Fandom in Every Corner

For some fans, being part of a fandom doesn’t end when the credits roll or the park closes — it follows them home. With screen-accurate replicas and licensed home decor, fans can bring their favorite stories into their living spaces. Think of franchises that fully immerse audiences in their worlds, such as Wicked, Bridgerton, or Harry Potter. These rich stories drive fandom decor, bringing magic into everyday rooms.  

Collectors and decorators can approach fandom-inspired spaces in various ways. Some fill larger rooms with bold, eye-catching pieces, creating a campy, immersive experience. Others work with smaller spaces by incorporating DIY projects that offer a more laid-back, subtly integrated feel. Regardless of scale or style, each approach captures a sense of wonder, offering an escape from reality and a meaningful expression of fandom.

For many eagle-eyed fans, bringing a fandom home means bringing exactly what they see on screen into their interiors. “A lot of it is a bit of an immersion,” says Matthew McCarty, associate creative director at The Bradford Exchange. “You want to be a part of this world, this fandom you love. And you want it to be correct, too; it’s definitely a thing.” That drive for authenticity is why many fans are willing to pay extra for screen-accurate goods.

The Bradford Exchange’s Harry Potter Illuminated Platform 9 ¾ Clock is the perfect example of the type of home-good replica many fans want. “It’s literally the platform clock from the movie, more or less,” McCarty says, “A digital clock wouldn’t have made sense for Harry Potter. So I want to make sure, too, that it’s talking right with the fandom.” 

At times, fans want more than just a few key pieces; they seek a wider range of items to fully bring a space to life. To meet that demand, The Bradford Exchange creates products that may not have appeared on screen, but still extend the universe into fans’ homes. 

“What definitely is more fun to bring to it is kind of taking the everyday functionality of something — say a lamp or a clock — and doing it in that spin of something you love,” McCarty says. “For example, there might not be a clock in Game of Thrones, but what would that look like? … It balances what we call this left-brain, right-brain thinking, where one side is, ‘Well, I need something practical. I need something functional.’ And the other side’s a little bit more, ‘You’re fun and creative,’ and it balances those two sides to justify making a certain purchase.” What unites both approaches, whether it’s screen-accurate replicas or newly designed decor inspired by a franchise, is a shared emphasis on innovation that meets fans’ high expectations.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, fans turned to personalizing their spaces with fandom-fueled pieces amid the mundane, extended periods spent at home. Julian Montoya, president at The Noble Collection, the first company to create Harry Potter wand replicas, explains this shift: “All that money that you were putting into going out to dinner or buying snacks or going to movies, you were able to put it in some place that made you feel good.” 

Echoing McCarty’s point about paying for authenticity, Montoya explains how spending on quality pieces delivers that sense of joy — one of The Noble Collection’s best-sellers is a $395 Harry Potter Chess Set. While technically a game, this high-end chess set doubles as a Potter-themed decorative piece. At the heart of fandom-fueled decor is that sense of nostalgia: “As it’s no longer uncool to be a nerd, it just made [collecting as adults] easier … Our fandom is fueled by what makes us happy, what brings us joy, and these products are just ways to connect in that way.” 

The Noble Collection also makes a point to seek direct input from fans. “We do a lot of fan engagement through our social media,” Montoya explains. “We’ve even tapped into their fandom to help us pick which SKUs to make.” Fans have weighed in on products ranging from a diorama-style Lord of the Rings chess set to the long-requested cursed necklace replica from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Becoming part of a fandom can be a lifelong experience, as is the case with Carla Rodriguez, known online as @giojammies. Rodriguez, who documents her Harry Potter-inspired home transformations to her more than 263,000 Instagram followers, first began her home/fandom renovation 10 years ago with a themed nursery. A die-hard Potter fan since childhood, and now a wife and mom of four, Rodriguez has formed genuine connections with others through sharing her journey online. 

“The best part of being in the fandom is the people,” Rodriguez says. “We find each other because we all like Harry Potter, but not all of us collect replicas, and not all of us have Harry Potter rooms … Some of us enjoy going to the theme parks, and we will go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando together.” These meaningful connections influence how she decorates her home.

