There are few times in life when a creator stumbles upon the perfect muse. The artist follows their taste, seeing fragments of what inspires them–breadcrumbs, if you will–and one day, these elements can be found aplenty in something that already exists. A gingerbread house.

That’s the way I felt about Cara Delevigne’s funhouse-inspired home. …then it burned down.

Cara, alongside her Architect, Nicolò Bini of Line Architecture, created a home that was absolutely bursting with playfulness, color, and activity. With a poker room, in-ground trampolines, a vintage arcade, an indoor swing, a ball pit, and even a yonic secret tunnel, one would have been hard pressed to succumb to boredom.

She did a full walkthrough of the space with Architectural Digest. Check it out in all of its glory:

Thus, Carnivalcore was Born

In some corners of the internet, this home tour ignited a trend with a name: Carnivalcore.

Bini, her architect himself, had this to say about the trend:

“It has to do with nostalgia and bringing aspects of childhood, fantasy, innocence, and playfulness into our homes, which are now becoming real sanctuaries.”

Nicolò Bini

It’s worth noting that they collaborated on the home whilst still in the middle of covid lockdown. Surely feeling restricted by appropriate health restrictions, the creators were able to work on a project that was no-holds barred and bold.

How to Create a Carnivalcore Aesthetic

To create the aesthetic, it’s best to consider what reminds you of your childhood, which was most likely filled with colorful toys and wondrous elements. The design is meant to give you a sense of relaxing nostalgia and help you find your inner child again.

House Digest

Carnivals are Bold. They’re playful, colorful, and exciting. Though it’s generally a maximalist trend, you can still bring elements of the look to a room (or your whole home) without inviting too much clutter.

Scale Play

Carnivalcore goes big! Take this room in a Pop Art-inspired home designed by Jannat Vasi, as featured on tatlerasia.com:

This hallway with large eyeglasses by Nicholas Obeid has scale and an antique feel that both lend to the Carnivalcore aesthetic:

Carnivalcore enthusiasts seem to have megaphilia: a love for the oversized. There’s something about an everyday item recreated in substantial proportions that evokes a sense of wonder. The item is large, so you, in turn, must now be small. It’s like a shrink ray for the self.

Here are some more images that evoke Carnivalcore by playing with scale:

Color Play

Why, of course! Color is of great importance to Carnivalcore, but that doesn’t mean you need to go technicolor to achieve the look. Primary colors do lend to that circus look, like in this image:

If this look is too psychedelic for you, playfulness still abounds with a limited color palette when you’re already playing with scale.

Stripe Play

What evokes the circus more than a bold vertical striped pattern, just like the big top tents?

Tented Rooms

If you want to take this element up a notch, a tented room is the way to proceed. Like Vincent Darré’s daring Paris kitchen:

Or the tented powder room in Philip and Charlotte Colbert’s home, designed by Buchanan Studio

Wavy Stripes

Wavy stripes are another playful trend that lends to the aesthetic.

Playful Friends

Animal motifs are invited in Carnivalcore Decor. What’s more “circus” than a monkey?

Or a little tongue-in-cheek?

Play-Play

You know, the real stuff. Stuff to do, like that dining room table that turns into a good ol’ game of pool.

…or, what looks like a work of art, that transforms into a dart board.

Not all play has to be hidden–we have a chess board and foosball table out, loud and proud, and various other elements of playful offerings.

For Cara Delevingne, who has wealth beyond average, this played out with a game room, a room dedicated to hats (“I war so many”), a room dedicated to sex with a swing and a pole, and, of course, the vagina tunnel. But having simple games out and on display can create that same element of encouragement to play.

Surprises Galore

Decorating a room is generally very formulaic: furniture, paint, art. When you encounter a space that has unexpected elements, you receive a jolt of joy. Don’t believe me? Take it from Ingrid Fetell Lee, designer and author of Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness. The book explores the neuroscience and psychology of why one place makes us feel anxious or competitive, while another fosters delight and sharing — and, most importantly, she reveals how we can harness the power of our surroundings to live fuller, healthier, and truly joyful lives

This aligns with my research on the surprise aesthetic (ch 6 in Joyful), which shows that having an unexpected element in a space can add a significant boost of joy. Surprise disrupts our expectations and breaks the monotony of a space we inhabit day in and day out.

Ingrid Fetell Lee, Aesthetics of Joy

The hidden games mentioned in the previous section are a good example, as is the ol’ tunnel that was in Cara’s home. But elements of surprise can be smaller, too.

Items with Unexpected Purposes

…like this cactus-shaped watering can I bought from Ikea this week:

Color in Unexpected Places

Make You Do a Double Take

…like when you see something as a vase, and realize the details make it something else.

What about Dopamine Decor?

Though you may not have heard of Carnivalcore before, dopamine decor is everywhere right now–well, it is on my Pinterest algorithm, at least.

Named after a highly sought-after neurochemical, dopamine decor is an offshoot of Dopamine Dressing. The essence is simple: times are tough, why not dress to feel good? Why not decorate to feel good, too?

Elements of Dopamine Decor

The pros at Architectural Digest had a say, and some of the words they used were brilliantly bold colors and patterns, eclectic prints, inviting textures, a “nostalgia-infused, unmissable vibe”, and “brings back memories of a carefree childhood”.

So Dopamine Decor IS Carnivalcore?

All sources point in that direction. The term Carnivalcore was introduced as a result of Delevingne’s home tour (RIP) in 2021, but the term didn’t quite catch on, aside from online interior design publications.

Dopamine decor is more recent, with AD’s write up written just last summer, July 2023, but the term has caught on like wildfire. A search for Dopamine Decor on google will yield you 66,200,000 results (0.69 seconds). It’s safe to say that it’s here to stay.

Difference Between Dopamine Decor and Carnivalcore Aesthetic

Dopamine Decor is playful and caters to the inner child the same way as Carnivalcore, but with less emphasis on a circus-like/funhouse/mad tea party style. There’s more wiggle room with Dopamine Decor, and it encourages you to decorate your space in a more personal way–not just alluding to a childhood, but with callbacks to your childhood, specifically, and items that evoke memories unique to you.

Dopamine Decor, Carnivalcore, Bookshelf Wealth, Happy Chic

Whatever box you want to put your stuff into, whatever name you want to give it, try decorating in a way that makes you feel good.

Why? Because it’s proven to boost your mood, which will lead you to a better life. Life is short. Why not inject as much joy as possible into it? You never know, one day it could all burn to the ground.