When J. K. Rowling created Hedwig, the ever-loyal and devoted snowy owl companion to Harry Potter, she single-handedly gave the species a complete makeover. No longer the much-feared portent of bad luck and evil; the owl (which is helpful in controlling mice, rodents, snakes, and other pests) has become revered and wise again. Determined to do her bit for the owl of her childhood fairy tales, interior stylist and illustrator Abigail Edwards has created a line of wallpaper, including Owls of the British Isles, with five percent of the profits going to The Barn Owl Centre. The papers are hand-drawn and printed at one of the few remaining traditional wallpaper printers left in the UK.

Photography by Alun Callender.

Above: Owls of the British Isles wallpaper; £75 per roll (10.05m by 52cm).

Above: Briar Owl Wallpaper in silver.

This quirky take on a Halloween-decor icon, designed by Cardboard Safari and spotted on Design Skool, speaks volumes to us about versatility. For those of us who live in small spaces, the flat-pack skull is easy to store away for next year. Fancy some DIY? Try painting it. Tired of it? It''s recyclable. And finally, is it just us, but who can resist that cheeky smile?

Above: Flat-Pack Skull by Cardboard Safari; $20.

Noticed lately: black taper candles, especially effective when used in candelabras (or in groupings) to add an edgy note to a table setting and especially relevant with Halloween just around the corner. Our favorite beeswax tapers (available in a range of colors, including black) come from Big Dipper Waxworks in Seattle.

Above: Ted Muehling candlesticks paired with black candles in the home of Eva Gentry; photo by Douglas Lyle Thompson. Gentry orders her candles in bulk from Creative Candles.

Above: A black candelabra with a Maarten Baas-inspired chair create a Goth effect; photo via flickr.

Above: Black candles in white candle holders create a surprisingly appealing effect; photo via HK Living in Denmark

Above: A brass midcentury candelabra with black tapers, via the Marion House Book.

Our friend Eva Dayton worked at Giorgio Armani before opening Eva Gentry on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, which she now runs with her husband and collaborator, Gentry Dayton (together they also design interiors). With Eva's predilection for well-edited black and white minimalism mixed with Gentry's Harley Davidson motorcycle chic aesthetic, it adds up to what Eva calls "tough minimalism." Here are some ideas for recreating the look:

Recreate the look with the following elements:

Above: Eastvold Credenza; $2,710 at Design Public.

Above: Aurora Table Lamp with Silk Shade; $249 at Room & Board.

Above: Oviedo Chaise; made of leather with a chrome base; $1,595 (down from $1,995) at Restoration Hardware.

Above: Eames Molded Rocker; $479 at Design Within Reach.

Above: Spun brass 1930s Studio Task Floor Lamp; $299 (down from $379) at Restoration Hardware.

Above: Steer Horns in Cast Resin; $149 at Restoration Hardware.

Two options for creating a moody Halloween ambience with black blooms, created by two of our favorite florists: Torryne Choate of Birch in San Francisco and Te Dinh Sy of The Willow in Shoreditch in the UK. According to Sy, "There is something darkly romantic about a black rose, something wicked." To create the desired noirish effect, consider spray painting roses or creating imposters using black crepe paper.

Above: "We recently had to prepare some displays for a thirtieth birthday party and the client wanted black roses," Te Dinh Sy says. "Pure black roses are impossible to get, so with a few spray cans, off we went. There is something odd about the process—spraying a beautiful fresh rosebud black—but the results are undeniably beautiful. The new artificial flower: an urban bloom."

Above: A mix of spray-painted roses and fresh blooms.

Above: In San Francisco, Torryne Choate of Birch created a floral arrangement for Alexis Swanson Traina of Swanson Vineyards, using black paper flowers. Country Living has a video with instructions on how to make crepe paper flowers.

Spotted in the Los Angeles restaurant ink.sack: vintage frames used to highlight blackboard designs scrawled by patrons. The chalkboards are permanently glued to the wall, but the art obviously varies. For the restaurant's opening, street artist Anti decorated the walls.

Photo via Grub Street.

To create this effect at home, paint a wall (or a section of a wall) with chalkboard paint, such as Rustoleum's Chalkboard Brush-On Paint. Then hang a selection of vintage picture frames, which you can often find for modest sums at thrift shops and flea markets; vintage-style picture frames are also available from online sources such as United Picture & Frame Co. Alternatively, use a vinyl wall decal like the Oval Frame; $29 at Dali Decals.

