This Nostalgic ’90s Style Is Coming for Your Walls in a Big Way (It’s So Cute!)

I have several core childhood memories of doodling on my notebook pages with gel pens in school. They were often of Hawaiian flowers that I meticulously learned how to draw (very Y2K coded!), hearts with my friends’ (and the occasional boy band member’s) names in the center, and lots of squiggly, scallop-shaped lines. 

I grew up in the ’90s during the heyday of stenciled wall art and sponge-painted rooms, which now correlate to some of today’s biggest decor trends like indoor murals and limewash paint. In fact, these nostalgic aesthetics (combined with the millennial urge to doodle on everything) have paved the way for a new 2024 decorative painting style: doodling on our walls. Dwell has specifically deemed this design concept “wall doodles,” and it includes whimsical illustrations ranging from small hand-drawn flowers to the more literal squiggly-line sketches. 

This look might be rooted in ’90s nostalgia, but it actually dates back hundreds of years. “Decorative painting as we understand it finds its origins in the Renaissance, a transformative cultural movement in Western Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries that marked the beginning of the Modern Age,” says Alex Bass, an interior designer, art curator, and founder of Salon 21. Even before that, early civilizations used cave markings and drawings as a form of storytelling and communication. 

Today, the modern wall doodle trend is a way to communicate personal style. It also adds some playful energy to a room, helping it feel more lived-in under the guise of an aesthetically pleasing paint job. 

Some might want to paint their spaces themselves as a form of creative expression, but this trend doesn’t have to be a DIY. “I love the idea of having an artist do a custom mural for your space,” says Bass. “An artist who Salon 21 is exhibiting this fall, Morgane Richer La Fléche, did a stunning personalized mural in the dining rooms of Great Jones Cookware founder Sierra Tishgart’s home — this is such a clever way to bring personality and artwork into your home.”  

Channel wall doodles with a full-blown mural or a recurring pattern or motif (similar to wallpaper), or opt for scattered freehand designs for a more whimsical touch, even taking a cue from the Manhattan apartment pictured below with a trompe l’oeil effect. “The key with decorative painting is for it to look as effortless as possible,” says Bass. With this in mind, she recommends more organic shapes, as something geometric lends itself better to wallpaper. 

If doodles aren’t your decor aesthetic, you can still incorporate the decorative paint trend into your space through different applications. “Paint is best used for fresco and limewash applications, where you see the beauty in its layering and how the light reflects on it,” Bass adds, noting that you can create almost a marble-like technique as a more blended alternative to the ’90s sponge painting style, like on the ceiling shown below. 

Whether you love the fun and kitschy doodle art look or prefer the minimalist limewash finish, decorative painting is all about adding a point of interest and a personalized touch to your space. While you can achieve this look through wallpaper patterns, paint has a more organic feel to it that calls you back to the life lived within your walls.