1. Anything Designed by Laura Ashley

To Willow Wright, owner of Urban Redeux, the name Laura Ashley is synonymous with 1990s interior design and pattern.

Laura Ashley began manufacturing home furnishings in the 1950s, and these pieces showed off patterns inspired by the Victorian era. Her designs hit peak popularity in the 1990s, and that’s why you can still easily find Laura Ashley upholstered furniture, bed linens, and curtains at flea markets and thrift stores.

When searching for Laura Ashley items, Wright says not to get hung up on the brand name.

“If you can’t find Laura Ashley specifically, you can look for chintz and other florals that are similar in style,” Wright says. “These patterns play into nostalgia, a pushback against the trends of beige minimalism we’ve seen for years. It’s also being rediscovered by the younger generation who weren’t alive during the ’90s.”

 2. Postmodern Boxes

Moms in the ’90s were notorious for their collections, and decorative boxes were their favorite tools for stylishly storing trinkets.

According to Virginia Chamlee, author of Big Thrift Energy, postmodern boxes made of tessellated stone and graphic patterns were highly sought after in the ’90s, and they still are today. So if you see one for a great price, grab it.

“Maitland-Smith has been making decorative and quite valuable boxes for decades, and they read as 1990s in a fun, Kelly Wearstler-inflected way,” Chamlee says.

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3. Tessellated Tables

The words “Maitland-Smith” and “tessellated” also came up in our interview with Wright, but in the context of tables.

“Tessellated tables, with their Art Deco and Miami Vice feel, are chic and definitely in demand for their bold look,” Wright says. “Their beige and light pink colors are indicative of the late ’80s and early ’90s palette.”

Once you’re familiar with the look of a tessellated table, it’s hard to overlook one on Facebook Marketplace or your favorite thrift store.

4. Vintage IKEA

IKEA was thriving in the ’90s. Even though the first IKEA opened in Sweden in 1958, Wright points out that the company made its U.S. debut in 1985. It didn’t take long for Americans to become hooked.

“Vintage IKEA is a phrase you don’t hear often, but it definitely exists, and there are serious collectors of it,” Wright says.

Wright notes that a great way to train your eye to spot the brand’s early pieces is to flip through past catalogs. “While some may have dismissed their furniture as disposable, they have created a legacy of design and some early pieces are being rediscovered as collectibles,” she says.

5. Ruffled Lucite and Glass Bowls

Chamlee has devoted hours of her life to searching for ruffled lucite and glass bowls, and ones with black-and-white striped designs especially stop her in her tracks.

“I recently went so far down a rabbit hole scouring eBay for ruffled bowls by the 1990s brand ‘CT Designs’ that I wrote an entire Substack newsletter about it,” Chamlee says. “These are decidedly ’90s, in the best way, but they’re very sculptural, too, so they feel fresh.”