Your Introduction To The New 'Castlecore' Design Trend And How To Bring It Home

A new home decor style is about to get a royal welcome. Pinterest's global trend report predicts that 'castlecore' will take over in 2025, based on drastic increases in search terms related to ancient castles and medieval fashions. The trend could be inspired by royalty-enthralled television audiences who love to binge everything from "Bridgerton" to "With Love, Meghan". Perhaps it springs out of a collective desire to cultivate feelings of comfort and security. Or maybe we're all just sick of looking at staid neutral spaces and long for the crackling fireplaces, bustling sculleries, and moody bedchambers featured in our favorite fairy tales. Fortunately, you don't need a pet dragon or noble knight to bring the castlecore trend into your home. 

Although they vary depending on age and location, most castles feature materials like stone and wood, architectural accents like arches, and ornate furnishings like chandeliers and artistic tapestries. There are several ways you can incorporate these key elements throughout your home decor. Unlike the grandeur associated with palaces or the finery of chateaus, castles were traditionally intended less for showing off and more for safety. Instead of stately gardens, they were surrounded by swampy moats. Rather than gilded gates, they featured guarded drawbridges. While visions of Camelot or Neuschwanstein might be the first ones that come to mind, there are thousands of stunning castles around the world that can inspire your home design. 

Most castles are made of stone thanks to its durability and strength. If you plan to replicate the look, keep in mind that the stones were typically quarried locally and varied in terms of size. Opt for thick rounded squares instead of thin rectangles. Highly rated products like the L Artisan Cut Polymer Stone Panels from Home Depot are an inexpensive way to achieve a castlecore look on your home's exterior. If you want the stone look inside, choose a lighter weight option like the YU LI 3DH Peel and Stick Faux Stone Wall Panels from Amazon or create a unique textured look with a faux stone wall DIY. 

Castles wouldn't always have exposed stone on the interior walls. It was common to plaster or whitewash over stones, or cover them with wooden paneling. Hanging large tapestries is another option that adds beauty, insulation, and sound-dampening benefits. Heraldic tapestries commonly featured coats of arms, crests, and family mottos. Floral and scenic designs were also popular. An alternative is hanging woven throws depicting natural wonders like the Pure Country Weavers William Morris Tree of Life Tapestry. 

Stone was also used on castle floors, but brick and hardwoods were just as common. If you have any of these features in your home and want to embrace the castle look, cover them with large rugs. It'll add style and prevent them from feeling too cold. Along with intricate Persian designs, consider nature scenics to achieve a more European look.

Incorporating the right architectural features is another important step in creating the castlecore look in your home. If you have a fireplace, accentuate the hearth by adding a large stone or wood mantle. Along with roaring fires, chandeliers, oil lamps, and torches were historically used to light castles. These methods aren't practical today, but you can capture a similar feeling with modern light fixtures and sconces. Create an ethereal effect by flanking a door or lining a hallway with GAKA's Gothic Iron Wall Sconce Candle Holders. You could also install a large wagon-wheel-style fixture like the Seaside Village Black Farmhouse 6-Light Chandelier over your dining table before adding a flickering glow with Creative Hobbies Flicker Flame Light Bulbs.

The castlecore trend is definitely working its way into the bedroom, too, which is another place you can easily incorporate gothic and medieval-inspired features. Create a romantic vibe with a stately canopy bed. If a new bed frame is out of your budget, DIY an affordable canopy bed using a simple curtain rod trick. Skip gauzy sheer fabrics in favor of heavier weight choices. 

To up the cozy factor, consider color drenching your room in a dark and moody hue. Although the castlecore trend leans gothic, don't feel like you need to use black. Rich eggplant, deep scarlet, and woodland green all work beautifully on walls or floors. Use large-scale furniture, like ornate armoires full of linen and antique chests that double as seating, to add even more visual interest.

Swapping out your siding for stone, or your carpet for hardwood, may not fit into every budget, but there are accessories that can make you feel like you're in your very own castle. From animal hide rugs to long velvet curtains, textiles are one of the easiest ways to create the castlecore look. Try hanging a pair of RYB Home Velvet Curtains from a Deco Essential Black Arrow Curtain Rod. Use long-pile throw blankets like the HORIMOTE Luxury Plush Faux Fur Blanket over the arm of a chunky chair or oversized sofa to bring the look together. Linen, leather, and wool were also extremely popular medieval fabrics. They can lend an air of authenticity when used for tablecloths, pillow covers, or other small decorative elements.

Further, castles often featured extremely spacious kitchens and dining halls that relied on hearth fires for cooking and heating. Although you're probably not cooking over an open fire, you can still capture a castlecore look in your home's gathering spaces by creating DIY arches in your doorways or installing a decorative range hood cover. Whether you like to seat your knights at a round table or you need a larger banquet-style table that fits all the lords and ladies of the house, opt for dark wood stain. Plus, along with hanging your herbs around to dry, incorporate copper and iron pots, stoneware bowls and plates, vintage wooden utensils, and unique pieces of pottery for a fairytale look that's still functional. 

Herb and vegetable gardens were often located right outside medieval castles' kitchens. It's just one approach you can easily incorporate if you want to give your backyard a castlecore makeover. Because their utility was focused more on fortification than finery, beautifying the grounds with heavy blooms requiring constant attention and expensive statuary made of precious resources wasn't always the highest priority for most castles. Adding a moat around your own home probably violates your HOA rules, but you may be able to increase the sense of privacy and seclusion by adding trellises covered with vining plants. Installing a drawbridge is equally impractical, but wrapping a wrought iron gate around your property could be within reach. If time and budget allow, create order and structure by building stone walls, raised beds, and outbuildings for storing equipment.

You should also consider other ways to achieve the old money aesthetic in your backyard. Install imposing gas lanterns instead of relying on ordinary solar lights. If you decide to add elements like bird baths or other water features, choose neutral stone options over colorful ones and modern metal designs. Even add a pond to your garden that you can stock with fish. Further, allowing mature trees to thrive not only makes your home look like it's been there forever, but also benefits the environment. And, sticking with a unified color palette that includes natural materials like pebble walkways and greenery like boxwood hedges can help your landscaping look more commanding.