Lauren Kenner and her husband, Brandon (Image: PA Real Life)
An American woman who transformed her new-build house into a “Gothic castle” complete with “vampire bedroom”, dark walls and “haunted” furniture, has said her unique home is something she has “always dreamt about” and makes her feel like she’s been “transported to an old vampire novel”.
Lauren Kenner, 32, a brand manager in the video game industry, moved into a modern house in Jacksonville, Florida, with her husband, Brandon, a 33-year-old artist, in April 2022 and quickly began sourcing furniture that she felt had a “haunted presence” and painting the walls dark colours to “feel like (she is) not in modern society”.
Now every wall in her “spooky-yet-stylish” house is dark, including a “blood red” theme in her bathroom, and the home is full of Gothic chandeliers and spooky paintings, with Lauren describing it as having an “old world style”.
She even has a cabinet she is “convinced” is haunted because she gets “this feeling” whenever she walks past it and its “doors fall off all the time” which she finds “super creepy”.
Her favourite piece is a huge wooden bed frame in her bedroom, which she and her husband refer to as the “vampire bedroom”, because of it being “completely dark”.
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The transformed Gothic Style home of Lauren (Image: PA Real Life)
Lauren also shares her renovation progress on TikTok with her 34,400 followers and remains “surprised” that her account is so popular, adding its “really cool” to be a part of the “dark Gothic decor community”.
Lauren told PA Real Life: “I have my dream home – I love how unique it is and how it feels like you’re in a Gothic world.
“It’s so dark and eerie – I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I love coming home to a spooky house – it makes me feel like I can shut the real world out and live in a fantasy.
“I really want to feel like you’ve been transported to an old vampire novel – my house is definitely spooky yet stylish.”
In April 2022, after having a Gothic wedding, Lauren and her husband moved into a three-bedroom, three-bathroom new-build house, and knew from the offset that they wanted to completely renovate it into a Gothic home.
She explained: “When we moved in, every wall was white, the floors were tan, and it was an extremely modern look – everything looked brand new.
“I always wanted a Gothic home, it’s something I’ve always dreamt about.
“Gothic has always been my husband and I’s vibe – he’s an artist and his art and music has always been Gothic in theme.
“I want to feel like I’m not in modern society as cheesy as that sounds and like I’ve been transported somewhere else – I read a lot of books, and I just really want to feel like my house is like an escape from the real world.
“And, we just wanted it to look really cool!”
Blood Red coloured bathrooms (Image: PA Real Life)
The pair instantly began painting all of the walls dark colours to give their house a Gothic feel.
Lauren explained: “The living and dining room area is now all black.”
She added: “The hallway entryway and our upstairs landing is a really dark green so it looks black and when the light hits it it looks green, which I really love the effect of.
“Our bedroom is a really really dark grey with black furniture. Our bathroom is a really really dark, deep blood red.
“I like having a really dark, deep, rich colour – it’s still dark but not boring.”
Now, the house is nearly finished, besides Lauren’s office.
She said: “I’m currently in the middle of renovating my office and it’s a Gothic fantasy theme – it’s a Gothic take on the Lord of the Rings because I’m such a huge fan.”
Over time, Lauren has collected Gothic furniture to give the house an eerie feel.
She said: “I really like having that kind of old-world style – I would have loved to be able to get an old Victorian house but we’re not that lucky.
“We have things like above our dining table, we have a handmade cast iron light that definitely looks like it has come straight out of a castle.
“I’ve got some old Victorian pieces – we even call our bedroom a vampire bedroom because it’s completely dark.”
Lauren’s favourite piece is a Gothic headboard in her bedroom. She explained: “I still can’t believe we found it – it’s so unique and cool, it’s an absolutely huge wooden bed frame.
“We got it on Facebook Marketplace and loved it so much that we had to rent a truck to pick it up.”
Another area of the Gothic Style home of Lauren’s (Image: PA Real Life)
Despite the renovations being nearly complete, Lauren is always browsing Facebook marketplace for more quirky finds, and haunted furniture.
She said: “I’m convinced that this cabinet we have is haunted – I get this feeling whenever I walk past it.
“The doors fall off all the time no matter what we do as well, it’s super creepy.
“I’d love to get some more haunted pieces – you just get haunted vibes around them, like as if there is a haunted presence in the room.”
Asked what her loved ones think of her quirky home, Lauren said: “We’re very blessed with our family – even though they aren’t into Gothic style, they’ve always been supportive and love it.”
Lauren began posting about her renovations on TikTok in February 2023, under the handle @themoodyhaus, and now has over 34,400 followers with her most popular video receiving more than 3.2 million views.
She said: “I didn’t expect my content to get so popular. I do social media for a living and I never had TikTok before, so I just wondered if people would be interested in my house stuff.
“I had no idea people would like it so much because the style isn’t exactly what you expect.
“I genuinely did not think people would like it, but honestly, the dark Gothic decor community on there is really cool.
“I was surprised that so many other creators that I thought were amazing now follow me back.”
Looking to the future, Lauren said: “I can’t wait for the house to be finished, but I don’t know if it ever will because I love decorating it so much.
“I love our Gothic home, it honestly feels like a Gothic castle in the middle of Florida, and I can’t wait to share even more of it online.”
