A self-confessed 1990s fanatic has revealed how he’s so obsessed with the era he transformed his home into a time capsule to the decade – complete with dated Ikea furniture, VHS players, telephone alarm clocks.
Jack Walter, 23, from Bakewell, Derbyshire has spent roughly £5,000 pursuing his passion for the era and even drives a ‘G reg’ Austin Mini Metro.
The illustrator often scours charity shops and eBay while wearing high-waisted Levi jeans and Sweater Shop jumpers and says he finds comfort in the era and hoped to recreate the ‘cosiness’ of his parents’ house from when he was a child – though he admits people think he’s ‘mad’ for not enjoying the present day.
And due to living in the countryside, he claims his 90s phone with extendable aerial ensures he gets better signal than his mobile phone.
Self-confessed 1990s fanatic Jack Walter, 23, from Bakewell, Derbyshire, has revealed how he’s so obsessed with the era he transformed his home into a time capsule to the decade – complete with dated Ikea furniture, VHS players, telephone alarm clocks.
The illustrator often scours charity shops and eBay while wearing high-waisted Levi jeans and Sweater Shop jumpers and says he finds comfort in the era and hoped to recreate the ‘cosiness’ of his parents’ house from when he was a child – though he admits people think he’s ‘mad’ for not enjoying the present day.
‘It started as me recreating my parents’ house from when I was little, with the cosiness,’ Jack explained.
‘I never really enjoyed modern decorating with all the greys. It didn’t have the homey quality, and I wanted to replicate that.
‘When we moved into this current house two years ago, it was super bland and white.
‘Not much had changed in the house since 1995 except it’d had a lot of white paint and a laminate floor put in.
‘The house is the result of a lot of snooping around charity shops and eBay. I also get gifted things by people who know me. They’ll see something and go “Oh, Jack will enjoy that”.
Jack loves nothing more than watching TV shows from the era such as Absolutely Fabulous, Men Behaving Badly and The Vicar Of Dibley and ‘always’ plays his Now That’s What I Call Music cassette tapes.
Jack Walter, 23, from Bakewell, Derbyshire has spent roughly £5,000 pursuing his passion for the era and has fitted his house out with 90s interior
But his pals joke that he could have got his 1989 TV ‘from the tip’ and saved himself £150.
Other photos show his home full of Ikea catalogues from 1997, old Nokia phones and a bulky, square laptop displaying Windows ’95.
He believes the 90s had the ‘perfect balance of enough technology to keep us entertained, but not enough to feel like an overload’ – though he admits he has to explain what his VHS tapes are to younger relatives.
Jack loves nothing more than watching TV shows from the era such as Absolutely Fabulous, Men Behaving Badly and The Vicar Of Dibley and ‘always’ plays his Now That’s What I Call Music cassette tapes
Jack believes the 90s had the ‘perfect balance of enough technology to keep us entertained, but not enough to feel like an overload’ – though he admits he has to explain what his VHS tapes are to younger relatives.
Sharing videos of his time capsule home on TikTok where he ‘pretends it’s the 90s’ has earned him more than 5,000 followers as people have fallen in love with his obsession and he’s met other fans.
Sharing videos of his time capsule home on TikTok where he ‘pretends it’s the 90s’ has earned him more than 5,000 followers as people have fallen in love with his obsession and he’s met other fans.
‘I’m probably at the charity shop once every two weeks, and I probably spend about £30 max,’ he added.
‘The most expensive item I’ve probably brought is my 1980s television in my living room.
‘That was £155. Not that expensive really, but for an old TV, people think I’m mad. A friend told me I probably could have gotten one from the tip.
Jack lives in the three-bedroom cottage with his parents and his partner of two years, Matthew Whiting, 28. His bathroom is pictured
‘I’ve got a few modern appliances. I share the house with my mum, so she has a modern television. We also have a modern dishwasher and washing machine, but I’d say that’s about it.
‘That’s an advantage of living in a small village too. There’s like 500 people on a little dirt lane, it could be any time anyway. I look out my window and there’s nothing there but fields.
‘I decided to share my house on TikTok initially because I was bored in lockdown and wanted to have a bit of fun.
‘Then I had a lot of people saying they remembered a lot of the items in my house, and that they feel the same way about the 90s.
For Jack, who admits he used to get ‘funny looks’ for wearing his 90s jeans, the decade offers an escape from modern life whilst also accommodating a lot of his interests
‘There was a nice feel to it too, knowing that I’m not a weird person and other people enjoy this stuff too.
