Handwritten notes scattered across a wooden desk. The soft glow from an antique lamp. Library shelves stacked with tomes. Outside, it’s dusk — rain is falling, and wet leaves glisten in the streetlight. Can you picture it? That’s dark academia — it’s a moody and nostalgic aesthetic that demonstrates an appreciation for classical literature, the arts, and any other iteration of intellectual stimulation. The aesthetic romanticizes the desire for knowledge, with subtle notes of mystery and a yearning for the past.

Listen, dark wood and dusty books might sound like a shortcut to a dated look, but unlike some other fleeting interior design trends, dark academia decor is timeless in its nature, and with the right touch, can feel surprisingly contemporary. It “incorporates historical references to the Aesthetic movement, Victorian Gothic, and even the 18th-Century Enlightenment, romanticizing an age marked by intense scholarship and curiosity about the unknown,” Anthony Barzilay-Freund, 1stDibs’ editorial and fine arts director, tells me. In our homes, the aesthetic manifests itself through moody spaces that foster thoughtfulness and comfort.