A Brooklyn Mantel Dresses Up for Halloween
Holiday decorating diary: A fascination with science adds spooky flair to this designer’s cozy studio
Orange pumpkins, witch hats and scarecrows dressed in burlap are the decorations usually synonymous with Halloween decor. Interior designer Annie Mistak of Brontosaurus Inc. took a different approach when decorating her 500-square-foot studio in Brooklyn, New York. “I pared down Halloween and made it more chic,” she says. With fond memories of science labs and an affinity for potions — “I’m drawn to the idea of spells, recipes and botany” — she updated her mantel and cozy apartment with budget-friendly DIY additions.
BEFORE: Mistak previously had displayed a collection of dinosaur figurines and cat food cans on her marble mantel above a nonworking original fireplace. The cans were originally used in a show house room she designed named Little Edie’s Boudoir. Inspired by the eccentric Edie Bouvier Beale of Grey Gardens, Mistak paid homage to Edie’s preoccupation with cats by displaying the cans throughout the show house room.
AFTER: Subtle spooky DIY accents add an organic Halloween-inspired touch to her newly styled mantel.
Mistak found the black-and-gold screen on a stoop in Brooklyn Heights. “Someone was giving it away,” she says.
From skirt to screen scarf. Mistak bought this faux leather skirt from a consignment shop in Savannah, Georgia. “[It has] seen better days, so [it] became decor,” she says. She cut the lace off the bottom of the skirt to make it function as a scarf-like accent for the top of her fireplace screen.
Spooky vegetable display. Mistak added farmers market vegetables to her mantel for an organic touch. “I saw giant piles of vegetables in the morning,” she says. “It was local, organic and pretty.”
She put the vegetables in a cloche jar, something that is often associated with classroom science experiments.
She put the vegetables in a cloche jar, something that is often associated with classroom science experiments.
Mistak started by putting the kohlrabi in the jar with the bulbs at the top.
She then closed the jar by adding the base and set it in place. The result feels like an elegant lab project.
Avian accents. Black ostrich feathers displayed in a vase suit a Victorian home and add to the elegant vibe. Mistak bought the feathers from a store in South Africa, and the vase is vintage. She cut the feathers and tied them together with a glittery ribbon. The feather bunch was then tucked into the vase and placed on the mantel.
Metallic glitter ribbon: BB Crafts
Metallic glitter ribbon: BB Crafts
Mistak painted the beak of a craft store crow gold.
Crow: Michaels; Florentine gold paint: Martha Stewart Crafts via Amazon
Crow: Michaels; Florentine gold paint: Martha Stewart Crafts via Amazon
Other holiday touches. Understated Halloween accents can be found throughout the apartment. A resin-encased beetle and a potion (in this case, moisturizer) in an amber-glass dropper bottle help add Halloween style to a side table.
Dried flowers in beakers are at once pretty and reminiscent of a mad scientist’s lab.
Chafter beetle in resin: The Evolution Store
Dried flowers in beakers are at once pretty and reminiscent of a mad scientist’s lab.
Chafter beetle in resin: The Evolution Store
A large kale plant is an unexpected alternative to a traditional plant. Mistak also bought white pumpkins at the Borough Hall farmers market in Brooklyn to fit in with the soft colors found in the rest of the space.
Mistak moved the spray-painted stacks of cat food cans that had decorated her mantel and added a candle to create a dining table vignette.
Other Halloween touches can be found on the open shelving between the bed and the seating area of the studio.
These include skull images on decorative goblets.
A black-and-white picture of Mistak’s maternal relatives and decorative skulls lend Halloween style to open shelves above her desk.
More
Houzz DIY: Halloween Terrarium
Easy Halloween Decorations From Stuff You Already Have
More
Houzz DIY: Halloween Terrarium
Easy Halloween Decorations From Stuff You Already Have
Mistak cut black lace off an old skirt to make a decorative accent for her fireplace screen. On the mantel, she put a kale plant, a faux crow, white pumpkins, a cloche jar of farmers market kohlrabi and a bouquet of black ostrich feathers.