Posted by
We actually got TWO questions concerning this home decorating conundrum…
So hubs and I love nothing more than monsters, Halloween, and fall in general.
How do I tie that all in to a general year round house theme without just putting up Halloween decorations all year? (…With the exception of our extensive Spooky Town collection that will OF COURSE be up all year). -Kaci
AND…
The husband and I want to add more gore, horror, zombies and skeletons in our decor. Unfortunately, I’m finding it difficult to find many of such home accents outside of Halloween decorations. Although they’re fun, most Halloween decorations aren’t the best quality and are not meant to be used all year.
I can find pieces if I search thought Etsy, but does anyone know of a store that actually sells terrifying home decor? -Meghann
Related PostHorrifically awesome mortician-themed bathroom
I stumbled upon mortician-themed apothicary jars, and it hit me. I've already made an apothecary-themed bathroom, what would a mortician-themed bathroom look like? I'm gonna... Read more
Oh, you mean OTHER than using a bonesaw for your pastries? Our best advice would be to avoid home decor items that include orange, black, and plastic. The combination of these three things inevitably feel both distinctly Halloweeny, and very much like temporary seasonal decor.
Perhaps you can aim for monsters and creepiness year-round, but using the more traditional seasonal colors — deep green and bloody red ghouls in the winter, pale pastel gauzy ghostly creatures in the spring, bright saturated orange, red, and green zombies in the summer?
Let’s see what we can scheme up, on the fly…
But let’s open it up to our darker-minded Offbeat Homies: how can you keep the creepy spirit in your home year-round, without just looking like you forgot to take down your Halloween decorations?
I would check out http://www.designtoscano.com They’ve been around for awhile and have the most unusual/awesome home and garden decor selection. Mermaid statues, hanging suits of armor and dragon chandeliers (sign me up!). A ton of stuff that that could work with a dark but not halloweeny theme.
Check out designtoscano.com and grandinroad.com grandin road is neat looking but quality is not always the highest.
Consider what mood you would like to create, and whom it is for. For example, I desire a cephalopod-themed bathroom because I think they are delightful and snuggly, not because they are creepy; I also would be very unhappy with a genuinely creepy room (lots of mirrors and dolls, no thank you). But I would love a more old-fashioned macabre study, for example, or a guest bathroom that was done up in Dias de las Muertos fashion. Going for things that are conventionally creepy but which you are enthusiastic about is a good way to go! Nothing ties decor together better than passion.
May I humbly submit some DIY tips from Gothic Martha Stewart http://trystancraft.com/martha/ ? Also, a few pix of my house at http://fishcat.com/home/
Both sites are a little out of date, but the projects are timeless, & the aesthetic fits this topic 🙂
I saved a bunch of vaguely-creepy antiquey vintagey things from our wedding that sort of have that effect- old busted up water-stained books and such are good. I also picked up a phrenology head and palmistry hand from, of all places, Urban Outfitters (the head was on sale for like $9 when I got it, too, woo! I noticed they just brought them back because occult shit is kind of in again.)
Also, dead dried flowers (scabiosa pods, also from our wedding), some kind of weird creepy art (we bought a book of James Jean prints at some point that are amazing), some orange candles in cool looking bourbon bottles (okay, those ARE left over from halloween.) Yadda yadda. I’m hoping to submit a home tour someday too, but right now it’s still a work in progress, since we moved in in July. So much stuff to hang on walls.
I was just thinking I need to start looking out for the good decor at Target and stuff…
Oh also, we had a halloween-themed Christmas last year (linky, if ya care: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alex_tinsley/sets/72157632273001272/with/8320407412/ ) and ended up with a black tree and a lot of sparkly brown and orange stuff, which worked nicely. It’s hard to buy explicitly halloweeny stuff out of season so it sort of naturally edits you.
Just realized this post was super old, but who cares, HALLOWEEN ALL THE TIME
This is late, but …
http://www.markstechnologynews.com/2009/12/voodoo-knife-block-takes-a-stab-at-being-a-kitchen-focal-point.html
http://www.brosscar.com/social-peeps/stabbed-heart-knife-block/
It’s NEVER too late for awesome products!
http://designtoscano.com/ is a great place to look!
Start a curiosity cabinet! Put your findings in glass jars and display them on a shelf, or even better, in a glass case like the ones in natural history museums. Collecting sciency, creepy things is so much fun. You can find neat oddities by scouring flea markets, taking nature walks (think dead insects, interesting fungi, or if you’re lucky, owl pellets or animal bones.) I just worked at a tattoo convention this weekend, and discovered a vendor called Trundle Manor. Dead critters suspended in alcohol solution, amazing rat skull jewelry, and even creepy medical implements! What’s not to love? Or if you’re crafty, it’s fun to make those creepy frankenstein/Severus Snape’s potion closet creatures out of clay and display them in jars with colored water. As the clay sits in fluid, it tends to decay over time, which ends up making your creature/organ/biological oddity look even more demented and awesome!
