Decorating & Design
The Queen’s Gambit Is What Retro Design Dreams Are Made Of
Published on November 20, 2020
Calling all retro design lovers! If you haven’t already checked out Netflix’s hit show The Queen’s Gambit, we highly suggest you do. The fictional miniseries follows orphan Beth Harmon’s inspiring claim to chess fame, but if you ask us, it’s the perfectly old-school interiors that really steal the show. From the ’60s grandmillennial-style home Beth inhabits to the glamorously layered hotel rooms she checks into along the way, the series doesn’t skimp on retrograde style. Still not convinced? Go inside the sets of the buzzy show below and see for yourself — color, patterned wallpaper and velvety perches abound!
When Beth first arrives to her adoptive parents’ home, she is greeted with loads of pattern, color and touchable textures. Sure, gray carpeting throughout doesn’t top wish lists in the year 2020, but we’re head over heels for the tasseled peacock drapery, petite entry console and cheery plaid wallpaper.
Traveling beyond the arched doorway of the hallway, a saturated sea of blue-green thrives in the living room. Traditional elements, such as cherry woods and shaded lamps, keep things from looking more like a dreamy playhouse than a suburban Kentucky home.
Pleated lampshades are bending into the fabric of our homes once again thanks to designers like Oscar Piccolo and a growing pool of vintage lovers scouring Etsy. In the piano room, a playful striped version tucks right into the climbing vines of the wallpaper behind it.
Even the facade of Beth’s home is a perfectly retro teal. This particular hue will be everywhere next year according to Benjamin Moore, who recently announced Aegean Teal (2136-40) as its 2021 Color of the Year.
Welcome to the most grandmillennial room on The Queen’s Gambit. Beth’s own bedroom is decked from floor to ceiling in a blushing shade of pink. The poster bed, complete with a matching floral canopy, is fit for a queen, wouldn’t you agree?
When the chess champion takes design matters into her own hands, she rosies up the house with abstract wallpaper more her age. Not only does the treatment read more ’80s than kitschy, it provides the perfect backdrop for the home’s mid-century modern furniture.
A retro palette mixing blush and teal in the updated living room proves everything old becomes new again. Power pastels had their breakout year in 2019 (read: millennial pink and seafoam), but thanks to this show, we’re still crushing on them just as hard.
Take note: matchy-matchy prints — a classic emblem of grandmillennial style — make more than a few appearances in this period drama, and we’re not complaining.
We’re wild for these deep rust sheets and the two different leafy patterns, which complement each other rather than clash.
Swooning over the wall treatment enveloping this hotel room? Don’t fret — you can get your hands on a roll of Wayne Hemingway’s Vintage Diamond Deco wallpaper through Graham & Brown.
Nothing says grandmillennial style like a velvet tufted settee. This particular one seems like a splendid seat to plot against the next grandmaster.
Courtesy of Netflix