The Romantasy genre is surging in popularity, secondhand and vintage finds are all the rage and gothic-inspired fashion is so in vogue—it's no wonder why Castlecore homes are trending. With their grandiose architecture, ornate details and layered, rich textures, Castlecore home designs offer escapism in the everyday. Get inspired by these Castlecore homes that bring a medieval ambiance to the 21st-century.
What Is Castlecore?
Castlecore is a design aesthetic inspired by medieval castles, historic homes and fantasy settings. In its 2025 trends report, Pinterest predicted a surge in interest around what they introduced as a "Castlecore" aesthetic across interior design, fashion and pop culture. An evocation of old-world charm, the concept often includes depictions of grand settings, regal, intricate furniture and a dark, layered color palette.
Castlecore Interior Design Ideas
Incorporate medieval elements into your home with Castlecore decor. Castlecore interior designs usually include the following themes, and we tapped experts to share how to execute them right.
Ornate Furnishings
Antique and vintage finds are a must for the Castlecore aesthetic. Placing antique pieces in modern day spaces requires some give and take. "Its important to think about how the pieces of furniture interact with each other to keep balance in mind," shares designer Melissa Warner Rothblum of Massucco Warner. "For example, if you have a traditional sofa with more ornate legs, its great to pair it with a cleaner lined coffee table, perhaps with no legs at all, so the pieces don’t compete," she says.
Tapestries + Textiles
Layer luxurious fabrics like velvet to get the old-world look. Heavy drapery, tapestries, and brocade fabrics are an easy way to up the medieval vibes of your home. Layered textures make a statement in the luxurious green primary bedroom featured here.
"I've always loved over the top, sometimes 'old-timey' fabrics; traditional hand-painted patterns of Fortuny come to mind, or rich embroideries and heavy patterned velvets," says Petra McKenzie of MK Workshop. "They often have more of an impact if they are taken out of context of a traditional interior and are used in more modern spaces. The same goes for tapestries, no matter if they are historical collectors' items or a modern custom-made piece."
Get creative with textiles. "We often commission textile artists or even create art-rugs that are more suitable to a wall than the floor," McKenzie notes. In the MK Workshop-designed modern medieval bedroom shown here, lush textures on the rug, bench and throw pillows soften the stonework and rich paneling in the space.
Dark Interiors
Saturated, moody interiors evoke fantastical medieval settings. Try dark blues, greens and purples. Looking for warmer tones? A richly-hued red can read luxurious.
Princess-Worthy Canopies
It's a tale as old as time. Surround your bed with draping fabrics and feel like royalty. Designers often use canopies in bunkrooms; the result is an elegant space pulled straight from a fairy tale.
Matouk bedding dressing up a Bernhardt bed nods to the Rose Tarlow Melrose House drapery in this Boulder, Colorado Edwardian refreshed by Onyx & Oak Interior Design. Overhead hangs a vintage glass chandelier from Hollis Pasadena.
MK Workshop crafted this elegant bedroom with layered textures and a rich palette.
Architect Steve Ekman and designer Peggy Robbins Bender preserved the original stone floors, brickwork and woodwork in this Denver home. The family’s St. Bernard, Rufus, relaxes in the entry.
"Interiors are usually the most successful if they have an element of surprise—pieces that feel random and effortless because they don't 'match' anything or aren't an obvious choice... Our personalities are full of juxtapositions and our homes should absolutely reflect that. I think the secret is balance and moderation."
- Petra McKenzie, MK Workshop
Castlecore Bedroom Design Ideas
Turn up the medieval vibes with four-poster beds, grandiose chandeliers, charming canopies and more.
Schumacher’s Morrison cotton adorns this Nashville primary bedroom’s walls, armchair and pediment-inspired bed by Grant Trick. Vintage additions—a Coromandel screen from Speer Collectibles and desk from Pascale Jones—lend glamour. The home is designed by Jason Arnold.
Hand-painted strié walls by Bella Terra Design—using Benjamin Moore’s Blue Bay Marina—craft tranquility in the main bedroom of this Long Island home designed by Asia Baker. A Rosenfeld Interiors canopy bed is cloaked in scalloped linen.
A stone fireplace sits opposite Phillip Jeffries’ Gilded Grid wallpaper in the primary bedroom of this Colorado chateau with interiors by Aspen Design House. The Silas chair and Marlow side table are by Four Hands, and the table lamp beside the bed is Arteriors.
Castlecore-Inspired Living Spaces
Vaulted ceilings, glamorous fixtures and rich woods give these rooms a bit of fantasy.
