Pastel Goth Decor Ideas: How to Style a Space That’s Soft, Moody, and Whimsical With an Edge
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If you've ever wished your decor could feel dark and moody but also sugary and sweet at the same time, then pastel goth might just be the style of your dreams!
As someone with a bit of a dual personality myself — one that's equal parts girly hopeless romantic and spooky little goblin—I find pastel goth to be very appealing. Very relatable.
Pastel goth is a style that takes Gothic decor sensibilities and dips them in a pretty pastel decor color palette, with plenty of dark whimsy and soft goth moments. Like pastel goth outfits, this decor style is perfect if you’re like me and you often can’t decide between your girly, sugary sweet side and your dark moody side. 🎀🙃🖤
And in this post, I’m showing you what pastel goth is, giving you specific decor ideas you can incorporate into your space, and demonstrating you how it can all come together in a pastel goth living room design board.
So if you want some inspiration for a decor style that balances a goth style edge with a cute pastel softness, read on!
Would you rather watch than read? Here’s the video! ↓
What is Pastel Goth?
Simply put, pastel goth is a style that takes gothic sensibilities and dips them in pastels.
If you took Wednesday Addams’ side of the room and then mixed it together with Enid's side to make a girly goth swirl of a space—that's pastel goth.
Netflix
It's such a cool and pretty celebration of the kind of duality that lives inside all of us. We all have the soft and feminine side as well as… the darkness that dwells within. 🙃🖤 And pastel goth styling can be a great way to express that duality!
But the question is: how do you make it happen in a room? Because the pastel goth aesthetic actually tends to be a bit more of a fashion-oriented style. If you look it up on Pinterest, you'll see pastel pink hair contrasted with black lipstick, chunky boots paired with cutesy skirts, and an overall dark-yet-soft whimsy conveyed through clothing, hair, and makeup.
But there honestly isn't a ton of visual inspiration out there on how this could look in a decor sense. That's why this post and video exists! So let's flesh out what pastel goth is as an interior design style together.
1. Wall Art
HalloweenCanvasStore / Etsy
This piece of wall art is pure magic, and really encapsulates what pastel goth is. It's dark and haunting, yet softened by pastel flowers—which is exactly the kind of duality I'm talking about when it comes to this style.
It's all about smashing two seemingly opposite things together and then seeing the beauty that comes from their collision.
And in an interior styling sense, it would make such an impact on a room, don’t you think? By hanging this, you would be signing your space up for quite the visual story. I mean, I see an alternative Ophelia here—one that pulled herself and her flowers up from the water and decided to be instead of not to be.
Whatever story you see here, this piece would be perfect for this style!
2. Celestial Suncatcher
CelestialSuncatchers / Etsy
This suncatcher is another piece that really embodies pastel goth all on its own. The black crescent moon instantly brings that dark celestial energy that leans gothic and mysterious, but it's softened by ethereal sparkles and the rose quartz bloom at its center.
And don't you think it would be beautiful hanging by a window, where the crystals could throw their shimmers across the room like an enchanted disco ball? I mean seriously, whatever interior style you're into for your own space—pastel goth or not—I think any room would benefit from an explosion of sparkles on a regular basis.
And specifically for pastel goth, this suncatcher checks all the boxes. Its blend of hard and soft, dark and sweet, mysterious and ethereal is exactly what this style is all about!
3. Peel & Stick Wallpaper
TapetShow / Etsy
Another way to incorporate some pastel goth into your space is to do a peel-and-stick wallpaper statement wall like this. Once again, we're playing with soft, feminine florals paired with a dark mood in this pattern. It's giving Secret Garden at midnight, and I'm here for it.
This would definitely work well for a more antiquey, classic take on pastel goth, not so much the modern goth gamer-girl-esque aesthetic you see with the outfits on Pinterest. This would be a bit more of a Victorian gothic take.
And it's no secret that I'm a lover of peel-and-stick wallpaper as a wonderful way to make a statement in a rental apartment. This is from the same Etsy shop I got mine from, and I can say their work is high quality, and their customer service is awesome. So if you have it in you to really go for it and make a big statement in your space, this wallpaper would add that sense of dark romance.
4. Vintage Style Floor Lamp
chiclanedesign / Etsy
Like the wallpaper, this floor lamp would be another more Victorian-esque element for this look, for those of you who are more into the antique aesthetic.
