Dark Academia Room Decor Ideas: How to Get the Look in Your Apartment
Looking for dark academia room decor ideas for your apartment? Let’s talk all about the dark academia aesthetic and how you can incorporate it in your small apartment decor!
There are so many aspects to dark academia. It’s a celebration of learning, the quest for knowledge, and the love of arts & culture - all through a nostalgic lens that ranges from classical imagery, the gothic aesthetic, traditional collegiate fashion & architecture, and the list of visual references go on from there.
So let’s examine how you can achieve the dark academia style in your space!
Video Transcript ↓
Welcome to part three of my dark decor trilogy!
In this video, we're gonna talk about what dark academia is, how to find inspiration for it, and how to find dark academia style decor for your apartment.
And if you’re new to my channel, my name is Steffi and I’m the creator of the interior style blog Moda Misfit as well as the online course Small Apartment Styling School.
And you’re watching Living Pretty, the place for apartment styling tips! So if you want to get inspired with me every week, be sure to subscribe!
Also, have you downloaded my free Apartment Styling Handbook yet?
It's a bite-sized roadmap for decorating your apartment so that you can create a space you love - without feeling like you're stumbling alone in the dark. Because sometimes you just want someone to tell you what to do to decorate your apartment, right?
So download the FREE Apartment Styling Handbook for some extra help!
All right, class is in session. Let's talk all about dark academia!
What is dark academia?
Dark academia is a celebration of learning, the thirst for knowledge, the love of the arts and culture, and it explores the darker shadows that exist in our pursuit of this enlightenment.
Dark academia is also a nostalgic aesthetic with visual references that span from the 1800s to the 1940s-50s.
You can see the dark academia aesthetic in modern day culture from Harry Potter to Dead Poet’s Society to the Queen's Gambit - just to name a few!
Think old books, Gothic architecture, writing with an ink pen and a leather bound notebook next to candles dripping with wax, collegiate style with a dark edge, tweed overcoats, wool sweaters, plaid skirts adorning a student with a dark - perhaps magical - secret...
A commenter on the first video in this dark decor trilogy, Christie, put it quite well: “How to know if dark decor is for you: just ask yourself, do I want to live at Hogwarts?” I'd say this mindset specifically applies to dark academia decor!
Finding dark academia inspiration
Now let's talk about how to find visual inspiration for dark academia!
First, Pinterest is - of course - a very reliable place to check for visual inspiration for just about anything, especially dark academia decor.
If you simply type into the Pinterest search, “dark academia”, you will get a very good sense of what this style entails!
I'm gonna share some of the pins that come up in a dark academia decor search. These are a few of the images that really embody dark academia to me!
Another way to find some amazing inspiration for dark academia is YouTube!
There are some amazing dark academia YouTube videos out there. I mean, we're talking so inspiring, so pretty, produced in such a beautiful way.
And I'm gonna talk about three videos that I recommend specifically for finding dark academia inspiration.
First, Ruby Grainger has an awesome in-depth video in which she not only talks about the aesthetics of dark academia, but also the practice of it. Dark academia, activities, mindset, the history and culture of it.
I also appreciate her acknowledgement in the video that, while dark academia is a beautiful and rich aesthetic, it also has its problematic sides. It's not a very diverse style, and as you explore it, it is important to be mindful that there are a lot of different colors, stories, experiences to be told through this aesthetic that aren't just pertaining to the white experience it usually portrays.
And I looked up one of the Instagram accounts that Ruby Granger linked to in her description for that video, and one of them is an absolute gem.
She's called @cosyfaerie, and not only is her take on dark academia a feast for the eyes and so inspiring, but she's carving out a more diverse perspective on dark academia. And it's stunning!
And this video by Just Lanch is great because you get to actually see her transform a tiny room in which she can't even paint or put holes in the walls into a dark academia space. It's super inspiring for us small apartment dwellers!
And this video by Veda Corvis is just plain beautiful. Her decor is beautiful, the way she shot and edited the video is beautiful, and simply put, this video will inspire the shit out of you. It's cozy, soothing, and it will really give you some lovely dark academia visual inspiration!
Also one more thing: there are some amazing dark academia themed playlists that you can listen to that evoke the dark academia vibe.
