1-up your living space with pixelated home decor

Guest post by Stephanie Davies
#Decor & Decorating#gamers#Nintendo#video games

Kunihiko Morinaga's pixelated table and rug, courtesy of Juxtapose.com
My fondest childhood memories aren’t of playing in the great Australian outdoors. They’re of sitting in front of a computer — any computer — and figuring out games like Simon the Sorcerer, Azure Dreams, and Indiana Jones: The Fate of Atlantis. When I got older, it was Snake on my Nokia 3210 which saved me from the social awkwardness which comes with being a teenager. Just crack that baby out and pretend you’re texting! High school can be fun!

It’s true that life’s finer things are pixellated. Just think of old school video games, fast-loading Flash movies and, uh, censored nudity. Last year Japanese designer Kunihiko Morinaga brought us some mind-blowing pieces influenced by the art of pixelation (just check out his table and rug, pictured left!). These pieces were displayed in Morinaga’s pixel paradise — a showroom created to correspond with the launch of his 8-bit inspired fashion line.

Obviously, it’s a very special thing to want to make your living room look like an MS Paint explosion. Unfortunately, Morinaga’s creations are unlikely to leave their Harajuku showroom. So let’s geek out over these affordable low-res lovelies instead!

You know how much Offbeat Home loves shark-based home décor. But Puxxle, the company founded by the sisters with a prevalence towards retro video games, makes squirrels, cacti, crocodile, and hedgehog wall stickers as well! These stickers are a little bit of work (you have to stick the individual “pixels” on your wall one by one) but if you’re a fan of mosaics you should have a ball. I think these would look great paired with…

Related Post Your wall of glass blocks is screaming to become a Tetris homage

A glass black partial wall becomes a eight foot tall video game art piece.

The 8-Bit Flower Bouquet by ThinkGeek is a perfect gift for the gamer girl/guy in your life. These flowers never wilt, take up hardly any space, and their cheery smiles would brighten anyone up after a hard day on the console.

This rug by Crate & Barrel is made of 100% hand-tufted wool and trades at under £300. I think it’s contradictory in the best way, in that it would be great at adding colour to a muted room but also toning down a loud one.

If you’re more of a hands-on type, Instructables has a guide to making your own pixelated trash can out of plywood and paint. It might be a little too special to put your trash in — but you could always use it to store your extra lives!

Etsy store YumesPixelCrafts makes photo frames and fridge magnets based off old Nintendo and Lucasart games. (I’ve got a Monkey Island frame and some Pokemon magnets — but I’m still waiting on Jigglypuff to make an appearance!)

Have you seen any other examples of pixel pride in the home? Do you think you’ll be able to get the Zelda music out of your head for the rest of the day, now that I’ve mentioned it?

Guest Post By: Stephanie Davies

Stephanie Davies is a freelance writer and general person. At seventeen Stephanie moved from Australia to England to become a writer, because she'd heard that's where they all live. When not playing video games, she can be found sporadically updating her blog 'The Solipsistic Socialite' and wondering what to do with the rest of her life.

Comments on 1-up your living space with pixelated home decor

  3. If you wanted to design your own pixelated fabrics for pillows, curtains, blankets, kitchen towels etc… to use in your home you could always go to Spoonflower to get your designs custom printed. It’s a bit pricy but it might be a bit cheaper than some of the designer pixelated textiles! (plus custom is always fun too!)

  6. May I recommend pixel art quilts? http://www.etsy.com/shop/GameInspired My friend Lisa works almost exclusively from custom orders, but there are some examples of her work up in the shop. She does everything from lap quilts and baby blankets to full bed sets. Be sure to check out her sold items to get an idea for some of the truly epic stuff she can make.

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