And this would be a piece that would inject purely the pastel side of pastel goth into a room. We're going to have some pieces like this that embody one side of this style coin. I mean, if every single piece in a room conveyed both pastel and goth simultaneously, it would start to feel a bit overwhelming and heavy-handed. It's all about the dance between the two sides.
And this lamp would bring the pop of soft pastel femininity. Imagine it against a black wall or near a piece of dark, edgy art. That's pastel goth in a nutshell!
5. Art Deco Sconce
Anthropologie
I love the art deco elegance these sconces would bring to a space. I feel like these would allow you to elevate a pastel goth room, because one of the challenges with the more niche alternative styles I tend to cover is it's very easy for things to start to skew kind of cheesy. We want goth—but not Halloween store goth. You know what I mean?
So something like these sconces would just elevate things. Like the floor lamp I just talked about, it would be emphasizing the pastel side of this equation. And I think that makes sense for lighting. There are plenty of gothic lighting options that are gorgeous and would be beautiful for this style, but when you're dealing with such a yin-yang of a style like this, I think that bringing the pastel side out through lighting just makes sense.
6. Floral Skull Throw Pillow
Terry Fan / Society6
This floral skull pillow is a no-brainer—it’s just about as pastel goth as it gets. It's soft and dainty, yet edgy and macabre, all in one visual punch.
Skull imagery is always a cool dark and confrontational design choice, because it basically forces us to contend with our own mortality and the fact that underneath our skin is this scary-looking thing… 💀🙃
But a skull made of flowers brings an interesting twist to this. It's like it's saying, "No, skulls aren't scary! Death isn't scary! It's all actually very pretty!"
That's where my mind goes at least. But in a styling sense, this would just be a perfect addition to any pastel goth room.
7. Snake Throw Pillow
This snake pillow would also be a perfect addition to a pastel goth look. It definitely covers the goth side of this style—not the pastel—but it would act as a really cool counterpoint to any of the strictly pastel elements in the space.
I will say, this pillow is an investment piece, for sure. So if you don't want to spend a lot of money on a throw pillow, this probably isn't right for you. But I've seen it in person at CB2, and I have to say it's really cool and it feels very high quality. As someone who, to this day, has throw pillows that I bought years and years ago, I think a splurge on the right pillow can be a lifelong investment.
But price aside, I love the design, and I love the idea of bringing this kind of aggression to a room—especially to a room that has plenty of soft, dainty pastel elements.
8. Edgar Allen Poe Quote Throw Pillow
VintageGaleria / Etsy
And then there's this throw pillow, which has a quote from the Goth King himself, Edgar Allan Poe. While there's really nothing more gothic than a Poe quote, there's also the presence of soft femininity through the lace here. So while there aren't any pastels in a color sense, there is a soft romance.
Anything that demonstrates the push and pull between dark and soft, hard and feminine, edgy and dainty… is going to be conceptually right for a pastel goth room. This is where we create the poetry of a space, not just the straightforward literal design choices. And this pillow has both! There's the literal gothic nature of the Poe quote and the symbolic soft femininity of the lace.
9. Kitty & Bat Tiny Tray
Posiez / Etsy
I mean, how cute is this little tray? The bat is giving the kitty a little kiss—just like the goth is giving the pastels a little kiss with this style! 🥰 Once again, this is something that's emblematic of pastel goth in and of itself.
You could use this as a tiny piece of wall art, maybe to fill in a small gap in a gallery wall. I wouldn't hang it by itself in most cases, unless it were on a small sliver of wall, just because it is so tiny. I'd probably use it as coffee table decor, paired with some books and a candle or two. You could also use it as a place to put your rings or maybe your keys when you enter your apartment. Although, at the same time, I wouldn't want to cover up this darling picture. But it is versatile and perfect for this style!
A bat hanging out with a cat is about as pastel goth as it gets.
10. Magical Goth Unicorn Mug
I don't know about you, but I fully consider coffee mugs—or any kind of vessel containing liquid—to be a form of decor. I mean, think about it. It's sitting next to you on a coffee table or a side table, totally on display for most of the day. So how is it not decor?