I'm gonna link a few of those here as well. If you play these in the background while you're just hanging out or working in your apartment, that will give you a really nice dark academia feeling in your space, just through the music.
Shopping for dark academia decor
Now let's talk about actually finding dark academia decor pieces while you shop.
I think the number one place to find really cool dark academia decor while also supporting artists is, of course, Etsy!
Here’s a shopping list I put together of some items I found on Etsy that really exemplify the dark academia style…
✦ DARK ACADEMIA ETSY SHOPPING LIST: ✦
Statue of David Vase: https://tidd.ly/2XFo4jI
French Victorian Art Prints: https://tidd.ly/3jrXHFy
Antique Book Cover: https://tidd.ly/3nn3T2E
Venus Statue Candle: https://tidd.ly/30Gl87p
Antique-Style Sheet Music + Letters: https://tidd.ly/3b1Rj3b
Bust + Flowers Print: https://tidd.ly/3E7T8Is
Wooden Tea Box: https://tidd.ly/2ZfLiNP
Skull Candle: https://tidd.ly/3nn4xgA
"Woman in the Shadows" Art Print on Wood Box: https://tidd.ly/3njQLLJ
Vintage Anatomy + Botanical Prints: https://tidd.ly/3C8XoXl
Rue Saint-Romain 1896 Print: https://tidd.ly/3vz1JRn
“Royal Poison” Candle: https://tidd.ly/2ZdmA0X
Library Candle: https://tidd.ly/30RV35z
Dark Botanical Prints: https://tidd.ly/3B5OlW1
NOTE: The above are affiliate links that allow you to find the items mentioned in this blog post and support the channel at no cost to you. While this channel may earn minimal sums when the viewer uses the links, the viewer is in NO WAY obligated to use these links. Thank you for your support!
So as you can see, Etsy is an awesome place to find really cool, unique, dark academia decor pieces. Of course, you can also find dark academia decor in all kinds of places! I would especially recommend checking out your local thrift shop or antique shop.
By the way, if you want some antiquing inspiration, you can watch this video of mine. In it, my boyfriend Kobee and I walked through a gigantic antique mall here in Seattle. And there was some really cool, interesting stuff in there, a lot of which could really work for the dark academia aesthetic!
So that was my overview of the dark academia aesthetic!
And in the spirit of academia, I have some homework for you: some study materials for you in the form of a couple free PDFs that you can download!
If you live in a studio apartment, my Studio Styling 101 workbook walks you through three steps that you can take to style your studio.
And my Apartment Styling Handbook is great for anyone who lives in a small apartment and wants a guide that guides them through the beginning phases of decorating your apartment.
So in the spirit of dark academia, I invite you to learn with me!
And if you’re still not sure how to create your dream apartment and you're wondering things like:
“How do I discover my personal style so that I can make these good choices for my decorating?”
“How do I become more confident in my interior styling choices?”
“How do I mix styles?”
“How do I actually arrange things in my apartment?”
Then I got you covered…
If you're wanting to dive deeper into learning about how to style your apartment step by step, that's where my online course Small Apartment Styling School comes in!
Small Apartment Styling School basically holds your hand through your styling process and tells you exactly what to do step-by-step, so by the end of the course you feel like you know your style, you know what to buy, and you know how to place it in your apartment with confidence.
Imagine living in an apartment that actually boosts your mood everyday and makes you feel welcome, and makes you feel a sense of belonging and being at home.
Just because you rent your space doesn't mean you can't own your style, and Small Apartment Styling School helps you do that!
My current students have been a raving about how helpful the course was for decorating their apartments and I am so proud of what they've achieved after enrolling in the course!
Small Apartment Styling School will help you decorate your apartment step by step, including:
Figuring out your personal style
Choosing a color palette
Mixing different interior styles
Learning about the different interior styles that are out there and which ones might be a good fit for you
Arranging and accessorizing your apartment room by room - living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom.
All of this and more is in Small Apartment Styling School, so if you want to learn more and join the waitlist for the next time it opens for enrollment, click here!
For daily glimpses into my studio apartment life, you can follow me on Instagram @moda.misfit.
And for regular doses of apartment styling tips and small space decor inspiration, subscribe to my YouTube channel and hit the bell to be notified when a new video goes up every week.