How to Create a Harry Potter-Inspired Home
Let’s take a look at how you can create a Harry Potter-inspired home.
06/08/2021
If you’ve progressed in life enough to be a
homeowner, and you are still a Harry Potter
superfan, you probably have a couple of people
in your life who look down their noses at you,
and have probably suggested that you ‘grow up’
on more than one occasion.
Well, anyone
who’s done that is just a miserable elitist
whose shame has led them to lock up their inner
child and throw away the key. For many people
now in their twenties and thirties, Harry Potter
was the defining story of our childhood.
It became a global phenomenon
for a good reason, and while its obsessive
fandom can get toxic at times as all obsessive
fandoms can, if being a Harry Potter superfan
makes you happy then why should anyone get to
question it?
And if you want to bring a
flair for this passion of yours into the
interior design of your home, there’s no shame
in that either. It’s your home after all, and it
should be a place where you feel at your most
comfortable.
The atmosphere should be
yours to control. So let’s take a look at how
you can create a Harry Potter-inspired home:
Colour
One of the most important aspects of a home
is the colour inside. The walls and the carpet
and then any decorations, artwork and furniture
which you need to make sure doesn’t clash with
that.
There are several different
colours which you can associate with Harry
Potter, and they are all based on the four
distinct Hogwarts houses. Rowling created these
houses based on specific personality traits, and
most readers can see themselves being members of
one.
Gryffindor, the house that Harry and
his friends were sorted into, being for
courageous people, Slytherin for those who are
cunning and ambitious, Ravenclaw for the
smartest of students and then Hufflepuff for the
kindhearted and hard-working.
Each of
them are represented by different colours.
Gryffindor is orange, Ravenclaw is blue,
Slytherin is green and Hufflepuff is yellow and
whichever house you fit into could help you to
decide on the color scheme for your home.
If you’re not 100% sure where you land, then
take this
Harry Potter house quiz and find out.
It’s a fun way to learn more about how your
personality intertwines with the story and you
can then think about the paint and wallpaper
with your house colours in mind.
Furniture
When it comes to the furniture, I would
suggest that you don’t overdo it. There is lots
of branded Harry Potter furniture out there that
has images, symbols or quotes emblazoned on
them. Cushions, rugs, bedsheets and other stuff
like that.
You can get some of that stuff
of course, but I personally think it would be
more interesting to make your home feel similar
to the setting of Harry Potter. Specifically,
Hogwarts, the castle in which the story takes
place.
From an architectural perspective,
it’s kind of a combination of Gothic and
Romanesque and that is reflected in the
furniture too. Think of a suite of furniture for
your living room that would be similar to the
ones found in the house common rooms.
You
see plush armchairs that are often winged or
will have a chintz design on the fabric. A few
of these in your living room can make you feel
like you're relaxing between classes at
Hogwarts. Your dining chairs could be similar to
those in the Great Hall.
Wooden with
ornately designed backs, and you could also
acquire some old-fashioned brass cooking pots
and utensils which would replicate dinner time
in the castle. Your cabinets and wardrobes could
have a medieval flair to them too.
There
is no shortage of wooden furniture designed as
such available on sites like eBay and etsy or
you could also probably pick them up in antique
shops. Every house needs a full-length mirror
too, so see if you can track down a replica of
the Mirror of Erised for that.
Decorations
Your wall hangings, paintings and other
decorations will be an important part of the
whole set up. There are many different options
here. You could get Hogwarts house banners,
maybe some movie posters, or some official Harry
Potter artwork.
All of that will
definitely help to display your love of Harry
Potter, but if you would rather be somewhat more
subtle about it then that’s fine too. You could
again try to replicate the interior of the
castle.
Maybe get some
paintings of medieval scenes or historical
figures. They won’t move like those in the story
(at least I hope they won’t) but they will make
your walls look similar to the wall of Hogwarts
castle.
Other stuff that would add to the
atmosphere would be some more functional pieces.
Perhaps a Potions pot or an owl cage that
doubles as a flower container. Maybe some
wall-mounted lights that are designed to look
like candles.
Or a bookshelf in the shape
of the Deathly Hallows symbol. You can’t go
wrong with some ornamental objects either.
Perhaps a personalized wand you can stick on the
mantelpiece or maybe a replica of a golden
snitch.
There are a lot of those kinds
of decorative knick-knacks that are Harry Potter
themed and would look great atop your cupboards,
bookshelves or other available surfaces.
Decorating your Harry Potter home should be
a fun and rewarding experience. And if you can,
try not to go for the same designs as everyone
else. There is so much lore and mythology and
everyone experiences the story differently so
it’s a great opportunity for you to stay true to
the story while also staying personalized and
unique.