Before I start praising how amazing a preppy room is, let me bombard you with some valuable information!
So, there are two kinds of prep aesthetics. One is the east coast prep aesthetic and the other is the southern prep. East coast prep focuses on the nautical decor and colors, say, anchors, ships, shiplap designs, whales, ropes, and compasses besides the popular whites and blues.
However, the southern prep focuses on the summer or beachy elements like palm trees, monkeys, elephants, giraffes, hearts, cow prints, lights, flowers, and more. It has a spring vibe to it. Also known as the VSCO prep aesthetic, this is hands down the most popular one. But, we’ll cover both for the awesome, amazing, stunning preppy room ideas that I have handpicked for you!
But before your design imagination goes wild, assume that you are a student from the elite class and you like everything organized and tasteful. That’s the main belief and taste of the preps and with the same sophisticated and rich student mindset, let’s dive in!
Bring In The Spring!
Preppy rooms are famous for having a very lively and mood-lifting undertone! The springy motifs like flowers, leaves, and vines do just that! Use lots of such designs for your preppy wall decor, bedding, curtains, rugs, and much more!
Maybe you’ll see some butterflies sitting across your room someday!
Pink’s Famous For A Reason!
As the preppy aesthetic brings classy feminity to the space, much of its credit goes to pink!
Just like this (very) sophisticated prep bathroom, using a combination of pink and white in your space is a no-brainer. All-things-pink is not too much pink anyway!
The Oh-ma-gosh Blues & Whites!
Some preppy rooms (the east-coast ones) incline towards a beachy vibe. To bring the same flair in, go for beachy colors like whites and blues.
Add some aesthetic lights, navy blue, and textures to the space so the subtle tones don’t make it look “Oh-so-boring!”
RELATED: 13+ Gorgeous Beach-Themed Bedroom Ideas That Are Hands Down Awe-Inspiring!
‘Sophisticated’ Is The Word!
As the preps hate clutter, mess, and chaos- you’d better keep an eye out for organization, sophistication, and class while you decorate your preppy room.
Like this (extremely) classy entryway, try bringing the clean shiplap design to the walls and add bright prep colors like magenta, gold, and blue to pop against the muted (and modern) backdrop.
Light Those Neon Signs!
Since we are talking class and sophistication here, you can’t forget the neon signs! Can you?
Add a custom one with your favorite brand name, or your name or your favorite word to add a personalized and aesthetic touch to your bedroom.
RELATED: The Ultimate Secret Guide To Neon Aesthetic Bedroom Decor!
Add Some Nice Posters And Patterns!
It’s easy to go about the prep aesthetic when you have a room with muted and pastel walls.
Like this study space, add some bright-colored posters, and motifs to the walls as they make your interiors stand out. The lightning bolt motifs, evil eye, and some flower patterns are cool preppy room ideas to consider!
RELATED: 19 Study Room Decor Ideas That Make You Fall In Love With Studying!
Those Summery Prints Are ‘Ah!’
It’s not just about getting some nice prints to the walls and done! Go for cool, prep summery prints for your bedding like mandala prints, stripes, geometrical designs, and animal motifs.
Use aesthetic fairy lights to top that up and voila! your aesthetic prep retreat is ready to tuck yourself in.
Go Kawaii!
There is not a lot of difference between kawaii and prep interiors when it comes to colors!
Like this pastel prep kitchen design, add soft colors and soft shapes to your preppy home and you have pretty much a space worth a magazine feature!
RELATED: 13 Kawaii Bedroom Ideas That You’ll Spill Over, Literally!
Crazy For Colors
A white room can look super elegant when pops of various colors are used against it. The preppy decor gives us a perfect chance to experiment with that in our own space!
Don’t shy away from throwing a lot of colors into your room to make it a bit playful and fun! Use colorful wall art, decor, throws, pillows, and bedding!
Throw In The Tassels!
I won’t be wrong if I say that adding some tassels to your room can add a preppy flair to it almost immediately!
Take inspo from this preppy dining room design and add some tassel decor across your preppy home by using tassel chandeliers, tassel wall decor, or simply by sticking tassels to the handles of your closets and dressers!
Vines Are Vital!
As the preps love summery designs, you know that leaves, vines, and flowers are a no-brainer in the preppy style!
Hang some faux vines on your walls as preppy wall decor to bring that natural vibe of the prep decor in, same like this super cute and kawaii pastel bedroom, and garnish that with some pastel colors and natural light. The perfect recipe for the perfect prep room.
Bring In The Real Flowers
Whether it’s your living room corner or the bedside table, flowers can make any space pretty, optimistic, and fun!
Put a pretty bunch of flowers in a classy vase in the corners of your rooms. Even they need the preppy flair, don’t they? And in case you are wondering where these chic wall frames are from, they are magazine covers!
Nothing Out Of Place
I can’t overstate how much preps hate chaos and love organization! So God forbid if you are keeping anything messy and out of place in your preppy home, it’s no longer preppy.
