Happy Halloween to the design obsessed! Halloween can be interpreted in so many ways. It can be a kitschy, old school affair with plastic decorations, a more autumnal affair with decorative gourds and smiling jack-o-lanterns, or can be a wet-your-pants situation with ghoulish props, severed hands and bloody cauldrons.
Regardless of your personal Halloween style, there are ways to celebrate the season when it comes to lighting and design. I loved the images provided by The New Victorian Ruralist and the ever popular Martha Stewart.
For me, I tend to carve the old pumpkin, buy some cider, munch candy corn (the chocolate variety) and fill a bowl with gourds. Don’t get me wrong, I love this time of year and Halloween, but I don’t have kids which puts me in the “less mess” category.
I have found a way to introduce a more sophisticated design approach to the holiday. Can’t get enough orange and black but don’t want to scare people away post October? Why not try a Tiffany style lamp in shades of orange, brown and black? Mica Shade lamps also have that Halloween glow but don’t “read” Halloween.
I also think you can incorporate chic black lighting that simply looks elegant but can be dressed up with cobwebs for that once a year ritual. Black chandeliers offer a great design punch over a dining room table and can be outfitted with creamy or white shades if you want to soften the look.
While Halloween can bring out the kid in all of us, the color scheme can be considered sophisticated and “evergreen” depending upon how it is incorporated in the home.
1. The Las Cruces Collection 6 Light Iron Leaf Chandelier is simply a classic.
2. Try the Besa Anna Habanero Sconce for a haunting glow in hallways or flanking a fireplace.
3. The Laura Lee Single Light Small Wall Sconce can go haunted house or just plain elegant depending upon how you accessorize it.
4. Place the Small Steel Wire Basket Fireplace Wood Holder by a roaring fire all fall and winter for a functional spot for logs. You can always fill it with gourds, plastic rats or whatever you think would work best for your Halloween design scheme when October rolls around.
5. Elegant but can read spooky. The Black Glass Fish Bowl Vase is great for fireplace mantels.
6. The classic Dale Tiffany Mica Leaves Table Lamp is a design “must have” in the Arts and Crafts home, but can exude a scary glow when little other lighting is available.
Photo credits: The New Victorian Ruralist, Martha Stewart