The vault ceiling of this French Revival abode in Dallas is defined by a Gothic-inspired light fixture. The home's interiors are designed by Laura Lee Clark Falconer.
Parisian eclecticism informs this Tennessee home's design with a few old-world touches. The hallway doubles as a seating area with Lee Industries armchairs, a custom skirted bench donning Donghia’s Higgins textile, a concrete console by Elegant Earth and a Fibreworks rug. Two Needles Hang chandeliers by The Urban Electric Co. suspend above and a subtle Gothic nod. The home is designed by Mary Lauren McBride.
Homeowner and designer Anil Kakar imbued his refurbished Palm Island home with Mediterranean charm. “Each layer tells a story,” he says about the living room’s handwoven Moroccan rug and ceiling beams made of original Dade County Pine.
"Traditional interiors and exteriors will always hold a spot in design trends. They’re classic and rooted in history, so they'll never go out of style."
- Melissa Warner Rothblum, Massucco Warner Interior Design
Leading up to the main entry of this 1906 Tudor designed by Massucco Warner Interior Design is a grand stone staircase. At its base, a fountain is tucked into a niche updated with Kelly Wearstler’s Tableau tile by Ann Sacks in Chalkboard.
Castlecore Architecture Features
Castlecore interiors tend to include high ceilings, exposed wooden beams, and stone walls. Architecture that nods to the old-world while employing more contemporary features display designers' work in balancing era-specific elements.
Typical Castlecore architecture features:
Gothic Influences
Stained-glass windows, pointed arches and vertical towers express the often Gothic influences found in Castlecore architecture. "Tudor homes have Gothic and Renaissance influence and typically feature a very heavy, dark design language," shares architect and designer Sussan Lari. "The modern Tudor is very different."
Take the New York Tudor (shown here) that the Lari design team completely overhauled from an existing structure in disrepair. "We intended to stay within the character of the Tudor style but modernize it," she says. The exterior, although it has a detailed brick pattern that nods to historic design, also features stucco with wood trim in light colors to give the home a brighter, more modern feel.
High Ceilings
An extended ceiling height can recall visions of grandeur and luxury.
Wooden Beams
Despite modern farmhouses' unwavering penchant for wooden beams, Castlecore interiors can implement exposed beams that read more old-world than rustic.
Stone
Stone construction materials like limestone, granite or brick evoke a sense of permanence. Even new-build homes can embody vintage character through implementing old-world-style materials.
Arches
Romantic elements like arches wind back the clock in the best way. Both exterior and interior archways nod to Castlecore's Gothic era roots.
Handmade brick is set in intricate patterns on the exterior of this Kings Point, New York home designed by Sussan Lari. Stucco with wood trimming in light colors adds to the Tudor-style feel of the home, and brings some lightness and relief to the heavy brickwork. The roof is slate.
In Dr. Dre's French chateau-style Los Angeles abode by Landry Design Group and Joan Behnke & Associates, a limestone porte cochère frames the view out to the property’s infinity pool. Nearby, a custom dining table is flanked by Linley chairs. Chaise loungers by Monica Armani sit poolside.
A wrought iron railing carved in a floral, delicate pattern anchors the staircase in this Sussan Lari-designed home.
Castlecore Architecture + Landscaping Inspiration
Go gothic with homes showcasing medieval exteriors and romantic gardens. Romp around the landscape or admire the stone walls plucked right from the pages of a historic novel.
Clipped boxwood and climbing jasmine, part of a layered landscape design by Stephen Block, play up this Pacific Palisades home’s Tudor Revival architecture and frame the dining room. The home's interiors are by Giannetti Home.
Leading up to the main entry of this 1906 Tudor designed by Massucco Warner Interior Design is a grand stone staircase. At its base, a fountain is tucked into a niche updated with Kelly Wearstler’s Tableau tile by Ann Sacks in Chalkboard.
This modernized New York Tudor by Sussan Lari features a rare species of magnolia tree, seen here draping over the pool.
In Houston, romantic, European-style gardens with wide gravel pathways are punctuated by an allée of crepe myrtles, an antique stone fountain and a 17th-century marble urn and pedestal—from Chateau Domingue—that once adorned the courtyard of a villa on Italy’s Amalfi Coast. The home's landscape was done by Herbert Pickworth with interiors by Margaret Naeve Parker.
In the same home, antique French faux-bois seats, a 19th-century French metal garden table and antique French urns, all from M Naeve, mingle in a gathering spot just off the back garden’s central path. Explore the home here.
