Most people are proud of where they live, and they want a home with an aesthetic appeal. Millennials, on the other hand, need to One. We’re addicted to creating gorgeous candlelit spaces that look good in real life, and even better on Instagram (even if we never admit it). Over the past decade, mid-century modern aesthetics has blanketed our design sensibilities as a prime example. But as you’ve heard, we’re in the midst of a shift in the atmosphere, and it’s time to give people a new (retro) aesthetic to take the throne. There’s a clear trend we, nerds thirsty, should be rooting for: ’80s cocaine decor.
If MCM gave us Googie legs on our tables, and they looked great with muted millennium color palettes, terrazzo worktops, and teak chairs, Cocaine Decor pulled the rug out from under us during the last hour of the part, pouring an ashtray in the process, and dim the lights low. It’s a design aesthetic rooted in dramatic, slippery furniture, and it has the sex appeal of an unfazed, mustachioed revolutionary wearing a Versace bathrobe, all with the awful lighting of the OG Ghostbusters. Think ScarfaceArt Deco Revival, Lucite Furniture, and Sharon Stone in casino… or Basic instinct…or just about anything. If MCM decor is all about feeling relaxed and not crowded, Cocaine Decor is all about showing off and upping the ante in the form, color and energy of El Chapo. Twitter is one of the best social media accounts covering this trend Tweet embed (exactly what it sounds like), which was founded in the summer of 2020 to serve us all on the neon-lit Miami nights we’ve been dreaming of from afar.
Honestly, we are overdue for a change in the prevailing interior design. @CyberExBoyfriend, who has garnered more than 8 million likes on TikTok for his hot decorating work (and Choi McMansions beautifully), explains: “But when he’s on every millennial blogger’s Instagram explore page as well as his feed, it gets a little tiring.” Admittedly, he continues, Cocaine’s Art Deco glass tables and nooks are less family-friendly than a patterned sofa. But here’s the point: No kids here, dude. merely children. “Cocaine Decor provides a blast of a more cheerful time: photos of spirited black lacquer and copper built-in cabinets or marble bathrooms and full mirrors,” 2021 explains. GQ Article – commodity. The piece anticipated America’s renewed and revolving obsession with beauty, and its presence in everything from the changing ambiance in stores like CB2 to the heavy-duty, neon-lit 2021 Super Bowl halftime show with The Weeknd has all fueled a surge in demand for “made-up coffee tables,” the author concludes. Travertine, glass, mosaic, and brutal white leather sofas from Italy.”
The Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute (CARI) has hailed it as a sugar-fueled embodiment of the times of the energy glut that flourished in the 1980s, and describes it as an “art deco blend.” [and] simplification of the modern revival that appeared mainly in the mid-1970s; It peaked in the ’80s and early ’90s, “inspired by everything from New Wave and punk music to the drug-trafficking chaos and hedonism of the Reagan era. It’s elegant, yet hyperactive. It’s oversized decor, gold palm fronds, and glass cubes. Salmon-colored rug, and pillars.” Doric means nothing more than a Parliament Show and an ice-cold martini.
why now? For one, as a reflexive response to the limits of COVID. Cocaine Decor is the kind of unoccupied, smoking sexiness we’ve been craving during the pandemic, when the asceticism of lockdown made us want more, not less. The denial of the social pleasures we experienced during quarantine and in turbulent times since then has left a void that only the black lacquered aesthetic, leopard motifs, and rugged rugs — or better yet, the hosting of our orgy — can fill. It’s a reminder that our everyday beings don’t just have to work in our space, but give us a boost of serotonin with every cheeky thought, ambitious and supra-dimensional approach. Plus, we’re a voracious decorator. During the early lockdowns of the pandemic, there was a massive rise in DIY projects and decor trends that went well on social media, and made us feel more alive from the confines of our railroad apartments (sup, foam mirrors). We know, we know– Your home is a haven. But, YOLO, so it should also be a playpen.
If you’re ready to turn your home into a cocaine den of light, medium, or epic proportions, here are some of our favorite design pieces to get the look, from sleek coffee tables and mirrors to complete vanity sets and more.
sliding coffee tables
Can you have sex on your coffee table? If the answer is no, it’s not cocaine decor. We love the out-of-the-world composite wood look of this skate table, which is just begging for an amber ashtray and a pile of antiques. play boy magazines. Glass and Lucite are also pretty hot right now, as is their powerful marriage of MCM simplicity and ’80s aesthetics.
