How to Use the NEW Dark Academia Design Aesthetic, Plus Light Academia decorating and fashion!

the people have spoken last week I asked you which design style we should explore in this week's video and it was loud and clear you want to hear about dark Academia so I was very excited that is the one that I've been wanting to talk about so let's dive in I want to teach you elements that you can use in your home to bring in this look and also if it feels a little too dark to you or to goth or something I'm going to give you some tips to swing it a little bit lighter and also throw in some ideas for free decorations so let's get started dark Academia has been around for a few years now but I feel like it's gaining traction a lot of the covid Fallout emotionally for us means that we are craving more coziness we're not as worried about things around us and so the elegant maximalism is going strong it stems from an upper class European culture of the 19th century you're going to see architectural elements that give a nod to the Gothic era and then it's mixed in with some American prep which I love so look at all the details going on it has a boarding school Vibe maybe a Harry Potter I heard someone describe it as an Anna Green Gables grows up and I love that also Sherlock Holmes there's some mystery to it they're definitely romanticizing the Collegiate lifestyle so with that you can really take your cues from picturing an old European library and anything that you might find in there as far as colors Sherwin-Williams put out this color palette that I think is spot on it's all these muted beautiful earthy tones that pair really nicely with all the extra details and these colors aren't just showing up in artwork or pillows they're actually going on the walls so being completely surrounded with a dark Inky blue is now something that's highly thought of there's the dark green lots of layers Gallery walls are still going strong now I personally believe that Gallery walls are not a trend they are they have been a trend but I also believe they're classic I see them from European design from hundreds of years ago so feel free to continue with the gallery walls molding go all out with your molding or your mill work the ceilings are decorated the crown molding is exquisite there's paneling there's details in the floors we're not afraid of dark wood this is a bathroom now this is a little bit dark for me I don't know that I would feel like the bathroom was ever clean if I had a bathroom that was basically black but I do love all the layering and textures going on I love the board and batten with the nice shelf going around at that chairwell height so even if you just darkened your walls you will be over half halfway there with achieving this dark Academia look oh and of course the wallpaper we are welcoming a wallpaper with open arms and really elaborate patterns lots of detailing going on William Morris designs are back I really love them with the painted board and batten underneath all the layers with the Fabrics lots of rugs and then velvet so we have our velvet couches that we talked about last week if there was one fabric that I would incorporate if you're going for this look it would be number one to get velvet in there at least in pillows leather worn leather is beautiful we have tufted chairs and if you can swing a mantle even if it's a faux mantel I would get that into your design none of these pictures here look like they're real mantels along the lines with the Collegiate inspiration there's these attorneys cabinets or lawyers cabinets that have glass doors on them so beyond the bookshelf we're going for a more formal look velvet drapes to the floor and this secretary debts you know I am interested in the secretary desks now so have them open have a book a glass a teacup sitting there with maybe a handwritten letter all of these things are free and they tell a story there's a lot of Storytelling going on now throw some old books at different angles and the little shelves if you have a globe that would look beautiful or an old typewriter on the desk dark and Moody okay so here's a shot of butterflies very much a nod to Botany so any way you can get that in if it's turtle shells if it's framed butterflies plants we definitely are doing window treatments with lots of details even on the shears adding in tassels on the edges very opulent the gallery walls have lots of sketches and oil paintings of especially big beautiful English roses or I love how many people are doing portraits of just people they don't know just any human that just strikes your fancy and you feel like oh there's such a there's probably a story behind that face I want to point out this shelf on the wall this it's actually a drawer an old printer's drawer or or they'll call them a printers tray I just saw that Pottery Barn is selling them for 129 dollars but I've see I see them in antique stores all the time the real deal and I've seen them as low as 30 dollars so that is a fun wall decoration to get just tiny little details in there with special rocks or shells or dried flour or something oh we even have some Taxidermy if you want to get a pheasant or a hawk or something on your desk incorporate book pages or handwritten letters in the scattered all over looks beautiful I love them as a table runner you can wallpaper your wall that's free that's an idea okay now I noticed also that to compensate for the darkness that we are opting into there's a lot more mirrors and so that helps bring in the light in fact if I'm ever working on a space and I wish that I had a window on a wall I can add a mirror there and almost get the window effect so lots of mirrors with super gaudy Baroque inspired Baroque was a design period in in France and then layer the mirrors so have floor mirrors and then ones on the wall another one on the floor layer your mirrors as far as lighting I'm seeing a lot of awesome chandeliers and kind of hanging kind of low and then Candlelight those are the two that you're gonna do a lot with lighting around your mirrors and books I cannot say enough about your books get books with beautiful bindings and font and gold detailing and and you can be kind of messy in how you style them I love that just turn them different ways and put things in front of them hang a picture on the bookshelf that kind of a thing here's the design tip too check for on offer up or Facebook Marketplace for encyclopedia sets and people are just giving them away for free a lot of times make sure you love the colors because it is a decorative item but you