10/14/2024

13 frightfully festive Halloween decor ideas

Do up your home for tricks or treats.

  1. Pose a skeleton or two

Display life-size or giant skeletons doing everyday activities, like chilling in a lawn chair with a beach umbrella and sunglasses so they can soak up some rays.

  1. Start with the front porch

Moving from the lawn to the porch, give your entrance a festival feel with a colorful rug, lanterns, mums and a pile of pumpkins.

  1. Conjure up a tiny ghost town

Inside, turn craft store birdhouses into an eerie mini landscape with some matte black spray paint. Up the creep factor by adding oversized spiders, rubber snakes or faux birds to the scene.

  1. Spill out the pumpkins

Not sure what to do with your fireplace? A pile of orange and white pumpkins pouring out will create a whimsical display that is easy to put together and a treat for the eyes.

  1. Let creepy critters take over a chair

Place some fabric batting and stuffed mice on a little-used antique chair to give the appearance of a once-treasured piece of furniture being torn apart by pests.

  1. Let spiders overtake a stairwell

Faux spiderwebs are everywhere this time of year – including in most dollar stores. Use this budget-friendly material and a few plastic spiders for a spooky staircase.

  1. Mummify a beverage tub

Wrap a galvanized tub in cheesecloth and cut out eyes from black and white foam for a friendly mummy, ready to keep ice and cold drinks at hand for your monster mash.

  1. Bring your living room to life

Here’s an easy one: go to your local craft or dollar store for googly eyes in assorted sizes to give objects big and small an ever-watchful gaze.

  1. Turn a pumpkin into a candy dish

Cut a faux pumpkin in half and line it with fall-themed fabric to create a handy-lidded container for Halloween candy.

  1. Paint a pretty pumpkin

Speaking of pumpkins, stand out from the crowd by giving yours a beautiful paint job with vibrant colors and designs.

  1. Invite bugs to the dinner table

But if you still want to be spooky, give inexpensive white dinner plates a creepy-crawly makeover with black ceramic paint and some bug silhouettes.

  1. Stick to can’t-miss color combos

Black and white is a classic for a reason. For a timeless look, stick to high-contrast hues or mix in pops of orange, red or green for a more colorful take.

  1. Choose scare-free decor

Not everyone wants to get spooky in October. Instead, opt for a classic fall front porch with planters filled with a candle lantern and assorted pumpkins, gourds and fall foliage to suit the season.