Deep red and green colors, tartan everywhere, brass shining on the fireplace: the 90s Preppy Christmas returns to our living rooms. After years of minimalist trees and white garlands against a backdrop of beige walls, the decorators recreate a warm film Christmas, inspired as much by preppy catalogs as by our childhood memories.
This return to a very family-friendly decor is not just a matter of fashion. Extended vacations with parents, old photo albums, reruns of Mom, I missed the plane : the holidays awaken many emotions and quickly bring us back to our childhood roles. When we feel both an adult and a teenager again, we look for gentle cues.
Why designers are championing ’90s preppy Christmas
Interior designers see it as the visual refuge that many are dreaming of this year. “What people want now is the warmth, nostalgia and comfortable sophistication that this style brings; that’s why it still feels familiar and refined today,” interior designer Adrienne Bugg tells The Spruce. At a time when decoration wants to be more personal and less standardized, this very 90s Christmas is reassuring without seeming dated.
For Trevor Fulmer, founder of Trevor Fulmer Design, this trend has a clear identity: “The preppy Christmas style of the 1990s merges the charm of classic New England holidays with a neat and slightly traditional look,” he summarizes, again with The Spruce. His colleague Samantha Arak describes it with an immediate image: “Think of all the decor of Maman, I missed the plane which meets the famous book The BCBG Manual”, in other words a red and green living room, full of tartan and family memories.
How to adopt a preppy 90s Christmas decor at home
On the material side, the idea is to create a dense and comforting cocoon. “Flannel is a classic because it has this thick, woolly feel that instantly makes a room feel warmer and more nostalgic,” says Adrienne Bugg. We readily associate it with leather, velvet, chunky knit, all against a backdrop of warm wood and brass to rediscover the chic American living room spirit of the 1990s.
The details do the rest. Trevor Fulmer reminds us that “Socks, tree skirts, or little framed cross stitches instantly say ’90s,” especially if they’re inherited from the family. Embroidered socks, ceramic villages, stacks of bound books and framed photos reinforce this impression of a lived-in house. And if the atmosphere is a little intense, you can always slip away for a few minutes to breathe, far from the crowded living room.
A comforting decor, provided you respect its limits
These signs are not trivial and the most beautiful tree is not always enough to hide them. “Allow yourself to have boundaries without feeling guilty. Needing to distance yourself from your family doesn’t mean you don’t love them; it just means you’re human,” insists therapist Erin Pash, quoted by Ma-Grande-Taille. In a 90s-inspired interior, this might mean isolating yourself for a few minutes in a bedroom or outside.
To preserve this warm climate that the
90s Preppy Christmasthe specialist also advises: “Create psychological space by limiting your availability for each activity: you are not obliged to attend all the conversations that take place in the kitchen”. In practice, we choose our moments, we delegate a little, we treat ourselves to a cup of hot chocolate on the tartan sofa while the house is bustling. The retro decor then fully plays its role as a cocoon, without anyone being forgotten.
