Amanda Hansen loves pink. “I’m naturally a pink frilly girl. All my things are pink. Everything I buy is always a bit Barbie-like,” she says.
Ms. Hansen, a graphic designer in Tacoma, Wash., infused her home with colors worthy of Barbie’s dream house. Its Smeg appliances are pink. The floral wallpaper in the dining room is purple and pink. There are pastel hues throughout the house.
But the piece de resistance is in the backyard: an authentic Barbie oasis. Ms. Hansen, 31, installed a bright pink above-ground pool there — bought $150 on Amazon — and made herself a shaded spot with a banana leaf-patterned umbrella. The paving stone is painted pink. The only space still free awaits a hut with a pink thatched roof with a white curtain with…pink stripes.
“Barbiecore” (a portmanteau of Barbie and décor), which showcases a color palette like hot pink, fuchsia, and magenta, is popular in home decor, driven by the release of the Barbie movie.
According to image-sharing site Pinterest, searches tagged “Barbie aesthetic bedroom” increased 1135% between May 2022 and May 2023. Other searches for hot pink decor (bathrooms, kitchen cabinets, etc.) are also on the rise, says Swasti Sarna, Pinterest’s global data director.
Hot pink ties in with maximalism, which has recently made a comeback as a reaction to the minimalist aesthetic that has dominated Instagram for a very long time. During the pandemic, people have tapped into their personal tastes: disco balls, handmade tiles, etc.
When Mrs. Hansen got married six years ago, she tried the country house style. “It wasn’t me, I realized; I was trying to be mature,” she said. “It took me one of these mornings, three or four years ago, I started painting the walls. It hasn’t stopped since. »
In Nashville, Tennessee, Beverly Griffith has always loved pink and incorporated it into her decor when she purchased her home in 2017. “Millennial pink really just isn’t pink enough for me,” says Griffith, 42. The pink and white bathtub in her bathroom is adorned with a bright pink shower curtain. She painted her appliances the same color when she remodeled her kitchen.
At the start of the pandemic, when she quit her job as a bartender, Ms Griffith painted the exterior of her home in three vibrant shades of pink. The house caused a stir on social media. She rents it out as a studio, by the day, to musicians and artists. “Since my house is pink, people have told me or written on social media that they were embarrassed before to say they liked pink,” Ms. Griffith said. “I am thanked for being so openly and frankly rosy. »
Pink is considered a feminine color, but it hasn’t always been so. According to the Color Psychology website, in the 18th century, boys wore pink, then seen as a transitional color to the red of military uniforms. Pink became a girlish color later. Hot pink caused a stir when Italian fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli launched her shocking pink in 1937.
In fact, the first Barbie doll from 1959 didn’t wear pink, but a black and white herringbone swimsuit. “The universal association of pink with Barbie began in the 1970s, when we adopted predominantly pink packaging to identify the brand,” said Kim Culmone, vice president at Mattel and head of Barbie doll fashion. Barbie shades of pink have evolved over the years. In 2008, cosmetics company Pantone launched a “Barbie Pink” color.
With the release of the Barbie movie, brands are jumping on the bandwagon. In 2022, furniture maker Joybird collaborated with Mattel to mark the 60th anniversary of Barbie’s dream house. This month, Joybird is launching a collection that includes dark pink-magenta sofas and armchairs.
Gifty Walker, director of business promotion at Joybird in Los Angeles, notes that Joybird found success in 2016 with a hot pink sofa. Today, hot pink is everywhere: customers are moving away from traditional greys, browns and tans.
For 30-year-old model Jasmine Mitchell, her bright pink decoration reconnected her with the child in her.
When she moved from Dallas to Los Angeles in 2021, she decorated the living room of her apartment pink. Her first purchase for the living room was a hot pink velvet armchair with gold legs. At night, the LED bulbs that frame the windows cast a pink glow.
“I like other pinks, but hot pink is special. He is electrifying. He makes me happy and makes me feel alive,” Ms. Mitchell said. “I let my inner child guide me. »
That’s it ! Barbie’s DreamHouse, all dressed in pink, has been rented out and four lucky visitors are partying there this weekend. The three-story Malibu abode, complete with infinity pool, dance floor and closet stocked with costumes, was advertised on the Airbnb site as a stunt following the release of the Barbie movie. The price for a stay? Zero dollars! Because as one can read in a press release: “Ken was responsible for setting the rate and mathematics is not his cup of tea!” To hope to stay there, participants had to go to the rental site on July 17, at 10 a.m. The DreamHouse was first rented out in 2019.
