On Halloween, the home stirs to life with magical furniture and playful spirits

What happens when the home goes from just being four walls and starts to “look back” at you? Maybe you’ve seen this before in a cartoon or an odd tale where chairs mumble, cups giggle, and wardrobes whisper to one another.

Inspired by this imagery, we at Designbest have played around with design brands to put together our own personal Halloween party.

There are no witches or bats, but rather objects that seem to awaken, dress up, and step into the light. This strange party is not scary, but rather intriguing and fun thanks to chairs that snoop around, mirrors that seem to return much more than a reflection, and lights that switch on by themselves, as if guided by invisible hands.

Friendly ghosts and enchanted design

This home is not haunted; it is inhabited by playful creatures, totemic spirits poised somewhere between dream and irony, fragments from dark fables, and theatrical figures. The Botanica carpet from GAN slyly awaits like a woodland creature, while the Happy Yeti vase from BD Barcelona Design gazes blankly with raised arms, like a little ghost asking for attention.

There is something exhilarating in the open mouths of The Party wall lights by Moooi—little faces caught somewhere between a scream and a smile, like those funny-yet-uncanny ones you encounter in strange dreams. In the same space, the Tilia lamp from Foscarini seems to have stepped right off a film set: its taut “antennae” and weightless, fluttering body make it feel more like a presence than an object.

Among the objects that seem possessed by a playful spirit stands Mano by Gufram, a chair-sculpture that appears to reference the famous hand from the Addams Family. On the walls, Snake Storm from LondonArt conjures a hypnotic spell with colorful snakes on a black background. Rounding out the scene, the Rabbit from Moooi is a lamp disguised as a playful yet mysterious black rabbit.

The home stirs to life on Halloween

Then there are creatures in disguise. The Vespertine cushion from House of Hackney features an extremely detailed bat that looks too real to be a mere decoration. The Roots carpet from Nodus spreads out like hands, tentacles, or moving roots. And the Bocca sofa from Gufram always wears a knowing, lively smile. Halloween is just an excuse to rediscover the playful side of design.

An enchanted and whimsy domestic theater

We’ve chosen objects that don’t seem to sit still. Some of them have a monstrous air, like the Bourlesque candelabra from Seletti with its 19^th-century, gothic, grotesque clown face. Others are playful: the Moroso Anomaly chairs look like plump puppies just waiting to leap up and run away.

Some are disguised as animals (the Gufo vase from Iittala, the Miaooo paw sculpture from Riva 1920), others as enchanted decorations, like the mushroom-shaped hanger from Seletti, and some hide in plain sight, like the Selfie mirrors from Mogg—held up by tiny golden hands (whose exactly?). Meanwhile, the Aria Infinita suspension lamp from Slamp, more spirit than chandelier, hovers like a large, golden entity that floats in midair.

This Halloween, we’ve dreamed up a home that stirs to life, dresses up, and amuses. The furniture comes alive, exchanges glances, and moves around—not to frighten but to delight. And perhaps it does so to remind us that real design is never lifeless.

Do not open this gallery…