A pivot door to an architect is like a gull wing door to a car enthusiast; completely unnecessary but capable of transforming the ordinary to the sublime. Originally found in ancient stone building construction, where they were used to conceal secret passageways, pivot doors rotate around a central hinge and were favored by modernist architects like Le Corbusier and Jose Lluis Sert for their ability to sculpt free-flowing space with ease.

Above: A dramatic pivot door entry via pinterest.

Above: Pivot doors create an elegant, seamless transition between interior and exterior space. Image via OWI.

Above: Dwell founder Lara and Christopher Deam's Mill Valley house.

Above: A black steel pivot door in Haus M by Titus Bernhard Architects. Photography by Jens Weber and Orla Conolly.

Above: Auckland-based architecture studio Fearon Hay used a floor to ceiling pivot door in their conversion of a NY loft; "We wanted to leave the existing shell of the loft unencumbered by internal partitions, maximizing the sense of openness while providing the hierarchy and division of space required for living." Photograph by Richard Powers and Fearon Hay.

Above: Le Corbusier often used pivot doors as a canvas for his art murals, as shown here in the Heidi Weber Pavillion in Zurich. Image via pushpullbar.

Coat hooks are one of those necessities you don't think about until it's time to source them. Well-designed, well-priced examples are few and far between; here are our top ten in the category of black hooks.

Above: Ironwork Hook; $12 at Anthropologie.

Above: Handmade powder-coated plate steel Wauli Coat Hook by Paul McClelland of PM Custom; $15.

Above: Wrought Iron Hooks made in India, $6 each at Brook Farm General Store.

Above: Iron Tree Hook; ¥945 for the small size and ¥1,890 for the large size at the Farmer's Table in Japan.

Above: Handforged Small Hook Black by Zoe Bissell via Formed + Found; $100.

Above: Cast Iron Barn Hook; $20 for a set of two at Hero's Welcome in Vermont.

Above: Vintage Style Metal Wire Coat Hook; £5 at Rockett St. George.

Above: Black Antler Hook; $30 at Super Jumbo Deluxe.

Above: Classic Small Iron Hook; $6 at Rejuvenation Hardware.

Above: Cast Iron Derby Hook; $7 at the House of Antique Hardware.

Spotted (and filed under "future purchase") last week at the General Store in San Francisco: ultra-slim, ultra-strong cardboard clothes hangers from Oakland-based company Ditto. Made from 100-percent-recycled paperboard, compressed tightly to hold up to frequent use, the hangers are as stylish as they are sustainable. Bonus points: the paper surface lends itself to notations (as in "destined for the dry cleaner" or "hem me before wearing"). Available in adult and child sizes directly from Ditto or at Bed Bath & Beyond and The Container Store.

Above: The Ditto Ultra Thin Designer Hangers are $12.99 for a pack of 10 at Bed Bath & Beyond.

Above: The Ditto Clip Hanger is designed for store displays; contact Ditto for information.

Above: A pack of 10 Ditto Hangers in black is $14.99 at The Container Store.

A highlight of last spring's ICFF in New York: the work of German designer Cordula Kehrer, who has a passion for utilitarian objects such as laundry racks and waste bins. Her Bow Bins are a collaboration with the Aeta people (indigenous inhabitants of the Philippines) and Preda, a fair trade NGO. Made from sustainably harvested rattan and reclaimed bins, the containers are a whimsical take on the mismatched and are even more appealing in person, when you can really appreciate the interesting textures.

Above: Rattan and plastic Bow Bins; $36 for the smaller sizes and $48 for the larger from Areaware.

Who could resist? Wooden baby hangers with colorful hand-crocheted covers, from Netherlands-based Wood and Wool. They're pretty enough to be used as wall decor.

Above: $17.50 through Wood and Wool on Etsy.

We were taken with the inventive lights at the Source Sligo Restaurant and Wine Bar, and after a quick transatlantic call to Dublin-based lighting designer and artist David Folan, we learned how they were assembled (they're easy enough to fabricate that the restaurant staff put them together). "They are entirely made out of reclaimed materials. We used old industrial baskets used for collecting oysters, with strips of blue tweed and white cotton, but you can weave in just about anything," says Folan.

Above: Coat the fabric strips with a fire-retardant spray. Drill a hole through the bottom of the basket and use a standard lighting kit for wiring. To light, use old-fashioned Edison bulbs, which only generate a small amount of heat. The 40-Watt Antique Style Edison Reproduction Light Bulb is similar to those used at Source Sligo; $13.49 at House of Antique Hardware.

