Goth Decor Basics

source: Lacrima, Faiths22, Magda Bathory, Aladdin Leather, GothFaeri, Succubus, Serpentine, and ShadowFox
contributed by: Vips, GothFaeri, and Serpentine

Plaster sconces-

you can find em in most arts and crafts stores. are excellent for creating a more classically goth look without paying an arm and a leg. Spray them down with Fleckstone or faux finish them. They're great as mini-shelves for showing off a pretty bottle, artifacts, candle or whatever.

slip covers-

buy your furniture for the shape. ignore the colour and ripped up, stained cushions. then buy a ready made slip cover, or sew one yourself. for the financially- *and* sewing-challenged, drape with a sheet (painted, stenciled, sponged, what?)! if the cushion fabric is suffering, you can recover them in an agreeable fabric with a staple gun, glue and nails. if the cushion itself is trashed, you can buy foam fairly cheaply from a fabric store and cut it up with scissors, or one of those nifty electric knives!

Oil lamps-

good decorations that are a great light source as well. If you can, get the older-stlye ones (also available in arts and craft stores or import stores.) and fill them with red or purple oil.

Candles-

of course!! try them in a variety of similar colors, such as red, burgundy and purple. a plethora of different sizes and colours go well all clustered together on an antique plate, a big flat granite slab, or a platform of sorts. Scented is a plus. super cheap at 99 cent stores, and they often have black ones! my favorite deal is to get a bunch of those tall cathedral, shrine, alter candles that usually have jesus or mary on them. i buy the plain glass kind with cobalt, forest, or white candles inside. i glue studs to the top, tie off with lace, or drip with black glue or paint.

candleholders/ candlesticks-

If you find a candleholder you like, but it isn't the right color, you can always spray it down with black spray paint or Fleckstone or faux finish it. stupid things can be changed into very gothy stuff via my patented "stuff and things" method. take a bunch of glitter in the colors your room is... i use black, silver, and iridescent stuff. use different shapes, sizes, colors, and textures. get little assorted beads and such if your a real glitter goth. (do this part in sections so you have a dry part to hold while you work) spread black glue over the portion you are working with. cover with glitter or whatnot. tie bits of haloween ribbons, lace or strings around it. MacFrugal's has a nice collection of wrought iron & glass candleholders

coffin furniture-

a bed or a table, maybe a bookshelf? a headboard or a picture frame? heck, maybe even a sofa! for the first 5, you could set to work with some nails, plywood, 2x4's, and a sketch of what you want. i have considered making my futon into a coffin shape by unstuffing the corners and re-sewing the seams into the proper shape. you can find or have real coffins made, but for the cost, its better to DIY.

posters-

can be tacky. i say no, some say yes... goth bands, goth movies, goth places. or create your own with watercolour or acrylic on mat board.

mirrors-

can be decorated with lace, paint, charms, bead, artifacts, real or silk flowers, and a hot glue gun. one huge one, or a ton of little ones. a lovely handmirror set upon a table? perhaps a large shattered mirror in a frame? or a mosaic of broken mirror shards?

scrying mirrors-

are just a frame with glass in it, with the back of the glass sprayed black.

mystic and magic equipment-

scattered smaller parts, like runes, tarot cards, and baubles, or larger things like sceptors, swords, chalices, goblets, pentacles, and wands.

churchy things-

religious stuff, from candalabras to statuary, to candles, incense by the pound, religious artifacts, clothing, and all kinds of neato things that are definitely GAF! look for the Catholic Directory at your local diocese office or public library. lots of church supply companies can be persuaded to sell to a private party. ask me for references on these.

S&M gear-

nifty stuff like racks, spreader bars, handcuffs and restraints, whips, chains, etc. and you can, as usual, make mockups out of neato looking stuff at the hardware store! just make a trip and browse the plumbing, electric, nails, powertools, and security departments. there are lots of really kinky looking things! displayed hung upon the wall, or on a mannequin.

boxes-

jewelry boxes, trunks, ammo boxes, hand painted boxes, boxes of any ethnicity... check your local import store!

wine glasses-

filled with dries flowers, marbles, mirror bits, feathers, bones, beads, faux jewels, or anything!

bottles-

wine or otherwise. nice labels from Ravenswood vineyards and Turning Leaf. or remove them with hot water and a bit of GooGone. paint them with glass paint, spray, or acrylic. fill them with the things mentioned under glasses, or leave them empty. [i have a growing skeleton in water in one of mine] squrit paint inside and roll that around to make interesting patterns. tip them upside down to drip dry, and then cork, cap, add fresh flowers, whatever! use nailpolish or sequins to decorate. Feathers, glue or laquer on a small picture and 'frame' it.

cracked glass-

vases, votive holders, and dishes.. look especially eerie..

incense burners-

there are so many styles and types.. i have a few for my sticks, two for cones, one for charcoal, and one for coils.

