Decoratiing With Edward Gorey

All Edward Gorey collectors share the challenge and enjoyment of organizing and displaying their collections in their homes. Some keep their passions confined to specific areas, while others live in an explosion of delights. Occasionally, a collector will take their interests to a more permanent level and begin decorating the walls of their homes with images by Edward Gorey.

One such home was featured in the December 29, 2015 issue of Philadelphia Magazine. The new owners of a three story Victorian era rowhouse in the Fairmount neighborhood enjoy every formal meal with the family from Edward Gorey's The Doubtful Guest. You can view other photos of the renovated home HERE.

My own dining room also has Gorey images on the walls as part of a larger collection of images from classic children's stories that Bill and I enjoy. After painting our walls a rather uncompromising shade of mustard yellow, Bill go to work adding images around the room. Benevolently residing over the arch on one side of the room is a classic Gorey cat.

On the opposite end of the room, Little Zooks is perpetually being used as a projectile over a window.

Another somewhat over the top Gorey room is the parlor in a friend's 1800's era home. The ceiling and upper portion of the walls are entirely covered in Gorey inspired images.

Completely hand drawn over several months, the upper portion of the room is a Gorey inspired melange of arches, urns, winged skulls and a ceiling made to look as though the floorboards on the upper level have been broken away, revealing a night sky with circling bats. The lower three quarters of the walls are covered in paneling and book cases.

Another way to decorate with Edward Gorey would be to find a room that used the Dracula Damask wall paper which was produced by Kirk-Brummell in the late 70's/early 80's. While pieces of the wall paper are in collections (like the one shown from my collection), I have yet to discover a room that was papered in this distinctive covering.