‘Because I grew up in a small town and I was the quiet gay kid, I always felt a bit like an outsider.’
Jack lives in the three-bedroom cottage with his parents and his partner of two years, Matthew Whiting, 28.
For Jack, who admits he used to get ‘funny looks’ for wearing his 90s jeans, the decade offers an escape from modern life whilst also accommodating a lot of his interests.
Jack’s phone is pictured. He says ‘I love my home telephone. I live out in the sticks, so I get awful mobile phone signal. A home telephone works for me
Jack is pictured with his partner of two years Matthew Whiting. Jack’s taste gets mixed reactions, depending on who pops by the house for a visit.
Jack said: ‘In the 1990s, we had enough technology to keep us entertained, but not enough to feel like an overload. Now we have so many different media outlets that it can get a little overwhelming. It’s nice to have an escape from that.
‘I have my old television hooked up to an Apple TV which is hidden around the back. I have loads of old taped TV programs on YouTube.
‘But I also enjoy videos of series like Absolutely Fabulous, Men Behaving Badly and The Vicar Of Dibley.
‘I love my home telephone. I live out in the sticks, so I get awful mobile phone signal. A home telephone works for me.
Jack Walters’ partner, Matthew Whiting, 29, from Bakewell, Derbyshire, standing by the Austin mini metro
Although he is passionate about things of the era, Jack acknowledges that his hobby has left others thinking he was ‘weird’
‘At a push, I’d say my favourite item is probably my radio-alarm clock-telephone. It’s very mundane, but I always feel a bit glam taking calls from my bedroom.
‘I do love my bedroom though, as once you shut the door, you could be anywhere between the years 1990 and 2000.
‘I love 90s music. I always play the Now That’s What I Call Music cassette tapes from 1998 to 1999. It’s very ‘Mum music’.
‘I obviously love the Spice Girls too – Gerri Halliwell being my favourite.
‘I’d say that any point between 1996 and 1999 is my favourite era for decor and music.
Jack’s room comes complete with a TV from the era and 90s style interiors
Other photos show his home full of Ikea catalogues from 1997, old Nokia phones and a bulky, square laptop displaying Windows ’95.
‘It’s an escape from the modern world. Some people go to the gym, some play video games, this is my thing.
‘My partner is massively into video games, so he has all the original Nintendo consoles. We overlap in our interests there, so that’s nice.’
Jack’s taste gets mixed reactions, depending on who pops by the house for a visit.
Jack said: ‘I usually get one of three reactions from people when they come around and see my house.
‘There’ll be some people who get nostalgic and remember things from my house from living through the 1990s.
‘Then you get people like my niece. She’s only young so it’s all new to her and she didn’t believe that my phone or telephone worked. I had to explain to her what a VHS was.
‘And I get some people who walk in and don’t get it at all. They think I’m mad, and they’ll ask why I’m not enjoying what we have now.
Jack’s home is pictured complete with a yellow 90s poster and patterned mugs (left) Jack even has a 90s style landline phone (right)
‘They’ll say that I should buy new things as they’re better quality. In my opinion, it’s cheaper for me to live like this and everything in my house has a story. They last a lot longer too.
‘I’ll have some people online who will tell me it’s not accurate. They’ll say ‘That TV is from the 80s, it’s not 90s’. I think people forget that back in the day, people bought things to last.’
Although he is passionate about things of the era, Jack acknowledges that his hobby has left others thinking he was ‘weird’.
Jack said: ‘I do get some funny looks when I’m out dressed in a 40-year-old Sweater Shop jumper.
Despite his vintage taste Jack say he has ‘ modern values’ and that he ‘wouldn’t have fit in in the 90s
‘Some fashion trends from the 90s are coming back around, whilst others aren’t. I’ve had people say to me ‘It looks like your jeans are back in fashion’, because when everyone was wearing skinny jeans, I was wearing high-waisted Levi’s. People thought I was a bit weird for doing that.
‘Nowadays, being different is embraced and celebrated a lot more. I don’t feel like an outsider so much anymore.
‘There’s definitely a lot of people online who share my interests. I even met a mate online who has a house that is completely 70s.
‘I know I probably wouldn’t have fit in during the 90s though. Being a gay man and having no internet, I probably wouldn’t have met my partner. Gay men weren’t portrayed in the media at all.
‘I have vintage interests, but modern values.’