Dying to decorate for Halloween but not excited about storing boxes of ghost and goblin decorations the rest of the year? Add a spooky, yet sophisticated touch to your home by using non-Halloween items to create a holiday feeling.
Try these “tricky” decorating treatments.
Highlight linens
Black and pumpkin-colored tablecloths lend a Halloween air to the table. Try a black tablecloth as a base and top it with autumnal colored table runners. Outfit the bathroom with black and orange towels. And cover your sofa with a black throw topped off by orange or rust colored toss pillows
Do the disposable route
Not a fan of black and orange linens? Pick up some disposable, one-time only tableware entertaining kits with Halloween themed dinner and dessert paper plates and napkins.
Go with pumpkins and gourds
Pumpkins are an ideal decorator item that can be used throughout November as well. As long as you don’t cut pumpkins, they will generally last for two months or longer. Instead of carving pumpkins for an outdoor display, draw scary faces on one side, which allows you to turn the pumpkins and hide the faces once the holiday passes. Gourds will last indefinitely and fit a wide variety of seasonal décor themes.
Light up with candles
Give guests a ghoulish greeting by flanking your front door with pumpkins surrounded with black candles. On the dining room table or fireplace mantel, create an eerie focal point by mounting orange candles on a black candelabra, or lend a light and fun feel to the atmosphere by decorating with pumpkin-themed luminaries containing battery-operated candles. Candy Corn or Pumpkin-Patchscented candles add a festive aroma and mood to the air throughout several holiday seasons.
Try bottles
An arrangement of old apothecary bottles gives the illusion that you’ve been mixing secret potions. In the bathroom, fill such bottles with soap and lotion and do the same at the kitchen sink. Use wide-mouthed jars for Halloween treats and label them with creepy names like eel eyeballs for chocolate balls and monkey teeth for candy corn.
Decorate everyday items
Easily add Halloween flair to common items in the home using techniques such as wrapping black and orange ribbon around bannisters and attaching it to mirror borders. Perch a decorative black cat on top of the television set and wrap banisters on the stairs or welcome your trick or treaters with orange string lights. Or add some color and a festive tone with flameless paper lanterns.
Adding a sophisticated, spooky touch to your home at Halloween is so easy and fun, it’s scary.
By Julie Bawden-Davis
