The new frontier of furniture is TikTok

The last two years forced into the privacy of our homes by the pandemic have led to a newfound interest in furniture, a consumer sector generally considered 'non-essential' and which nevertheless, according to estimates, could reach $16.55 billion in revenue by 2025. Always among the most popular topics on both Instagram and Pinterest, the real boom for supply has arrived with the hyper-accelerated methods and rhythms of TikTok, where virality strikes unexpectedly and trends follow one another at the speed of scrolling, engulfed by the attention of a young and receptive audience. In fact, hashtags such as #diy and #homedecor, with 46.2 billion and 5.5 billion views respectively, have changed the way Gen Z understands furnishing and, at an age when it is almost physiological to think of one's own dream home, the passion has degenerated into an almost obsession with home tours and DIY tutorials.

Japandi style

Japandi style

Avant Basic

Avant Basic

Cottegecore

DIY candle

Cloudy Mirror

Popular styles include the "Japandi" aesthetic, a mix of Japanese and Scandinavian minimalism, and Avant Basic, which gravitates towards a 70s vibe with checkered fabrics, tiled coffee tables, wavy mirrors, mushroom lamps and more than 4.5 million views. TikTok's trend supplies are often born as the transposition of pre-existing trends born spontaneously on the platform in the fashion sphere and then translated into furnishings once they go viral: this is the case of Cottegecore, which in terms of clothing includes floral patterns and loungewear and which in terms of furnishings is expressed in a mix of tea sets, blankets and wicker baskets. The same goes for the Dark Academia look, which from collegiate clothing is translated into a Hogwarts-style moodboard of furnishings. On the other hand, Cloudy Mirrors, an easily replicable piece of furniture made of polyurethane foam, Rattan home-made baskets, dried flowers and homemade candles with creative stencils reproducing female figures or geometric shapes, are the must-haves of the so-called "Soft Girl" aesthetic, featuring traditionally feminine tones and motifs.

The walls of the home have therefore taken on a new importance, thanks to the obligation to temporarily cut off our bridges with the outside world, transforming our four walls into the background of work calls or Zoom aperitifs that we might like to forget. Obviously TikTok has found its place in this situation, which is in many ways unprecedented, and thanks to its ability to synchronise perfectly with users' preferences, it has fuelled Gen Z's interest in furnishing, also thanks to the rise in popularity of multidisciplinary designers or celebrities capable of imposing their aesthetics on the collective imagination. One example above all is Drake, who after opening the doors of his Canadian villa in the Toosie Slide video managed to rekindle KAWS's passion for toys, while it is pointless to cite the examples of Virgil Abloh and Daniel Arsham to talk about two designers who have successfully transitioned from the world of furniture to fashion. Young people today are much more concerned about sustainability and the environment, which is why it is not absurd to reinvent a skateboard as a shelf, or a pair of shoes as a container for a succulent plant. Taking a trip through TikTok furniture is a reality experience, because it allows us to come into contact with a slice of the world that teenagers would like to live in, made up of references to pop culture, hints of last century's furnishing styles and neon lights in their bedrooms.