Halloween fun (and horror) easy to capture in home decor
Santa’s got nothing on the skeleton crawling out of my porch planter.
Everyone claims Christmas is the best time of the year. I call shenanigans. Halloween, with its skin-sloughing zombies, nightmarish ghouls, scuttering spiders, glowing pumpkins and overall sense of supernatural doom gets my blood pumping faster than some sparkly balls dangling from a pine branch.
Halloween decor — especially those pieces that embrace the dead and undead — always lures me into its clammy grasp. Don’t get me wrong. I love decorating for Christmas, too, but ever since I was a kid, the wicked unknown has driven me to stay up late watching scary movies and geek out over ghosts.
Yes, I am that lady that goes gaga over lifelike, motion-sensor babies that eat brains. I love skulls — skull candles, skull goblets, skull underwear. Even the dog dresses up on Halloween. He is going as Batman.
Every year, I create Halloween vignettes around the house. Little scenes, if you will. I try to add a touch of dread to each room in a visually appealing way that allows me to celebrate the season without making our neighbours think we’re black magic crackpots.
Pinterest is a great source of inspiration. I usually pin a few ideas and use them as a starting point when browsing the Halloween aisle.
Kendra Stewart, spokesperson for Pottery Barn, says there are many places inside and outside your home that can be decorated in a creepy yet classy way.
“Your front doorway is a terrific opportunity to create a Halloween decor moment, whether you want to use a wreath or want to set up a small table,” Stewart says. “Lanterns always make for great options for decorating for Halloween because you can use really fun and spooky vase filler.”
In my yard, you’ll find Styrofoam gravestones, an affordable decoration that can be found nearly anywhere. The heavier and more durable the better, seeing as a sharp sinister breeze can send them toppling.
You can layer on some spiderwebs and add in a few skulls, hands and other body parts to give your scene an extra morbid feeling.
Decorating your front door is also a lot of fun. And easy. I wrapped around some bright yellow caution tape and finished it off with another hanging ghoul (you could also use an ominous wreath, if you prefer).
When it comes to decorating the inside of your home, Stewart suggests creating Halloween “moments” in various places that will catch your guests’ attention.
“For me, I love thinking about that entry way, whether you’ve got a side entry table and can create a special Halloween moment there, but also thinking about the mantle in the family room. Also a stairway is a good opportunity to decorate.”
Through my front door, guests are greeted by a giant black spider clambering over two plastic pumpkins. The pumpkins are black and cream, which complement my colour scheme.
Looking up, you’ll find spiderwebs covering the front mirror and lantern. Spiderwebs can make any normal decor area look eerie. I drape that cottony stuff around everything.
A mantle or cabinet is the perfect place for a Halloween vignette. These places require a few more decorations, so Stewart suggests taking inventory of what you already own and deciding what you need to add. .
Stewart says best way to create a Halloween vignette is to arrange skulls and scary books, birds and other beasts in terms of height and numbers, creating a stepping stone effect.
“There’s that decor rule of things in threes and fives,” Stewart says. “Odd numbers also make for great display and setup.”