Just like this serene prep entryway, keep things minimal and keep them in place. You’ve become a pro prep.
And Mirrors
Whatever is sophisticated, is preppy. Mirrors are one.
Like this boho prep retreat, add that classy flair to your home by adding a mirror in each room you have! They make excellent above-the-bed and above-the-sofa decor!
Vibrant Table Decor!
When the entire home is cute and vibrant and the tabletop isn’t, there is a serious issue!
Look out for and add some classy vibrant faux (or real) flowers, colorful books, scented candles, and printed coasters so even your tabletop decor screams preppy!
Try A Preppy Wallpaper!
Wallpapers are an easy-peasy way to bring in almost any theme to a space effortlessly.
Like this chic bathroom, make your walls preppy by adding nice and chic wallpaper with springy designs. Geometric patterns, animal motifs, birds, butterflies, and floral prints work best! You aren’t coming out of the bathroom for hours now!
A Lot Of Natural Light
Since natural light is a vital part of the spring, summer, and coast, it’s as integral in the prep design. It allows the subtle preppy tones to glow to their fullest and look cheerful and bright!
Allow a ton of natural light into your interiors. And in case you even want your windows to show your love for this trendy design, this one is cool inspo for sure!
Weave Wicker
Since the prep’s love for art stretches to everything natural, artistic, and subtle, wicker has stood the test of time as one of their favorite furniture and decor materials.
Bring in some wicker baskets, wicker lamps, and wicker shelves for adding some artsy touch to your home. For other furnishings, jute rugs, cane chairs, and metallic touches are safe bets.
Not To Forget The Books!
Since the preps are known for their well-educated manners, books are an inseparable part of the aesthetic.
So, whether it is your living room tablescape or your preppy bedroom nightstand decor, neatly stack some colorful books so your taste for the classy prep style doesn’t look shady!
Love The Natural Materials!
To bring out the most perfect form of this aesthetic, natural materials like indoor plants, wicker, jute, etc are the best!
Like this coastal and prep kitchen, why not consider adding some cane stools, wicker pendant lights, and some greenery around? It won’t fail you.
Guide to creating a preppy room
Preppy color palette
When decorating a classy preppy room, you’ll need a classy color palette. After all, it’s majorly the colors that give off the prep vibes.
For the east coast prep, the one that leans coastal, it’s best to choose whites and blues for your preppy room decor.
But if the VSCO prep (the one that’s more popular,) is the one you are looking to create, then some kawaii colors– the pastels- are for you! Choose a pastel color like muted pink, off-white, muted blue, or cream as the base color for the space, and use other bright hues for accents, pops, and splashes to ditch the boredom!
Preppy motifs and patterns
There are a lot of things that can be the ideal motifs for your prep aesthetic room. For the east-coast/ coastal prep style, you’ll thank me for listing the following motifs:
- Anchors
- Ships
- Dolphins
- Whales
- Lighthouses
- Compasses
And for the southern coast/ VSCO prep aesthetic, the following motifs will nail it! (Oh! come on! stop thanking me!)
- Gingham prints
- Animal motifs like zebras, giraffes, monkeys, and cheetahs!
- Lightning bolts
- Stars
- Evil eye
- Hearts
- Cow prints
- Brand logos and dollars (classy! Remember?)
- Butterflies
- Floral motifs
- Palm trees
- Ikat prints
- Stripes
- Paisley print
Preppy bedding
Since sophistication and organization are the prep aesthetic’s second and third names, the bedding must surely be very clean, laid out, and tucked. Messy is a forbidden word here.
For the bedding’s patterns, colors and prints, you’ll never go wrong with the pastel hues, and animal and floral prints! Add a few cute soft toys, if you’d like!
Preppy furniture
Preps love artistic furniture that doesn’t look too loud! One popular choice of material is whicker! It’s pretty and subtle.
But for simple furniture pieces, go for the prep pastel colors. Or just add a cute preppy touch by hanging tassels to the handles of the furniture pieces.
Preppy decor and accessories
The preppy aesthetic focuses on decor that is bright, cheerful, springy, and fun! So, consider adding decor that makes you feel positive and optimistic!
That could be bright collages on the wall, colorful wall art, pretty and comfy cushions, pillows, bedside lamps, photo frames, and vines.
Don’t shy away from adding what you love and what makes you feel the beauty around you. But no clutter is a rule. A non-negotiable one. So, be mindful of what you bring in when decorating a preppy space.
Preppy lighting
Natural light is the best one to allow into your preppy room and really make it feel bright and beautiful!
Besides, add some fairy lights and neon lighting to the room so you don’t feel like living in a cave at night!
SIMRAN KAUR
Simran is the architect behind Room You Love! When she isn't obsessing over planning to spend her life in the mountains, she can be found reading, writing, judging color combinations, or doing nothing!
