11 Mar Seven Ways to Add Your Geek Personality Into Your Geek Home Decor
I am a sucker for geek home decor. There’s something about finding the perfect item for that shelf or pillow for the couch that brings both your personality and your favorite fandom 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. Or styles – we have a combo. All while keeping it classy.
Let me be frank for a sec… Can I be honest with you guys? 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 we love Funko POPS, Legos, and comic conventions, And maybe 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. Obviously, we don’t invite small kids over lol.
So trying to add geek pieces into 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 geek home decor style that doesn’t scream Disney Park attraction, if you know what I mean.
We just want the best of both worlds.
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 a modern industrial chic style.
There’s a bit more to it, but that’s the nutshell. I’ll tell you more about that in another post. You came here for the geeky decor advice, no?
The Mistake Many Geeks Make When Decorating Their Homes
Pointing out one’s mistakes is not a great way to begin a conversation. But bear with me – sometimes the epiphany comes when we realize our mistakes and learn from them.
The easiest mistake to make in geek home decor is thinking in themes when decorating.
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 a specific theme.
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,…
:: just not on that toxic fanbase hill ::
… while hubs loves Batman. But he also is a hardcore X-Men fan. And he gets super excited about Spiderman. And the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. 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 some DC animated shows. We both collect comics and Pops, and we both cosplay.
I can’t even imagine throwing all of that into our living room and calling it a done deal. And we tried to do 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 go with ‘ideas’ rather than themes.
Try Ideas Instead of Themes for Your Home Decor
Ideas in decor may not even be a real concept – 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. While it is less literal like a theme, both of these concepts are inspired by something (for example, a Mario-themed kitchen versus an organic nature-inspired space with Mario prints or patterns with that same vibe or art style). You are still decorating with Mario, but the execution is different.
A themed room is one with many items and elements that point to that specific theme. Like green pipes above the cabinets, a coin-shaped ‘beaded’ curtain, and Mario characters on wall art. Yep. We did that. It was cool. When you walk into a room decorated like this, you know you’ve just stepped into a Mario Kart game. But 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 a collection. We, geeks, take our collections very seriously, and there is nothing wrong with using your collection as a statement choice in your decor.
However, a decor idea, or style, takes that inspiration and surrounds you with the feeling rather than the objects. Maybe we could have created a Mario-inspired game room using bright and charming to create a sense of being in Mario World. If we did that 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.
Geek Home 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 as adults in our decor. Geek collections and items are often higher-priced, so you have to plan your geeky purchases with other things – like furniture.
We started with just tossing our favorite fanart into a frame 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 a great design style choice. 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 all our guests – geeky or no. We don’t really have a geeky family, 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 geek home 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 Geek Personality Into Your Geek Home Decor
Each of these can be its own post, and I’ll probably elaborate on them in separate posts. So for today, let’s call this an intro to geek home decor and go from there.
Start With The Basics for Your Geek Home Decor
This is a great place to start if you’re still unsure where you want to go with your geek home decor. In fact, after advising you to take your time, I would add that figuring out your decorating or design style is the first step. Pay attention to what you’re drawn to when you’re shopping for things in your home.
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 choices can tell you what your decor style is, and from there you can begin sprinkling your geeky favorites throughout with intention.
Color and Your Geek Home Decor
I think color is one of the best ways to liven up your space. It has a way of conveying your inspiration 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 that he wears with gold hardware as your main metal. Saturated shades, like rich green, are trending in home design this year (2025). To add to that, you can find a gold or bronze bull statue to represent his Marvel headpiece, and it would be both subtle and meaningful.
If you’re leaning more towards the Loki as depicted in Norse mythology, he doesn’t wear a helmet, but he does have three children – two of which are animals (a serpent and a wolf). You can find animal statues to represent Loki and his children. You could even use figurines or Funko POPs painted in your preferred colors. Your design style might be modern Gothic or Romanesque; or you can go with a Norse-inspired decor style – maybe rustic Scandinavian.
I can definitely get carried away with all the inspired geek home decor ideas!
Textures & Scents Pair Well With Your Fandoms
Texture can bring warmth and life into your home – much like plants. Feathers, faux fur, wood, metallics, and linens are some great examples of textures to use in your decor.