Rodriguez’s most recent project is what she calls the Harry Potter “library of her dreams.” Rodriguez says, “It’s so therapeutic to me … You get lost in the midst of motherhood. So having this for myself to stay busy and creative, that is mine, and I can only share that with other people who also love the story … It’s definitely something I take a lot of pride in.” The library, which doubles as her home office, is a living and functional part of her home. 

Throughout the years of decorating her Harry Potter-themed spaces, Rodriguez has purged her collection multiple times and continually reimagines her designs. Since Rodriguez has two houses — one in Puerto Rico and one in Texas — she also splits up her collection. 

“Houses are in constant movement,” she says. “Being able to come in here and just rearrange things if I receive them or buy something new and want to make space for it … All those things give you a chance to turn off the world for a little bit and just make your house a home.”

Fandom-inspired spaces don’t have to stay personal passion projects —they can become love letters to other fans. Annie Williams, known by her more than 479,000 followers on Instagram as @champagne.chaos, designed a version of Glinda’s Shiz University room from the film Wicked for her 7- (almost 8-) year-old daughter, Kate. Re-creating that look of magical grandeur, however, posed a challenge: “‘How do you re-create that in your home without spending a ton of money?’” Williams asked herself.

The solution: DIY. “The biggest piece was probably creating what looked like wood because to do that all in a wood trim would just be so expensive,” Williams says. “I used curved MDF pieces I found on Amazon; I used 3D printed pieces to make the arch in [Glinda’s] little window nook.” Working within a smaller space also created some limitations, but for Williams, the creative flexibility made it even more exciting. “I think some people probably don’t need it to be as accurate as I was going for,” she laughs. 

Williams feels like being a fan is a part of her personal identity, “probably more so than I’d like to admit,” she says. “Because I am older, I feel like that part I should have grown out of … But looking back, I think it’s always been a part of me.” Williams’ family loved The Wizard of Oz, and after she saw the Broadway musical “Wicked” and later the film inspired by the show, it became a point of cross-generational connection between her and her daughter. That familial bond even made its way into the Shiz space: Williams’ grandmother’s wooden cabinet hutch is now in the room, repainted and accented with gold details.

An important part of Williams’ design process was ensuring the room remained livable for her daughter, who wanted a more grown-up, sophisticated space. The design of Kate’s room balances magic and maturity, as Williams made clear she “doesn’t want to struggle selling the house.” Not every fan wants to undertake a full DIY transformation or spend years collecting replicas. To meet that demand, legacy brands offer high-end licensed collections that bring a low-key fandom feel into the home.

Companies like Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, and Insight Editions are stepping into the fandom market in more subtle and chic ways, launching licensed collections with details inspired by — but not boldly touting — popular franchises. 

With Pottery Barn’s Wicked collection, fans can secure Glinda pink or Elphaba green pieces, including candle holders, duvet covers, glassware, and more. Williams Sonoma’s Bridgerton collections bring the Regency era to modern day, with trinkets like diffusers and vases, and big-ticket items like a picnic basket priced at $349.95. 

Lovers of films, home design, and literature can also bring the magic home with coffee table books. Insight Editions focuses on merging fandom with physical literature, turning pop-culture phenomena into thoughtfully designed books. 

“Our approach to publishing is to make every book collectible,” says Insight Editions CEO Raoul Goff. “From our tiny and mini book series to our visual histories, which often include prop replicas, art prints, and signature cards signed by the filmmakers and often the actors. We want our books to feel special and to be keepsakes that will grow in value.” 

When deciding which franchises to tap into, Goff says, “We try to create books that fans are proud to exhibit in addition to books that help a fan celebrate the worlds they love. We look at each project for its unique aesthetic value and create a design that complements and echoes the creative departments behind the film. We have high production values for our covers, making them conversation pieces.” For fans of films like Frankenstein (2025) or Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), these books offer a new way to experience familiar worlds. 

Fandom is personal, and so is decorating a home. The two can go hand in hand, transforming everyday spaces into something wonderful. Projects of any size or budget can come to life when passion anchors the design process, whether through high-quality replicas that evoke feelings of belonging and nostalgia, or decor that blends into everyday spaces. There isn’t one “right” way to express fandom at home. Whether bold or subtle, set in stone or evolving, these spaces reflect not only what people love, but also how they live, building worlds and making space for a little more magic in everyday life.