The room of repose, where we rest in peace... It's tempting to take the sleep/death metaphor a touch too far when you appreciate the dark aesthetics of gothic decor in the bedroom.

My bedroom - like most of my house - isn't yet properly decorated. It hasn't been a priority, but I'm hoping that will change over the next couple of years. Therefore, this article, like my bedroom, will probably remain a work-in-progress for a long time.

While I can't do anything about the carpets and furniture right now, I do have some flexibility with the bedding and wall art. Quite a few of the items I've purchased from small, independent spooky shops have ended up in my bedroom, making it a bit nicer. Luckily my husband is pretty relaxed, and humours my taste for the macabre.

I like our black metal bed frame, so dressing up the bed isn't too difficult with some blankets and cushions. With the growth of gothic-style homewares online, lots of places sell spooky cushions - eBay, Sourpuss, Killstar to name a few - so it's easy to get ones that have the right look. Two distinctive cushions I have are the heart-shaped 'Spirits at Rest' one from Spooky Box Club and the tombstone-shaped 'Emily Binx' one from October 31st. The Nightmare Before Christmas blanket was a gift from my parents last year. The thick, quilted, velvety 'Starmap Comforter' (now discontinued) and 'Ticket to my Nightmare' pillowcases are from Killstar. The comforter is lovely, I only wish it was bigger and covered a large bed better on the sides.

I have got a gallery wall - gallery corner? - underway in my bedroom. As well as prints and plaques, I decided this was the best place to display my favourite Gothic Pins. I have duplicates of the ones I want to wear on my jackets, so I have arranged the ones I like the most in deep shadow boxes; much better than hiding them away in a drawer!

The gallery wall is built around a coffin-shaped mirror from Curiology, and includes a couple of their necklaces too. I have also put up:

• Prints by the LittlestSpook Shop, Marcies Art, Grace Moth and Simons Nest
• A plaque by Alien Queen Crafts
• Papercut banners and bats by the Dark Times

Please see my in my Spooky Small Businesses (UK, Europe) article for links to all these shops.

Apart from the wall art, I have a couple of the statues I wrote about in my Gothic Ornaments & Figurines (Nemesis Now) article: 'Haunting Visage', a shrouded skeletal figure and 'Darkness Resides', a seated Reaper figure. A third statue is by Design Toscano; their 'French Pleurant', a representation of a mourner. All the statues are inspired by or similar to those found in elaborate tomb art. I have a black skull-shaped bowl from Killstar, and a black marble-patterned vase for my hairbrushes; I think it looks a bit urn-like. I said at the start of this article that it's easy to overdo the sleep/death metaphor!

Rounding things off I have a white trinket dish with Ouija board decoration, and an inherited blue glass vase filled with (old, very dusty) artificial roses, mostly black ones from Alchemy Gothic. I also have two black jewellery stands: one for a necklace and a hand-shaped one for rings. All my makeup, hair accessories and other jewellery is stored in black and clear acrylic organisers.