ANNABELLE COMES HOME Set Visit: 5 Decorating Tips We Learned That Will Terrify Your Houseguest
Zena Dixon
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It was a sunny Wednesday afternoon in Los Angeles when I arrived at Warner Bros. Studios. Before entering the set of Annabelle Comes Home, I met with journalists from a bevy of other outlets. We spent some time together, all expressing our excitement for the next installment of The Conjuring universe.
After sitting with Ed and Lorraine Warren’s daughter Judy (McKenna Grace), we journeyed through the artifact room to find ourselves before award-winning production designer Jennifer Spence. She revealed that she began in the music video and television industries, but was always inclined to do films, specifically in the horror genre. Her opportunity came on the set of Toby Wilkins’s Splinter (2008). From that production, she has gone on to design the sets of nearly 25 feature films, including Paranormal Activity 2, Paranormal Activity 3, and Paranormal Activity 4, Insidious: Chapters 2 and Insidious Chapter 3, Lights Out, The Nun, and most recently, Shazam!. For Annabelle Comes Home, Spence brings to life the 1970s. With her vast knowledge of design and horror, we uncovered five decorating tips that will certainly creep out your houseguests the way we were creeped out during this set visit.
Make your home feel like a maze
Spence shared that one of the most gratifying activities for set design is choosing wallpaper. Vintage wallpaper from the midwest is seen throughout the hallways and rooms of Annabelle Comes Home. Her inspiration for certain choices stemmed from Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980). This design approach compels viewers to believe they will never escape the home, and subsequently, the horror it embodies.
Unbeknown to most viewers of The Conjuring universe, the Warrens’ home was never really established. It was filmed using pieces of other homes. Therefore, in Annabelle Comes Home, Spence was determined to decorate the new 3-level home to perfection. The artifact room remained the same, but most of everything else was designed from scratch. This opened the door (and the walls) for her to get creative.
If you are planning on redesigning your home to scare the crap out of your houseguests, choose wallpaper with seemingly never ending designs and vintage vibes. That trip to the bathroom in the night will be one they will remember.
Shop at local flea markets
Before the budgets increased for films in and out of The Conjuring universe, Spence used a lot of her furniture from her own home, specifically on the set of James Wan’s Insidious (2008). Now, to enhance sets, you can often find her shopping on weekends at local flea markets. For particularly interesting finds, she sends director Gary Dauberman pictures to get his opinion. She is constantly on the lookout for items the viewer may appreciate in the background–or the director may be inclined to shoot through.
Often times, flea markets have items with history. This helps with crafting a room that has character. If your job is to scare your houseguest, you want to look for items that appear to embody a darker history. This especially helped for the supernatural version of the 1970s that Spence desired to create for Annabelle Comes Home.
Keep stuff
According to Spence, Hollywood used to throw a lot of things away after a production ended. With the success of certain films, designers had difficulty trying to find similar items for future franchise installments. Now, many studious keep most items, within reason. This allowed Spence to piece old items with newer ones, and ultimately, gave director Dauberman more to work with.
One thing that frightened us during our conversation with Spence was a cross hanging on the wall. We were all comfortable with the cross for a while, and we were certain we had seen it in another film. However, during our lively conversation with Spence, the cross began to rotate by itself. In entertainment, PiP stands for picture-in-picture; but at this moment, it meant piss-in-pants.
In the case of designing your home, keep some old stuff. Then, adding new things will give your guest more to be frightened about, especially if this isn’t their first time staying with you. If they thought that night trip to the bathroom was scary during their first visit, wait until they see the one-eyed doll head you added.
Create creepy paintings at night
Spence reminisced over a time Dauberman wanted a painting for a particular room during the next day’s shoot. Instead of hunting aim
Imagine doing this to your house guest. The next morning, as you both are eating crumpets, you act as if the painting above the toaster was always there. What would be even better is if you painted something horrific that referenced a conversation you and your guest had the day before.
Have an artifact room that never changes
We all love the artifact room from The Conjuring universe; however, few of us will happily step foot in it. Imagine having a room like this in your home. You can decorate it with items that appear to have history, perhaps the wrong type of history. Furthermore, a little white lie never hurt. So crafting horror stories for items will make your houseguest run for the nearest Bed & Breakfast.
We asked Spence if she ever creeps herself out in the process of creating these visions. Her answer: absolutely. Therefore, we’ll leave with this: if your house creeps you out or you can at least get it to that point, then you are off to a great start. Spence’s dedication includes walking through the house after everyone has gone home for the day. She looks for opportunities to enhance the viewers and filmmakers’ experience. We should also do the same, ensuring that our guest are as uncomfortable as possible. Who knows, maybe you walking through the house at night will also help them PiP.
Make sure to check out Annabelle Comes Home when it hits theaters June 28, 2019.
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