Designer Fiona Roberts, in an attempt to make sure nobody ever sleeps again, upholstered a chair with plastic eyeballs.

The eyes on the Scopophilia Chair are held in place by folded red-velvet “eyelids” secured with brass tacks. The result is both fascinating and flesh-crawly.

Even better, the technique is simple enough that something similar should be DIY-able. Upholstering a whole chair might be a little daunting (hey, these would make a cute set of dining chairs, wouldn’t they?), but something smaller like a throw pillow or a decorative table runner should be reasonably easy.

If human-looking eyes aren’t your thing, there are dozens of other varieties used for taxidermy; reptile eyes would be particularly effective. You could also obviously use other fabric besides velvet (with the caveat that it can’t be too stiff to fold and snuggle nicely around each eyeball): Leather or a scale-print vinyl would add to the “this chair is alive…and watching you” illusion.

With the holidays coming up, this technique could also be used to make a really arresting wreath. It’d also be a cute way to make a little toy shoggoth.

(via Old Fashion Halloween)