My Boyfriend of 6 years and I have decorated our apartment in a way that is both creepy and classy. We chose deep charcoal grey walls for the majority of our home. Then Slip covered our furniture with black for fall/winter and a leathery camel for the warmer months. natural ram horns on the wall, large pewter framed mirror, dark wood furniture and inexpensive thrift finds painted shades of black and distressed. Display old tattered books, figural busts, animal sculpture, and anatomical prints with heavy dark frames. Add the occasional ivory or white ceramic jars, terrariums with bones and skulls inside and hunt for an animal fur or hide area rug or wall hanging. Use diffused lighting by tea dyeing or purchasing amber tinted lamp shades. Lots of natural wax candles and keep all of your sharp objects on display as though you are expecting someone to show up for dinner at any moment 😉 (unless you have small children of course).
…pictures. I want pictures.
I am aiming for Addams Family Chic in the house we’re building. Garage sales and home improvement stores are your friend. Look for the offbeat and antique that can be made creepy and unsettling, or outdoor fixtures re-purposed for indoors. I recently scored an oval framed gilt mirror for $10 that has the silver wearing off the back as only OLD mirrors achieve. Very ghostly looking indeed! I actually talked him down because the silver was wearing through! It is going to look great in my upstairs hall, lit with low wattage outdoor carriage fixtures. Other fitting ornaments from the 70’s get a good coat of Rustoleum’s hammered Bronze spray paint (to cover the avocado green or similar color) and a rub on pewter or silver finish for updating to my creepy aesthetic.
Black, or metallic spray paint does wonders for de-tackying hallowe’en decor. There’s also a Martha Stewart pin floating around with paper bats stuck to the wall that I tried one Halloween and liked so much that they’re still there. All my Harry Potter paraphernalia helps too.
On Facebook I have started a Home Business called Bats in the Belfrey that you all should check out to see just exactly how this can be done! Its called Gothic furniture and all things antique, oh sure we do have some skulls and bats here and there but all done in a tasteful elegant way. We do not have a stitch of orange anywhere but have embraced the colour black and rather than painting walls black we add the colour through accent pieces adn also use other jewel toned colours like dark ruby red and lush velvet Purple. If you are interested in seeing any pictures I would certainly love to share 🙂
Coming into this REALLY late but I had the same vision for my home. I cast pumpkins from real ones and stained them with earthy brown and greens. They look great out all year. Also think of making some gravestone rubbings and framing them. These look good, are inexpensive and gets you out of the house and into the graveyard (or cemetery). If you’re a photographer then take a few pictures of your local boneyard paying particular attention to artful carvings, these make fantastic black and white art prints. For the garden there are many websites devoted to the sale of black (or nearly black) flowers of all kinds.
I found some tall glass bottles with cork tops at the dollar tree last October in green, purple, and red. They have a Victorian feel to them and they were only $1 each– can’t beat that! I’m big on candles and incense as well, they can set your house’s vibes a lot both visually and aromatically. I have a couple of small antique suitcases that are lovely. And lastly, I think crystals, stones, quarts, etc. are fabulous. I’ve got a couple geodes and a crystal ball that I adore (makes me feel very witchy).
I find anything lending towards Victorian, Gothic, Rococo, gives off that creepy vibe. I’m a big fan of cherubs too. Those little chubby faces staring at you… throw in the occasional clown or monkey doll and ur golden. I also have an arm vase with cow ribs instead of flowers…yeah fifty yrs worth of being weird lol.
Talk about responding to an old post…
We have a little bit of the creep-year-round going on in our entry/living room. I stay away from Halloween colors like orange and bile green and stick with grays, black and antique parchment. For accents deep plums and reds. My sofa and chairs in that room are neo-victorian/edwardian tufted design made from a lush gray velvet with black piping. I collect leather bound classic books that I have read and display them in a set of antique barrister bookcases.
The decor on the walls are what make you think creepy. I have hand cut silhouettes framed mixed with framed antique sideshow photos. Framed taxidermy insects and botanical book plates from antique books that could not be restored. Antique photos of families and postmortem photos mix with prints by Travis Louie. A few Syroco mirrors and candle sconces painted black and other victorian knick knacks finish the two story tall walls with no real windows. Think creepy and disturbing library in an old mansion. No zombies (unless they are ‘specimens’ under glass like a rotting hand) or vampire/monsters unless you count Travis Louie’s art work. A touch of quack medical devices or tools mixed with curios of all types can add that over the top scary touch without going Halloween-y.
To make our front room Halloween ready I have some nice Halloween themed throw pillows (velvet ones from Halloween Makers by Joann’s) and extra touches like my marble-like vampire busts. I add bits that scream “Haunted Mansion Holiday” at Disneyland. Piles of carved pumpkins and tombstones for the yard and bubbling cauldrons and handmade brooms don the entryway.
In short stay away from the typical icons of Halloween like vampires, pumpkins and bats and you should be fine.