Dakota Johnson Rejects the Accent Wall, Advocates for Lying About Liking Your Friend’s Ugly Decor | Architectural Digest

Jun 11, 2025

Lucky for us, Dakota Johnson is in the midst of a press cycle for her new rom-com, The Materialists. The actor (and alleged lime lover) sat in the hot seat for Vanity Fair’s lie detector interview series recently and delivered several gems about her interior design philosophy. The home decor lightning round began when the interviewer asked Johnson if she was surprised that her green kitchen from her viral 2020 Open Door tour was so popular. (“Yeah, sure was,” she responded.) From there, the Fifty Shades of Gray star gave her unfiltered opinions on matching furniture sets, karate-chopped pillows, accent walls, open floor plans, and whether or not you should lie to your friend with questionable taste in interiors. Below, we walk through Johnson’s hot takes.

The Texas native began with a rather tepid response to her first home decor question. When asked if she was “a fan of matching furniture sets,” the star responded simply that it “depends on who made the furniture set.” Fair enough! Since the star tapped AD100 firm Pierce & Ward for her Carl Maston–designed midcentury home, we aren’t surprised that she has exacting standards when it comes to furniture.

Some people can’t resist finishing off a freshly tidied living room by karate-chopping their throw pillows, to which Johnson says with a shrug, “Sure, but like, why?” And we are inclined to agree with that sentiment.

When asked if accent walls are “a good look,” Johnson responded with a stern no, doubling down with visible disgust on her face when the interviewer asked, “Never?” (For the record, we are big-time believers that they can work, when done thoughtfully.)

“Do you think open floor plans are overrated?” Was Vanity Fair’s next question for the actor, who simply replied, “No.” She’s nothing if not succinct! And to be fair, while they’re not everyone’s cup of tea, open floor plans are popular for a reason.

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Finally, when asked if she had “ever lied about liking a friend’s decor,” Johnson responded assuredly, “Yeah, you have to.” She elaborated: “You can’t go in and be like, ‘Ugh, Leslie, what did you do?’ You have to go, ‘Ahh, look what you did! Amazing!’ Like that.”

Though, you may want to take some of Johnson’s answers with a grain of salt. To close out the interview, she admitted to some undetected fibs. Of course, we already knew that she was skilled in that department.