Black sheets-

become a multitude of things...drapes, furniture throws, even wallpaper with judicious use of a staple gun. Check your local discount linens place for sales.

red pillowcases-

to cover throw pillows or bed pillows, roll them up and tie with upholstry cords for the look of cylindrical bolsters.

unpainted plaster-

gargoyles, dragons, or "greek" vases at a crafts store and paint them yourself in whatever color scheme you fancy. and if you actually want to put water in them line them with the 2-part epoxy stuff known as Enviro-tex to be sure of a good non-toxic seal!

Mosquito netting-

draped around your bed from ceiling to floor adds that "webby" look...

cheese cloth-

dyes easily and can give you another nice draped webbish look.

halloween spiderwebby things-

of course! the kind you get in a bag and strech VERY thinly for the best effect.

masks-

you can buy the unfinished clay or plaster kind at craft stores, sculpt your own, or use plaster-gauze strips from the craft store to make a mask from a friend's face! purchase canvas or plastic masks that cover only around the eyes, attach a stick of some sort, and add feathers, beads, sequins, and baubles for carnivale/mardi gras masks. or order them from a catalogue, like design toscano.

torches-

not just bamboo! there are cast iron ones at home improvement centers, in many different sizes. Michael's (the craft store) often has them quite short, with citronella candles! mm!)

specimen-

butterflies, beetles, spiders, and bats under glass, mounted, or in lucite. organs and parts of animals (or people i guess) preserved in formeldahyde. bones, bleached and well cleaned, bird wings, animals skulls, claws, etc. hung inside of box frames, set upon tables, inside a picture table, suspended in a mobile, or upon nails in the wall.

candlabra-

nice big free-standing ones for either side of the fireplace, bed, or tables. a floor candlabra put onto a coffee table adds height and majesty. can be expensive, but not so bad if you get it at a flea market, garage sale, or church bazaar... pieces of a broken whole even look great.

lampshades-

see: lampshades!

your own pets-

their cages and tanks can be gothed out! Mare's `zine Futility ran an article on goth fishtanks. consider a gilded cage, or hammered black wire for mice, rats, birds, etc. get halloween or Nightmare Before Christmas themed toys for them. in tanks, find or paint any manner of gothy backdrop.

black plastic-

really easy, and can have stunning results. the trick would be to either buy it off a roll, or slice open black trash bags cleanly along the folds. i have seen this done poorly at some goth clubs (still look neato, but trashy [pun] ), and seen it done very nicely too. could be covered or dotted with glow in the dark stars or writing from a glo in the dark pen. goes well with...

coloured bulbs-

can be just one in a lamp you rarely use, or could be your main light source. red, blue, green, black. there are bulbs in plenty of colours, and as un-goth as it sound, i find pink bulbs lend a really soft romantigoth light. in a room with lots of mirrors or reflective metal/plastic, the colour is scattered brilliantly. as usual, bare, or under some complementary shade. strobes may be nice for some, but i strongly discourage!

a noose-

what else do i have to say? a noose. make a whole bunch of them in different lengths and thicknesses all the same colour, and hang them in a cluster. suspend goth barbie dolls, or skeletons.

lace-

black or off white, absolutely covering almost everything! it's like, gothic snow! buy the cheep kind, "craft lace", about 2 bucks a yard.

borders and moulding-

Any kind of ornate border or moulding along the perimeter of your room will lend a more "rich" feeling to the room, and draw the eye upward at the same time. fancy stuff like fleur de lis and regal scrolls, or simple like a checker board, you can get em at a home improvement store.

jewelry-

hang it from nice decorative nails on the wall so you can show it off when you arent wearing it! get nice artistic stuff, or bead your own. old crucifixes, or new ones. depending on your style, glow in the dark ones maybe! charms and talismen on simple black or dark coloured cords. or wrap silk, cotton, or linen around crystals, stones, and the above mentioned 'artifacts'.

flowers-

fake ones pop right off the stem and you can hot glue them to other things like bottles and lampshades. dried ones need to be dried upside down, you can pin them to a wall or put them in a glass or vase once they've dried.

fill those vases-

i find dead rose bushes and take the sticks full of thorns. stick them in a jar or vase or bottle, on the wall, wrap them in copper wire, or get creative and make those neat little ribbon roses out of fat ribbon to put on the end. You can ALSO take forks and twist the tines in all sorts of bendy ways and then spray paint (or use nailpolish) on the upper portion in all sorts of different colors and make a unique cutlery bouquet! Weld spoon leaves on them. Endless possibilities!

swirly jars-

Take a nice glass jar (any size), and fill it up with silk flowers, little plastic bits, beads, glitter, doll parts, or what -have-you, and then fill it up with water so that the stuff swirls around inside (kind of like a snow globe).Add some food coloring and a tad of veggie oil to give it that total water globe effect...careful with glitter, it tends to clump up and get gross if you have it for any length of time. A good alternative is to get rhinestone beads if you want that sparkly look. Glow in the dark goodies in it would look really awsome at night!

pillows and cushions-

the easiest thing to sew! make them out of remnants, that favourite torn velvet skirt, or when you find clothes in the thrift store with a great fabric but an icky style. add tassles, fringe, cording, trim, buttons, beads, studs, whatever!