hol·low /ˈhälō/ adjective
- having a hole or empty space inside.
The past few years have been full of endings and new beginnings: moving three times, friendship and relationship breakups, etc. Resulting in the loss/damage of most of my Halloween decor. Little remained, but last year I was able acquire a few things for my Dreamtroit Dorm.
Over the years, my aesthetic has changed little-by-little when it comes to decor in general. My old apartment in Ferndale was very hedge-witch/vintage mixed with horror-regardless of the time of year, and after that it was more of a mix of vintage Halloween decor with whatever came along. When I moved into Dreamtroit, I had so very little that it was almost nothing, a hollow.
Obviously, I love blue. So I started with adding a few blue pumpkins mixed in with whatever I had leftover. My parents, and Dave, gifted me two of my most favorite items: a light-up haunted house, and a ceramic pumpkin with an almost folk pattern. Both have remained up all year, because us spooky-nerds have wants and needs.
When Dave and I first started shopping around for Halloween decor for the house, we both ended up really loving the vintage-inspired items we found at Marshalls/Home Goods, etc. So began filling the Halloween hollow.
I took these photos specifically for Halloween, but, you lovely readers also get an unintentional house-tour: spooky edition!
The first set of photos are of the entryway to our home, that is quickly becoming one of my favorite areas of the house. I never used a front door as the main entrance before, I have always lived on corner-lots in houses, or in an apartment. We have a giant tool-chest thing, and my old table set from the dorm as the furniture, and new MCM shelves that Dave installed earlier in the year. Most importantly: the blue typewriter that Dave gifted me last year that was my favorite item to display at Dreamtroit.
Who uses typewriters anyway?
Most of the Día de los Muertos decor was gifted to me over the years from my mom, and they reside in the kitchen-one of the most colorful rooms of the house. Obviously here I only focused on the Halloween decor, but, I will have to do a follow-up post showing off all of the art.
A few of our vintage-esq bois that we picked up are mixed in, which I love because despite the entire house leaning on the eclectic side, this room holds the most variety. And jars. Hi, my name is Sara and I am a jar goblin.
Our dining room is a work-in-progress, but very pretty at the moment. A headless doll prop from a photoshoot a few years back sits on the tinest chair, that I had picked up for a whole dollar. My brother had said that I needed an accent chair in my dorm, but there really wasn’t room in that studio. After acquiring this vintage, children’s chair that can barely hold a pillow, it became my “accent” chair.
My brother was not amused.
My mother gifted us the spooky tablecloth that doesn’t quite fit our table, so I folded it and it makes a nice little layer under the runner. We also have a random end table that was thrown in the corner, and now looks like a spooky-altar of sorts.
At some point I started collecting both wood, and dried florals, and Dave has brought home more (blue ones!!) and they are scattered throughout the dining and living rooms.
My second favorite nook of the house is in the living room: The Record Corner. That Ikea bookshelf has survived six moves, a beast! Dave placed it there and I wasn’t excited about it until we turned it into the *coolest* record/music station.
Surprisingly, that other large shelf does not hold all of our house plants. They breed like rabbits and have taken over. A spider plant actually wrote this blog post.
The living room is Bella’s abode. We just live here.
Last year I had the great idea to put a bunch of cheap bats all over the walls, and despite putting up 834 bats, 835 bats remained. Our bathroom mirror is Pinterest porn, and I am not mad.
Also, Dave got this cute lil blue bubbly boi and he is precious as hell.
The top-tier nook of the house is this little area that became my office/mini-library. It’s also the only “room” that we have painted thus far, and I didn’t pick blue! Instead, I added a million blue items: carpet, curtains, shelves, trinkets, etc.
Nagi also resides in this area, right across from our bedroom door where she can wheek at us whenever she feels the need to demand treats. There are no photos because these were taken prior to her cage being cleaned, and she is a poop miser.
Our bedroom is the only other upstairs room documented, because the spare room and Dave’s office take turns in being fallout rooms. I have had that cheap “Nevermore” banner for years, and I was having a hard time finding a spot for it, until the panel was hung and there is where it lives now.
This room is the one that reminds me the most of my studio at Dreamtroit. Stacks of books, layers of pillows and blankets, using the desk as a vanity, but it’s mostly the shades of blue and the boobs.
Dave picked up some remote candles that were supposed to be used for my birthday decorations, but apparently that day came early because I put them everywhere.
I never thought that I would live in a house again-I didn’t want to deal with the responsibility, and, I have been spoiled by being in walking distance of groceries, bars, coffee, etc. Our home is in one of the coolest little neighborhoods where there’s an abundance of things in walking distance, and, we are a bike ride away from Eastern Market. Dave is also a chef, and therefore he is always fucking cleaning, etc.
I love our home, and creating a cozy-spooky aesthetic for our first Halloween-my favorite holiday-living together has been absolutely amazing.
Until next post, Happy Halloween!
📍Detroit, MI.
Sara Bellum
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