But there are many other planets, terrains, and elements to Star Wars than just ‘space’.
Many of us are huge Mandalorian fans. I mean who doesn’t love Pablo Pascal as Din Djarin and Grogu as the Child, or Baby Yoda? I can remember a few times we’ve actually seen them flying through space in the show, but most of the show takes place on land in various places on different planets. If you go a bit deeper, you find that there is a very Western feel to the show – after all, he is a bounty hunter. Elements like this matter when you’re combing fandoms and decor.
But back to flowers in decor: when I think of plant decor in Star Wars, my mind automatically goes to Episode Six: Return of the Jedi, when Princess Leia Organa found herself among the Ewoks on the Forest Moon of Endor. What I love about this part of the movie is the rich greenery of the planet, and the rich textures throughout. If you love Star Wars and also love plants, but aren’t sure how the two are related, then go watch this movie and all your plant-loving dreams will come true.
I imagine a rich tan suede couch with wood tables and bookshelves. I would add faux fur pillows (Ewoks), and one or two pleather pillows or an ottoman. In brown or cream. Something with a braided design (like baskets for blankets) would be a cool homage to Leia’s hairstyle and sandals, and then you could go crazy with hanging plants, tall plants – all plants! This would be your focal point; but to bring it home, I would add two Funko POPs to the mix – the Leia Endor Pop, and the Ewok Pop. And I would gently place this Endor candle from Amazon on one of the wooden tables next to a plant (of course).
Are you geeked out about your home decor, now?
When you add your geeky personality to your home decor, your home will become a reflection of who you are and what you love. It should raise your spirits and make you happy when you walk into your space. It’s yours, your home, not anyone else’s. So make it work for you. Even if you disagree with something I’ve said here – this is my opinion, I’m not the design police, and you should feel good about your own decor choices.
Let’s share ideas! I’ve created a collaborative Pinterest Board where we can pin geeky decor inspiration and items for our homes. All you have to do is click the link below. Make sure you’re signed in to your Pinterest account, or create an account if you haven’t (You won’t regret it!). The link will ask you to accept the collaboration and then you can add all the geeky home decor your heart desires. Please remember that the purpose of this Board is to share inspiration as a community for inspiration. I can’t wait to see what you all pin!
There are many ways to add your geeky personality to your home decor, and to include your fan favorites to your space in a way that reflects your style and adds a classy fun vibe to your home. All it takes is a little creativity, a lot of love for your inner geek, and a little help from a friend (that’s me!).
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