can get a whole row of very academic looking reference books to style with for free or really inexpensive trophies right those are the kinds of things you would see in a college library or an Old English Estate I love that how they put dried leaves in this one dried flowers look beautiful that's free potentially of course I love how they added paint brushes in with the statues and the busts and chests add in a chess set even if you can't even play we won't tell those are beautiful on coffee tables now and they are definitely communicating dark Academia magnifying glasses and beautiful etched crystal glasses or wine decanters can be displayed I actually have some in my bathroom I'll put mouthwash in it or something put your regular things that you use every day put them in beautiful containers another globe of a quill pen I love how the papers on this desk with this clock and scale how their styled kind of curled and all a skew here's the mood board someone did I love the terrarium I think that was a really good thing and then wooden pencils just things like that that if you have these things around you find them out thrifting I want them to be highlighted when you're out and about and see them for what they are they're great design pieces for this look and desks we must have desks of course I love them for office use but I think they look beautiful in living rooms they can go behind a couch even so think about using desks in more than just the traditional office areas put them in bedrooms use them as vanities and bathrooms keep your eyes open for beautiful desks now this is a little makeover that I love and so I wanted to add it into today's video this is from Lone Fox this was in his last rental and it was sort of a sun porch or an enclosed porch off the dining room that wasn't being used well so he went from this to this and turned it into a little tiny Speakeasy and it's just stunning that is an Ikea cabinet that was remade put some beautiful put a little beautiful bar setting on top of that did a Roman shade and then to I believe this is the left yeah the left side that looks like maybe it was an old fireplace at some point I don't know but I think it was brilliant to paint it all black and then you style the shelves and then on the right side was a mirrored area and he used several different inks and paints to create a mercury glass look and put a record player in there so beautiful I love it I want to I'm I'm spilling the beans a little bit here but I have this idea in my head for the my living room that I want to take a glass coffee table and turn it into mercury glass and then this picture is also from Lone Fox this was a guest room that he already made but I want to start with this one because this is a great segue into light Academia so maybe this the dark walls are a little bit too much for you you're not ready for that but I want to show you how they're almost identical so the main difference between dark Academia and light Academia is the wall color and you'll notice this as we're going along here staying different in these pictures ultimately is that wall color is a creamy or a light gray or something within the room I see a lot more white in Bedding maybe a white piece of furniture or something but the decorations themselves the furniture the lighting all of those pieces are identical from what I can see between the two Aesthetics you can add in a black piece of furniture to really ground the space a little bit more glass still The Velvet yes we still have the Velvet the lighting is more decidedly gold so this lamp would be pretty this would look nice on a a desk with different Botanical things I did want to mention that last week someone said that they were sad that Cottage core was going away and I'm not sure that that's true so I just want to encourage you I think that maybe we're getting another name attached to it which would be like Academia but I still see a lot of the maximalism the moodiness the romanticizing of a space that I love about the cottage core look I think that this is similar and incidentally if you are interested in learning more about design Styles and which ones you have and how to maybe mix two together that's something that I cover in my new design school that I am opening in the next couple months so there'll be a link in the description if you would like me to send you the information on that when it goes live again dark Furniture glass doors books crammed Every Which Way the walls if you do want to go with this I again I recommend lime washing I think that that still looks very old world but still is light enough very fascinated with gold lamp shapes right now you may be seeing that in my living room as well the brass the brushed brass lampshades I don't know what they I don't know what it is I love them okay the Tapestry on the pillow see what I mean about the bedding is lighter so bring in the white sheets lighten the walls and keep everything else the same that I've told you so far [Music] foreign [Music] and last but not least let's do a little mini fashion lesson not that I know what I'm talking about the outfits are beautiful so let's take a look at how to dress dark Academia so the Plaid wool skirts especially the the full a line with the ribbed and sweaters Tweed simple black heels very feminine very Anna Green Gable's grown up that's such a great description of that for hair you've got the soft curls half up with a Velvet Bow or satin bow and then simple gold jewelry that's layered really nicely oh and we have a satchel reminding everyone that you wish you were still in college so that is dark Academia in a nutshell tell me what you think in the comments below I'm all for it I love it I'm moving that direction in my own home and having a lot of fun with it let me know which parts you're going to incorporate in your own spaces and I'll be keeping you posted on what I'm doing in mine all right you guys take care and I will talk to you soon

Channel: She Holds Dearly

Views: 177,024

Keywords: She Holds Dearly, Sarah DIY, DIY, DIY Home Decor, Interior Design Made Easy, She Holds Dearly Home, Behind the Scenes, Sarah Phillipps, dark academia, light academia, design styles explained, interior design lessons, cottage core design style, Anne of avonlea, anne of green gables, gothic design style, dark and moody design style, interior design training, interior design school, Sherwin Williams paint colors 2023, Design trends and classics, how to decorate

Id: xOGnHvP-mVE

Length: 15min 28sec (928 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 15 2023