And something like this mug would be a perfect tiny addition to a pastel goth look. It's obviously a goth statement—it literally says so in black and white—but it's also whimsical and lighthearted. It's cute and a little cheeky, and it would bring a bit of levity to a room. We may be going for an elevated take on a goth style, but that doesn't mean we can't have a sense of humor about it!
And overall, the sweet, ethereal unicorn paired with the Rocky Horror Picture Show font makes it the perfect little pastel goth accent.
11. Pink Faux Florals
Now, this one is pretty straightforward but crucial nonetheless. I would be remiss not to recommend pretty pink faux florals in a black vase like this one for a pastel goth look.
You could place it on a nightstand, a side table, or entryway surface to bring in just the right amount of softness and edge. It’s a beautiful example of how you don't always need skulls or snakes to evoke a pastel goth mood. It's about contrast. And this pairing of airy, light blooms with a dark, sculptural vase is proof that even something as simple as a floral arrangement can carry the duality of this aesthetic.
12. Area Rug
An area rug like this would be the perfect anchor in a pastel goth living room. The deep black sets a moody foundation, while the intricate floral and lace-like detailing of the pattern gives it an aged elegance that feels straight out of a haunted Victorian manor.
It would be a lovely way to ground the lighter, more ethereal pastel elements we've covered without losing that gothic weight. And since this one has that mix of dark and dainty, it's perfect if you want to create a pastel goth foundation for a room.
13. Skull Accent Table
TheImageCraze / Etsy
Then there's something like this accent table adorned with skulls. Lots of skulls. Now, we may be tiptoeing into Halloween territory with this one, but I think it does strike the balance between spooky and elegant. And it would make such a cool gothic impact to any room!
Think about pairing it with some of the smaller decorative accents we've covered—like the pink faux florals, the bat and kitty piece, and the lavender table lamp version of the sconces. All of this together would create such a pretty pastel goth tableau, with an ever-present dark edge provided by the skulls on this accent table. It would just set a perfect stage for some pastel goth decorative theatre.
14. Pink Marble Side Table
On the other end of the side table spectrum, we have this pink marble piece that would be the perfect counterpoint to the skull table. It would soften the edge while providing another surface—only with this one, there's probably only room for your goth unicorn coffee cup.
And what I really love about the idea of incorporating this in a pastel goth room is it would serve as another design element that would elevate the room. There's a bit more of an elegant sophistication to it, but it would still support a pastel goth look. Its curvy hourglass shape paired with its pink color covers the feminine pastel side, while the stone-like weight of it brings the harder edge. So it not only fits the pastel goth sensibility, but it also adds an elegance that would elevate the space overall!
15. Pink Chesterfield Sofa
Willa Arlo Interiors / Wayfair
Finally, we have the centerpiece of the living room: the sofa. And I think going for something soft, feminine, and straight-up pink would be a beautiful way to drive the pastel side home. You could totally go for the goth side with your couch, but I don't know—leaning into the softness that a couch should have just makes sense to me.
And the classic tufted Chesterfield look would bring an elegant timelessness to the room. I'm picturing black walls or maybe the dark floral wallpaper I showed you earlier, paired with the soft pink of this couch to create the ultimate pastel goth statement all together!
Pastel Goth Living Room Design
Speaking of how all of this could look all together, let me show you what this could look like with the design board that I made!
This is one way you could go about it, with black walls anchoring the majority of the pieces I've shown you, and our dark Ophelia girly as the focal point. And see what I mean about the wall sconces? They really would elevate the space while still conveying the pastel side of the pastel goth equation. As you can see, it's all about the dance—the push and pull between the dark edge and the soft, ethereal side.
And then, if you wanted to go for more of a maximalist take on this, you could do the dark floral peel-and-stick wallpaper. This is obviously a much more intense version of this design, but for anyone who is a bit more maximalism-minded, it could be just the right amount of intensity!
So that was my take on the pastel goth aesthetic! It’s perfect for anyone with a dual personality and just can't seem to decide between their soft feminine side and their weirdo goth girl side. 🙃
Let me know in the comments below: on the pastel-to-goth spectrum, where do you lie? Are you closer to pastel or closer to goth? Are you an Enid or a Wednesday? And do you like the idea of swirling the two together into a yummy pastel goth soft serve? I personally would love that flavor.