One of my all-time favorite 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 is a lovely way to combine the two.
You can also use candles, diffusers, incense, and fragrance sticks as a great way to bring the essence of your geeky favorites into your decor. What feeling do you want to evoke when friends and family walk into your home? A strong, heroic superhero-inspired scent? Or maybe a more warm and cozy slice-of-life-anime-inspired scent? Any seaside scented fragrance would thrill a fan of the Little Mermaid. And a bold rain scented candle may give a sense of Storm (X-Men).
Artwork for Unique Geek Home Decor
This topic is one of my favorites. I. Love. Artwork. I mean, I am an artist creating unique pieces of art for fans and geeks to display in their geeky homes.
It’s my whole gig, guys.
Fanart is amazing and so much fun to collect. Hubs and I find the best fanart directly from the artists at Comic Conventions (MomoCon and DragonCon). The pieces we collect are often limited and you know there won’t be a bunch of copies floating around. Fanart is also tricky when using it in decor, and we will talk more this in another post.
You want to be intentional with your art choices. Look for specific pieces in specific styles that will fit into your home 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 with no idea how you’ll fit it into your home. That was us at our first convention. Please, don’t be like us in the Merchant’s Area of our first DragonCon!
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 if you don’t want to. 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 type of 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 displaying our comic book collections. We will have a gallery wall with our favorite fanart and convention artists on one wall. Since it’s our bedroom, we decided not to have a specific concept. We will just keep it as our cozy bedroom space where we like to read comics and look at fan art. LOL… I’ll update you on our geek home decor, of course. Subscribers will have first and more access to our personal space, so if you’re interested in seeing how we live our best geek lives, subscribe here 🙂
Statement Pieces & Original Creations to Add to Your Geek Home Decor
This is not necessarily 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 would make…
:: screams internally :: SO COOOOL ::
…an amazing 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. It doesn’t have to look like the actual Lego store.
Geek 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 can each carry their own decorating style.
So is cosplay. And my dream sewing space would be cosplay-inspired. I have a few sewing books and even more manga. A bookshelf with books and figures (mostly Funk Pops) of the characters I’ve cosplayed would be a great addition to a space that I would use to create costumes and geek fashion. You can thrift a sewing table, and find baskets for fabric and notions. Me? I would have several dress forms wearing my favorite costumes, and one for fitting. You could also add a wall-sized mirror and a chic chair in a pop of color. To finish it off, I would add plenty of hideaway storage, a clothes rack, and hanging plants.
Dream homes, am I right?
Sentimental Decor
Decorating your home with items that mean something to you, represent your life or relationship, or show milestones and achievements is the perfect way to bring your personality into your geek home decor.
This can include things like a caricature wall for every milestone or for Conventions 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 decor.
Plants & Flowers are Geeky, Too
Plants are everything, and they are an amazing addition to your home. I have amassed quite a collection of houseplants, and imagine if you could find plants for all your fandoms. You already know I’ve thought this through and am working on a geek 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). But there are many other planets, terrains, and elements to Star Wars than just ‘space’. Take the video game Jedi: Fallen Order, for example. Cal Kestis visits many worlds. One, in particular, inspired a floral pattern that doesn’t scream Star Wars, but has a definite “if you know, you know” vibe. To anyone else, this is a dark floral pattern. But a fan will recognize the Mushbloom and Saava Plants.
Many of us are huge Mandalorian fans. I mean who doesn’t love Pablo Pascal as Din Djarin and Grogu as the Child (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 and in different places. 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.
But when I think of plant decor, 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.
For this example, I can imagine a rich tan suede couch with wood tables and bookshelves. I would add faux fur pillows (Ewoks), and one or two pleather pillows. you could even throw in 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 Excited About Your Geek Home, Yet?
Your home should be 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, that’s okay – this is my opinion, it’s not law, and you should feel good about your own decor choices.
Keep in mind that your home decor and design should enhance your life and should be inspired by your geek life, not your life inspired by your design.
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 and fan favorites to your decor 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!).
Have fun decorating, you geek!
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