Halloween Special - Transform Your Home Into A Haven For Witches And Skeletons

A California home becomes a haven for witches and skeletons during the month of October.

Kristin Dowding

At the stroke of midnight on the night of September 30th, a home in Newbury Park, California, transforms into a Halloween haven. Homeowner Rosemary Olson, lover of all things vintage Halloween, makes it a point to fill her home with festive fun in October, using flea-market finds and orange and black accents to create the right vibe. “Whether it’s old or new, I like my style to look vintage,” she says.

But she doesn’t only decorate for this beloved holiday. “I start decorating for fall on Labor Day weekend, but I wait three weeks after that to start Halloween,” Rosemary says. To accomplish this transition, she ensures that most of her fall décor will easily blend in with her Halloween treasures. Pieces like vintage candelabras, candles, orange pillows, and pumpkins are perfect additions to any autumnal setup, but they also seamlessly transition into an eclectic tribute to All Hallows’ Eve.

When asked how her love of vintage began, Rosemary mentioned a magazine article that started it all. “Years ago, I was reading Country Living magazine, and there was a collection of vintage Halloween items, and I knew I had to find it,” she says. Since then, she’s been hunting for treasures to display in her home, and with years of searching, she’s amassed quite the collection.

To keep her theme cohesive, Rosemary sticks to a traditional color palette of black and orange. “I like black and orange, but I incorporate a lot of white pumpkins also to break it up a bit,” she says. Real pumpkins mix with faux painted pumpkins for a natural and whimsical look.

The majority of her vintage collectibles are orange, so she enlists the help of skeletons, pillows and her white furniture to soften the color.