Skip to content

Top Navigation

Midwest Living Midwest Living
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Home
  • Garden
  • Holidays & Entertaining
  • Videos
  • Sweeps and Contests

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Email Preferences
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Win Your Dream Getaway!
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Magazine Issues
  • Destinations
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Midwest Living

Midwest Living Midwest Living
  • Explore

    Explore

    • 40 Favorite Comfort Food Recipes

      Macaroni and cheese, Amish apple dumplings and chicken pot pie are among our Midwest comfort food favorites. Read More Next
    • 50 Romantic Midwest Getaways

      Romance, of course, can be wherever the two of you are. But wonderful surroundings help. We found some of the most romantic places anywhere in the Midwest—in the city and country. All you have to do is get away together! Read More Next
    • 50 Decadent Chocolate Dessert Recipes

      Chocolate lovers, these are for you: 50 of our best rich-and-gooey chocolate dessert recipes, including pie, pudding, cake, cookies, fondue and brownies. Read More Next
  • Travel

    Travel

    See All Travel

    50 Midwest Resorts We Love

    Our favorite Midwest resort destinations range from cozy lakeside lodges to indoor water park behemoths. Dive in to check out our top picks for a fabulous Midwest getaway.
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Michigan
    • Minnesota
    • Missouri
    • Nebraska
    • North Dakota
    • Ohio
    • South Dakota
    • Wisconsin
    • Around the Region
    • Free Travel Info
  • Food

    Food

    See All Food

    Midwest Living November/December 2020 Recipes

    • Comfort Foods
    • Desserts & Baking
    • Breakfast
    • Quick & Easy
    • Chicken
    • Soups & Stews
    • Midwest Favorites
    • Fruits & Vegetables
    • Fish
    • Grilling
  • Home

    Home

    See All Home

    50 Quick and Easy Holiday Decorating Ideas

    Give your home holiday style in a flash with these simple yet creative decorating projects.
    • Quick Decorating
    • Featured Homes
    • Organizing & Storage
    • Outdoor Living
    • Seasonal Decorating
    • Room Decorating
  • Garden

    Garden

    See All Garden

    14 Cheerful Winter Container Gardens

    Create bountiful outdoor winter arrangements with a little help from Mother Nature.
    • Container Gardens
    • Flowers
    • Featured Gardens
    • Midwest Gardening Calendar
    • Garden Ideas & Inspiration
  • Holidays & Entertaining

    Holidays & Entertaining

    See All Holidays & Entertaining

    40 Easy Christmas Crafts

    Decorate your home, make a gift or create an ornament with our 40 ideas for fun and easy Christmas crafts.
    • Christmas
    • Valentine's Day
    • Easter
    • July 4th
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
  • Videos

    Videos

    See All Videos
    • How to Make an All-Butter Pie Crust
    • How to Make Pumpkin-Spice Icebox Cake
  • Sweeps and Contests

    Sweeps and Contests

    See All Sweeps and Contests

    Warm-Weather Getaways Sweepstakes

    • Winter Getaways Sweepstakes
    • Warm-Weather Getaways Sweepstakes

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Email Preferences
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Win Your Dream Getaway!
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Magazine Issues
  • Destinations
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Midwest Living
  2. Homes
  3. Seasonal Decorating
  4. Decorate In Haunting Style

Decorate In Haunting Style

June 01, 2012
Skip gallery slides
Pin
Get some Halloween inspiration from a Minnesota antiques dealer who loves to showcase her spooky collections and vintage curiosities.
Start Slideshow

1 of 14

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Eerie decorating

"Some people like pretty; I like creepy," says Lisa Balke, an antiques dealer whose Edina, Minnesota, home reflects her quirky style with animal skulls, preserved tarantulas and other eerie oddities.Click ahead to see how Lisa gives her home haunting style -- and find some ideas you can use at Halloween in your own house.Pictured: For custom-looking exterior doors, the Balkes glued sheets of galvanized metal to builder's grade doors and sanded the sharp edges. Rivets form a decorative border.

1 of 14

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 14

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Halloween accents

For a Halloween display in her dining room, Lisa tops her usually empty terra-cotta pots with white faux pumpkins and scraggly dried moss. Ripped cheesecloth gives the illusion of cobwebs on candelabra, and fake crows perch on the centerpiece.Throughout the home, rooms dressed in mostly white with stainless-steel, brown and black accents highlight Lisa's curious collections. She and husband Jeff, an internist and hobby carpenter, remodeled the house, once a modest 1,000-square-foot cottage, to add space for their three kids and to create an industrial look with farmhouse and cottage features. But it's their vintage pieces, especially the offbeat ones, that give the home its unexpected style.

2 of 14

3 of 14

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Quirky living room decor

A wild boar's head snarls above the fireplace. Other taxidermy -- alligator heads, chickens and rabbits -- inhabit shelves throughout the first floor. In honor of Jeff's medical profession, a skeleton dangles on an iron coat rack in a living room corner. Scorpions and tarantulas in glass frames bring frightening flair to bookshelves. "I think it's fun to have quirky things that people comment on," Lisa says.