Above: The baskets used over the tables are quite large, about 2 feet in diameter.

Above: Round Metal Wire Basket is 14.5 inches in diameter; a set of two are $85 at Hudson Goods.

When the Zetter Hotel opened in Clerkenwell in 2004, it created a buzz; there was a general feeling that the neighborhood had arrived. Seven years later, the area has gone from strength to strength, so much that Mark Sainsbury and Michael Benyan have opened the Zetter Townhouse across the street in St. John's Square. Smaller and quirkier, the Zetter Townhouse is "like the private residence of the Zetter's eccentric great-aunt, full of art collected from her travels abroad." It wouldn't surprise us if its designer, Russell Sage, was inspired by Graham Greene's memorable Aunt Augusta in Travels with My Aunt.

Photography via the Zetter Townhouse, unless otherwise noted.

Above: The entrance to the Zetter Townhouse; via Miss Immy's London.

Above: An updated take on the men's club.

Above: The lounge of the Zetter Townhouse is filled with collections from travels abroad.

Above: A gentle reminder is always useful. Image via Flickr.

Above: After traveling abroad, it's always nice to come home.

Above: No two bedrooms are alike in the Zetter Townhouse. Image via Miss Immy's London.

Above: Ornate wooden posts and gold mosaic tiles in one of the baths.

Above: At the exit, another thoughtful reminder. Image via Flickr.

Discovered via Design Skool: the work of UK artist Emily Mackey of Maxemilia. We are inexplicably drawn to her What's Under Your Pillow series, made from fair trade organic 200 count cotton and featuring machine-embroidered designs on the reverse side (a jeweled dagger, an open book, a spider). To see more, go to Maxemilia.

Above: Embroidered Dagger Pillowcase; £35 each (£60 for a pair).

After working for a decade as a chef in San Francisco, Galen Garretson shifted his focus to knives, sharpeners, and accessories with the opening of Town Cutler, his culinary knife shop. "The guys I worked with had expensive $300 knives, but they would always be dull," says Garretson. "Even my own knives were dull." In his narrow storefront in Nob Hill, Garretson spends about half his time carefully sharpening knives with a Japanese whetstone and a leather razor strop, and the other half of his time advising customers on selecting the proper knife. He is the exclusive dealer in the city for Zanmai, the au courant Japanese brand, and also carries knives by Kikuichi, Masamoto, and others. Go to Town Cutler for more information.

Above: The Town Cutler's window displays a cleaver poised on a butcher block.

Above: A vintage saw blade used as a sign,

Above: Garretson's top-of-the-line knives are made by custom knifemaker Aaron Wilburn of Redding, California. Pictured here is a chef's knife with a Damascus-style forged steel blade and handle of antique walrus ivory; $1,800.

Above: A selection of sharpening devices.

Above: Custom leather sheaths, for the discerning chef.

Above: Garretson has a selection of vintage chef's spoons (used for saucing and quinelling) on offer.

Above: "It was the knives and the fire that brought me into the kitchen," says Garretson, who plans to hold knife-sharpening classes in his shop.

Photo 1 via Flickr. Photos 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 by Janet Hall. Photo 7 by Patrick Postle.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, where architects have to figure out how to make their mark against the city's strong backdrop of historical buildings, Douglas Burnham of Oakland-based Envelope A+D (a member of the Remodelista Architect/Designer Directory) has been able to find the right balance. He's known for his edgy restaurant interiors, but he's also been the talk of the town for his Clipper Street Residence, a Victorian that he brought into the modern age. Curious about how he settled on the color of the house, we talked to Burnham about his thought process and the steps he went through to achieve the perfect shade of black.

Above: The Clipper Street Residence in Noe Valley.

RM: Why did you choose to paint the house black?

DB: We were interested in referencing the European tradition of black houses (in Amsterdam and in the UK, black houses have a very sophisticated urban quality) and placing it a San Francisco context of pastels and painted ladies.

RM: What happens when you paint a Victorian a single shade?

DB: The detailing on the house was a little strange. There was some filigree that looked like marshmallows on a stick—it was kind of ugly. So going with a single shade was a way to push all of that back and turn it into texture, rather than pattern.

RM: What paint did you use?

DB: It's a custom color that we created through a sampling process. We often mix our own paints, looking for unusual colors. Here, we took a can of straight black and another can of the darkest blue, and we made 12 samples in a range from black to blue. Our final pick was one that was closest to the straight black; it was about 75 percent black and 25 percent blue. Then we took it to the paint store and turned it into a formula so we could order it in quantity. It's a Benjamin Moore exterior paint with a soft gloss.

