Designing my dream home in Animal Crossing

Maybe I’ll tell you about my love of nooks when I see you next.

These are the kind of things I message my boyfriend about now. Having wooed him with my taste in movies, my meme collection, and my incredible kissing skillz, I can now reveal my forbidden interest in interior design.

I say ‘forbidden’ because, when I started searching for a home, I refused to jump down the rabbit hole of furniture, colour palettes and design movements. What if I got too invested in a particular style, one that I couldn’t execute in the place I moved into? I wanted to be realistic. Now, realism is biting a little too hard; dipping my toes into interior design is taking the edge off how depressing the house hunt can be. And while I’m still searching for my own place, it’s encouraged me to make some changes to my childhood bedroom – the only space in the family home that is truly mine.

It began with my bedroom. My sister and I grew up with cream coloured walls, and over 20 years they accumulated scuff marks and Blu Tack stains. After lockdowns, my parents suggested we repaint them. My sister chose a clean, bright white. I opted for a pale, chalky blue that brings out the floral pattern in the carpet. Because I was vacating my room of all furniture anyway, I ditched my single bed in favour of a spacious double.

And so it continues: I asked Mum to help me stick temporary wall hooks on the back of my door, so I can hang up my dressing gowns and a piece of art. Over the summer, Dad and I repainted my bookcase – handmade by my grandfather – from cream to white. I just bought myself a mid-century modern style lamp for my bedside table. I’m eyeing up a new desk chair too. And some more plants; I hear philodendrons are easy to grow, unlike my string of pearls, which is more of a handful.

Sometimes I fantasise about filling my home with plants. Tall, big leafed canopies in the corner. Baskets hovering above the dining table. Vines meandering across shelves and window frames. I will settle for having house plants I can keep alive.

Nooks and crannies

To return to the nooks: I adore them. I love a good study nook. I love a reading nook even more (a book nook, you might call it). And following this pattern, I have discovered that I also love a breakfast nook.

What if we were both Animal Crossing villagers, and I served you breakfast in my breakfast nook?

My love of nooks is twofold: a) as a small person, I gravitate towards small spaces, like corners and crannies, and b) my budget allows me to flirt with a property 60sqm in size, but 80sqm is out of my league. It is in my best interests to embrace the cosy qualities of a space. It makes them less claustrophobic.

Beyond the practical side, I’ve been thinking about snuggling a lot. With my significant other, in a chair with a book, under blankets with a cup of tea. In the quiet that I hope will come from having my very own place. I want to be enveloped in a space that feels like me. And this is where the breakfast nook comes in:

Imagine putting armchairs around your dining table. You’ve got a lap blankie. Maybe you sit down to read a chapter at breakfast and you just stay there because the chair is so damn comfortable. This is the dream. And, as far as I know, nobody else in my life has a dining area set up like this.

I didn’t come up with the concept of a breakfast nook. I’m pretty sure I first came across it on an episode of Queer Eye. I’ve also been watching a lot of Paige Wassel, and as soon as she mentioned using fabric swivel club chairs as dining chairs, I was sold.

Actually, speaking of chairs: I was browsing the Apartment Therapy website, and came across an article about different kinds of chairs. I pictured a dramatic wingback next to the bookcase. And a Louis in the corner. And an egg hanging from the verandah…

Eclectic

I particularly love the array of colourful walls in my Animal Crossing home. During a bad mental health day, I went to Bunnings and stood in the paint aisle. I picked up dozens of those sample cards, with names like ‘English Rose’ (a sweet pink) and ‘Pale Spring’ (olive green). I went home daydreaming about a custard yellow kitchen, an ocean blue reading nook. And wallpaper. I dream about wallpaper.

Me preparing to take 100 paint sample cards home with me.

The mood and style changes from room to room. This is because I’m making this in a video game, and the furniture I have to play with depends on what I can craft, what I can purchase from Nook’s Cranny, and what the other villagers gift me. But most rooms are true to my personal tastes. You might call it ‘eclectic’; I like the clean lines and warm hues of mid-century modern furniture, but I also like the bright, kitschy clutter of grandma chic. And I really like the idea of slowly decorating a home over time. Over years. To see my tastes and interests evolve at each stage of my life, reflected in the objects I collect.

I really like this shot of the kitchen. The bottles of passata on the fridge? The novelty clock? The view of a cloudless blue sky? Goals.

Sanctuaries

My home in Animal Crossing is pure fantasy. There are six rooms, generously sized, including an attic and a basement. In real life, I’m looking for a two bedroom unit with a European laundry. It’s indulgent to give my avatar a study nook in the attic – complete with a nap lounge – and a rumpus room in the basement.

You know what feels luxurious? The idea that my bedroom is just for sleeping and relaxing in. There’s no desk against the opposite wall, because I have a dedicated space to work and write. Maybe even another nook where I can curl up in a squishy chair – away from said desk but also not on my bed – and read. In this fantasy, I have multiple sanctuaries.

As a 26-year-old who still lives in the family home, I’m having trouble feeling like an adult. I no longer want just a room of my own; I want a whole place. Even if that creates a suite of new problems: what should I eat for dinner? How am I going to pay my bills? Why won’t the dishwasher work?

But looking around, I’m really pleased with my real life bedroom. It feels cosy. It feels like me. I want a place of my own so badly, and that’s stopped me from decorating my room sooner. So while I still live in the family home, I’m going to enjoy the sanctuary I’ve created.