3 of 14

Advertisement

4 of 14

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Repurposed treasures

Lisa repurposed an antique coffin dolly (found at an estate sale for $5) as the base of a concrete-top coffee table in the living room. Ostrich and emu eggs and a bear skull create a unique arrangement under cloches.Most of Lisa's treasures come from local estate and garage sales. Her must-have pieces change constantly, and not all have an eerie aura. "I'm attracted to certain materials," Lisa says. Miniature metal buildings, terra-cotta pots, stainless-steel medical furniture and pages from agricultural farm charts are favorites. Artifacts not showcased in Lisa's home end up on the shelves at Hunt and Gather, an eclectic Minneapolis antiques shop where she is a dealer.

4 of 14

5 of 14

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Bookshelf of curiosities

A hornet's nest, framed insects and other natural curiosities decorate bookshelves.

5 of 14

6 of 14

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

DIY kitchen details

Gothic architectural detailing on the island contrasts the white and stainless-steel kitchen, where Lisa and daughter Kate make caramel apples.DIY projects helped Lisa and Jeff save money while adding innovative design. In the kitchen, they converted a salvaged church altar into an island, adding a concrete countertop to match the floors. Restaurant-style, stainless-steel lower cabinets complement Jeff's white upper cabinets. Along the perimeter, stainless-steel countertops stand up to heavy use. "You can set anything hot on it, and it doesn't destroy it," Lisa says.

6 of 14

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 14

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Retro accessories

A working rotary dial wall phone accents the retro kitchen.

7 of 14

8 of 14

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Home office

Built-in cabinets organize the home office. An antique typewriter and reptile jaw add Lisa's distinctive design flair.

8 of 14

9 of 14

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Spooky buffet

A salvaged doll head and resin hand haunt a buffet.

9 of 14

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 14

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Bedroom update

New fabric updates a vintage sofa in the master bedroom.In the bedroom and elsewhere in the home, a light and airy interior balances the spooky fun. Soft-taupe walls blend with Jeff's white-painted custom-made cabinetry and trimwork.

10 of 14

11 of 14

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Bathroom style

An antique dental chair doubles as a towel holder in the master bath.

11 of 14

12 of 14

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Collectibles and essentials

A vintage medical table in the bathroom displays scary collections and bathroom essentials.

12 of 14

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

13 of 14

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Attic bedroom

Black paint updates an old iron bed in Kate's converted-attic bedroom. Orange pillows add color and a seasonal accent.

13 of 14

14 of 14

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Buying guide

Designer: Lisa Balke (homeowner).Throughout the house: Paint color (On first-floor walls) 975 Tapestry Beige. Benjamin Moore (benjaminmoore .com). Vintage items Hunt & Gather, 4944 Xerxes Ave., S, Minneapolis (612/455-0250; huntandgatherantiques.com).Living room: Grain sack pillows Sandy Stone Design Studio (612/618-6457; sandystonedesignstudio.com). Sofas Room and Board (800/301-9720; roomandboard.com).Kitchen: Lighting Schoolhouse Electric Co. (800/630-7113; schoolhouseelectric.com). Range Viking (888/845-4641; vikingrange.com). Refrigerator Sub-Zero (800/222-7820; subzero-wolf.com). Stools Lyon all-welded stool (800/630-6105; allbarstools.com).

14 of 14

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook
Trending Videos
Advertisement
Skip slide summaries

Everything in This Slideshow

Advertisement

View All

1 of 14 Eerie decorating
2 of 14 Halloween accents
3 of 14 Quirky living room decor
4 of 14 Repurposed treasures
5 of 14 Bookshelf of curiosities
6 of 14 DIY kitchen details
7 of 14 Retro accessories
8 of 14 Home office
9 of 14 Spooky buffet
10 of 14 Bedroom update
11 of 14 Bathroom style
12 of 14 Collectibles and essentials
13 of 14 Attic bedroom
14 of 14 Buying guide

Share options

Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Login

Midwest Living

Magazines & More

Learn More

  • Contact Us
  • Help
  • Free Newsletters this link opens in a new tab
  • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
  • Customer Service this link opens in a new tab
  • Renew this link opens in a new tab
  • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
  • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
  • Affiliate Program
  • Free Travel Info this link opens in a new tab
  • Special Promotions this link opens in a new tab
  • Sweepstakes this link opens in a new tab
  • Video
  • Home Advisor this link opens in a new tab

Connect

Follow Us
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Other Meredith Sites

Other Meredith Sites

  • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
  • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
  • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
  • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
  • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
  • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
  • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
  • Food & Wine this link opens in a new tab
  • Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
  • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
  • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
  • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
  • More this link opens in a new tab
  • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
  • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
  • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
  • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
  • Parents this link opens in a new tab
  • People this link opens in a new tab
  • People en EspaƱol this link opens in a new tab
  • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
  • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
  • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
  • Shape this link opens in a new tab
  • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living this link opens in a new tab
  • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
  • Travel & Leisure this link opens in a new tab
Midwest Living is part of the Meredith Home Group. © Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.midwestliving.com

View image

Decorate In Haunting Style
this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.