Above: Images of paint chips via Murobond.

RM: Why not just go with straight black?

DB: A pure black house is a little bit "witchy," and blue-black has a vibrancy to it. If you drive by the house really quickly, it reads as black, but if you look at it from the street, it's definitely blue-black. It's an idea we've played with before—my own house is painted brown-black, and I went through the same process, using standard paint, to come up with a color that has a warmth and richness to it.

RM: Any suggestions for trying this at home?

DB: Don't be afraid to dive in. It's a very straightforward process. Just use a measuring container and mix up your samples. Keep in mind that the right shade will be different for every location, because the quality of light will be different and the surrounding environment will be different. Also, if you're repainting a whole house, we've found that you need a four-by-four-foot section so that you can really see what it looks like. We've tried going with a smaller area, and it just doesn't quite work.

Located in Chicago's West Loop, the Publican is inspired by traditional European beer halls. Designed by Thomas Schlesser of Design Bureaux Inc., the space is defined by a grid of globe lighting. "By using about four times the number [of lights] one might normally see, it not only makes a cloud of lights but also makes the effect more abstract. The use of common objects repeated numerous times is a trick Pop artists used to great success," says Schlesser. For more information, go to the Publican.

Above: The Publican street sign is pure Americana.

Above: 10-foot high cafe-style doors open up to the street.

Above: The repetition of the globes creates a dramatic effect.

Above: The logo reinforces the menu, which emphasizes pork in many forms, including aged ham and suckling pig.

Above: The warm-hued space is airy and dominated by high-back chairs and large walnut communal tables, a good setup for celebrating food and drink.

Above: The long communal tables could have been imported straight from a beer hall in Bavaria.

We fell hard for innovative Belgian fashion designer Martin Margiela's Line 13 Collection installation a few years back. So when we spotted Margiela's work for Les Sources de Caudalie, a hotel and spa in Bordeaux, we took note. For this particular project, Margiela waved his white wand over the hotel's signature suite, using a palette of antique white and gray, trompe l'oeil wallpaper, and mirrored surfaces to create a calming, though slightly surreal, oasis. For more information, go to Les Sources de Caudalie.

Above: The suite, called L'Ile aux Oiseaux, is housed in a rustic lodge. The hotel itself is located among the vineyards of Château Smith Haut Lafitte, across from the winery itself. Image via wego.

Above: The designer uses tactile materials to great effect. Twelve pillows affixed to the walls create a large cloud-like headboard while white calfskin rugs on the floor speak of softness and warmth.

Above: Carefully placed mirrors heighten the illusory feeling of this fantasy room.

Above: A trompe l'oeil aficionado, Margiela used photo-printed tiles of pebbles on the bathroom floors.

Above: Mirrors of different sizes bring an element of playfulness into the bathroom.

Photos via Les Sources de Caudalie.

Anne Becker, the designer behind the eponymously named line of linens and fabrics for the home, began in the world of haute-couture, working for both Ted Lapidus and Yves Saint Laurent. Her familiarity and understanding of luxurious fabrics are evident in her own line of linens. We particularly like her Diamant line of diamond-edged bedding inspired by the delicate, soft furnishings of the designer's childhood. Anne Becker is located on 6 Rue du Parc Royal in Paris; Billet in Japan also stocks select pieces.

Above: The Diamant line of sheets, duvet covers, pillow cases available in white as well as yellow, purple, blue, red, fuchsia, and turquoise.

Above: Anne Becker linen pillows in beige and gray available from Billet in Japan.

Above: Beker's Pearl line features a scalloped edge.

Above: Embroidered linen pillows, available from Billet in Japan.

Belgian designer Martin Margiela, a longtime champion of the color white, designed a wall of floor-to-ceiling white pillows as a headboard in the suite featured in today's Hotels, Lodging & Restaurants: Les Sources de Caudalie in Bordeaux. The pillows not only provide a cocoon-like ambience but also serve as sound proofing; here are a few more examples of the pillow-as-headboard look.

Above: The Pixel Bed from Italian company Olivieri features a grid-like headboard made from pillows that attach to the wall with clips.

Above: A bedroom in a Swedish loft with a headboard made from pillows, rising in tiers like clouds; spotted on Elle Interiör Sweden.

Above: Martin Margiela's all-white suite at Les Sources de Caudalie features a wall of pillows.