The Witching Hour: 15 Times a Broom Doubled as Decor, from the Archives

This is Halloween, Remodelista style. A humble household object has served as display-worthy decor in several of the homes we’ve featured over the years. Here, 16 favorite examples of brooms as witchy decor:

Above: Spotted in Room to Grow: Kai Avent-deLeon Turns a Mobile Home Into a Modern Sanctuary: a handmade Shaker broom. Photography by Caroline Tompkins.
Above: On display: Italian splatterware and a handmade broom, as seen in Parco dei Sesi: An Oasis on an Italian Island (With 9 Design Ideas to Borrow).
Above: Brooms in the bedroom… Photograph via Inigo, courtesy of Cassandra Ellis.
Above: …and in the kitchen. See In the Stillness: A 1640s Georgian in an Affecting Palette by Cassandra Ellis. Photograph via Inigo, courtesy of Cassandra Ellis.
Above: In their so-called “Soot House,” Anthony Esteves and Julie O’Rourke display an antique broom over their bed. See more in The Soot House: Conjuring the Ghosts of Old New England on Spruce Head in Maine. Photograph by Greta Rybus.
Above: Brooms, cutting boards, and blankets are the utilitarian decor at small-batch flour mill Flourist; see “Simplicity and Utility” in Vancouver. Photograph by Conrad Brown, courtesy of Ste. Marie.
Above: A broom echoes the wood tones of the chair to create a quiet vignette in an open-plan Brooklyn loft (a finalist in our Considered Design Awards). See the full submission here: HomeStories Open Plan Industrial Space.
Above; A broom and other natural textures at Cucumbi: A Rustic Guest House in Portugal, Suited for Autumn. Photograph by Sanda Vuckovic via Cucumbi.
Above: A charmingly crooked broom does double duty as a tool for sweeping the entryway and a display piece in this Australian cabin. See more in Slow House: A Serene Cabin in the Woods in Australia. Photograph by Earl Carter.
Above: Also in Australia, an architect displays a black-accented broom that complements his home’s dark facade. See more in In Sydney, a Modern Indoor/Outdoor Barn for a Landscape Architect and Family. Photograph by Murray Fredericks and Prue Ruscoe, courtesy of Romaine Alwill and Michelle Orszaczky.
Above: At Canterbury Shaker Village, brooms are displayed on Shaker peg rails (where else?). See more in In the Dwelling House: 16 Design Ideas to Steal from the Shakers. Photograph by Erin Little.
Above: A red-handled broom provides a point of contrast to the white brick wall in Picture Room owner Sandeep Salter’s Brooklyn kitchen. See more in A Modern Fairy-Tale Told in 800 Square Feet: Sandeep Salter’s Family Apartment. Photograph by Jonathan Pilkington.
Above: A display-worthy child’s broom stands next to a child-sized worktable in a Hanau, Germany, loft. See more in Living Above the Studio: At Home and Work with Lappalainen. Photograph by Marc Krause for Lappalainen.
Above: A hand broom hangs among natural decor in a Catskills farmhouse. See more in The Catskills Farmhouse of Two Brooklyn Creatives, Weekend DIY Edition. Photograph by April Valencia.
Above: While, admittedly, it probably doesn’t live here full-time, a Custodian broom with a luxe fabric-wrapped handle looks at home in blogger Erin Boyle’s bedroom. See more in Object of Desire: Handmade Luxe Brooms from a Brooklyn Artist.

More unexpected objects used as decor:

• 10 Ways to Display Wooden Spoons, Artisan Edition
• The New Rusticity: 11 DIY Ways to Use Branches Indoors
• Botany of Desire: 16 Favorite Botanical Prints as Decor

N.B.: This story originally ran on October 22, 2018 and has been updated with new images and links