Our go-to Master of the Dark Arts when it comes to Halloween? That would be Claudia Schwartz—proprietor of San Francisco’s dearly departed Bell’occhio—a sought-after SF stylist and shop owner who counts Martha Stewart among her fans. Claudia is a lover of the offbeat, and her last-century style (the way she spells Hallowe’en, for instance) has us inspired. Read on for her advice on creating a spooky yet soulful Halloween party; mastermix included.
Photography by Tom Kubik for Remodelista.
Remodelista: Do you have any cardinal rules for a good theme party?
Claudia Schwartz: Create an atmosphere in which all the carefully edited elements support one another, from food and decor to music and scent. But exercise restraint; using every good idea that comes along can result in a mess.
RM: What are some Halloween decor ideas our readers can re-create at home?
CS: Start with a black table covering—whether it’s blackboard oilcloth or black linen—it makes a nice backdrop. For arrangements, I like oak leaves and acorns; if they are not available, seasonal leaves and herbs from a farmer’s market are nice. You could also do an all-orange theme, contrasted with dark chocolate cosmos, shiny black berries, small black calla lilies, and other very dark flora. The tableware can become the decor, too: serve soup in hollowed-out pumpkins, for example, as they do in Provence.