AllModern
Embassy glass desk
2000 dollars$610 at Weaver
Oren Ellis
kathy coffee table
$1159.99 at Weaver
world away
Newbery solid wood coffee table
$1898 at Weaver
Always think of Art Deco revival
Your home should look like it belongs to a long-smoked villain who wears Halston archives, which means you need to find Art Deco revival pieces like the Amilliona Barrel chair, one of our favorite early deals from Wayfair’s biggest sale of the year.
Al Mutawa Studio
Emilion Barrel Chair and Ottoman
1000 dollars$419.99 at Weaver
You’ll also need some dramatic wall art, such as sexy, creepy calla lilies.
classic
1980s Art Deco Revival Pattern Botanical Patterned Wall Art
$175$140 at a chair
Anything with pyramids and leopards
Preferably in gold and black. This ’80s side table would look really good with ferns, and a really sassy self-help book.
classic
80s black lacquer table with golden leopard design
$465$415 at a chair
Go heavy on Lucite
You have absolutely nothing to hide, and everything to show – that’s why you need to run, not run, to outfit your home with Lucite and acrylic decor, down to the last banana. Not only does clear furniture take up less visual space in small apartments, but these bad boys don’t need to be assembled.
Huang Acrylic
Banana & Fruit Tree Hanging Hook & Holder
USD 16.98$14.98 at Amazon
Onelux
C shaped side table
$168 at Amazon
ISL Furniture
Kasper Flex Modern Luxury Folding Chairs
$259.98 at Amazon
Strategically comprehensive location
For your house keys, car keys and… your utility keys.
Seguso Vetri Dart
Decorative glass bowl with Italian amber motifs from Murano
$1390.67 at 1st Dibs
$40 at almost
$18.99 at Amazon
Soft cocaine decor channel
Much of the cocaine decor savors the jet-black finishes, moody purples, and Patrick Nagel posters. But there’s a softer side to the aesthetic, too; Choose salmon-colored fabrics, vases in the shape of fans, hearts, and anything else that will make your pampa fronds pop.
$29.95 at Amazon
classic
White Heart Shape Ceramic Revival Vase
$16.89 at etsy
Willow Arlo Interiors
gold table lamp
$194.22$159.99 at Weaver
$194.22$159.99 at Weaver
Mirror, mirror, in my lap…
… Who is the most famous person at the party? (It’s you.) If your mirror doesn’t look like a gateway, it might not belong in the home of Cocaine Decor. Don’t be afraid to add futuristic texture elements, from bubbles to flowers and whatever faux pas are going in this Rad Wayfair mirror.
classic
1980’s postmodern art round mirror
$450$405 at a chair
oriental urban house
misty waves mirror
$196.99 at Weaver
classic
Op-Art Glass Bubble Mirror
$425 at etsy
Washable white rug
We don’t have to explain this, do we? All zig-zag rugs should be washable at this point in human history, and thankfully, Ruggable is finally doing something about it with its very squishy and washable version of the classic rug. The carpet comes in a few colors, but only the white color hides the crushed donut stains.
ungainly
Egret White Shag Rug (3’x5′)
$199 at ungainly
Your art should make you lust and scare
do not forget it. No other design period has given us sculptures as curious, hot, and disembodied as the ’80s. Always guess your guests.
classic
The 1980s, carving the face of postmodern art deco revival
$160 at a chair
Meet me in Miami
Once again, Cocaine Decor’s tributaries could extend all the way to more tropical aesthetics that would suit a Miami drug lord. Work in some rattan for a softer Florida touch, or go all out on this epic palm tree board from the ’80s.
$799 at Urban Outfitters
classic
80’s Palm Tree Console with Mirror
$2953 at a chair
On the rare occasion you have the spotlight…
… you must be gilded. As a general rule, make sure you have plenty of reflective gold objects in your apartment, like this pair of ceramic Art Deco revival lamps.
classic
80s Modernism Art Deco Lamps
$459 at a chair
Here you go, cowboy decor. We’ll always run to MCM for the allure of cool and easy elegance—but for now, we’re ready to flirt with the pain and ecstasy of building a bachelor pad from Cocaine Decor. May Cocaine Decor reminds you of your YOLO joy of living. We don’t know how long the rise will last, and the warm interior aesthetic will almost certainly be tempered by the blogging pipeline — but by then, something else will have appeared. Dare you say, Frasurbani?
The Rec Room staff has independently selected all of the items in this story.