20 Ways To Decorate For Halloween

October has arrived!! I get downright giddy over this month since I get to bust out all of my Halloween decor. This is my favorite holiday to decorate…well, Christmas is a strong contender…nope, Halloween still wins! I’m thrilled to be kicking off this month with some uber talented bloggers in sharing 20 ways to decorate for Halloween.  If you are coming from Randi’s beautiful home at Randi Garrett Design, welcome! Her mini skeletons spoke right to my bones (wink).

I think this month of decorating resonates with me so much because I love moody spaces.  Throw in some curiosities and embellish with black and my heart is happy.

Tip #1:  There is something about old books that have an eery mystery about them. Perhaps it’s the black script upon an aged white page or the tattered edges.  I love pulling out all of my thrifted books for some simple & fun Halloween decorating.

Tear out the pages and use them as a placemat at your next halloween dinner party.

The imperfect jagged edge of the torn page adds to the haunted mansion vibe I love.

I’ll be sharing more of this eerily elegant table next week.

Last year, I first used this book page placemat idea with this black & white Halloween tablescape {here}.

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When I buy thrifted or even new books, I look for certain details.  The title of book as well as the color and condition of the binding is important.  Anatomy books are perfect for Halloween with the sketches & drawings of bones and skulls. Brings me back to my anatomy class days in college.

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Tip #2:  Tulle is another favorite Halloween decor item I love to use. I buy it by the yards when it’s half off and go crazy draping it all over the home for an elegant flare.  As you can see in my table setting above, I draped black tulle over the table instead of a traditional tablecloth.  Our living room mantel last year was adorned with black tulle as well. In years past, I’ve even stapled it to the ceiling with strings of lights over a dance floor.

For our annual Halloween Bash I created a graveyard scene on our pool table. It has been my creative solution to protect the felt surface from our guests setting drinks on it with the possible, accidental spill.  Secret tip: I used a waterproof table cloth below the black tablecloth for protection. I added orange tulle to make the scattered bones and skulls a bit more elegantly frightful.

I also tucked billowing tulle in some old garden urns. If you’d like to create an elegant spooky vibe in your home, you can never go wrong with tulle.  You can see more of this graveyard scene and how I incorporated tulle in more spaces from our Halloween Bash last year {here}.

Tip #3:  This may be my best budget Halloween tip.  Go for a joy ride and find a dead tree and clip some branches. Easy as that! I love the thrill of the hunt for the perfect branches. Better yet, do you have an overgrown tree in your yard that needs trimming? Place the branches in large urns and there you have the perfect halloween adornment. I mixed in some faux pre-lit branches in this urn to cast an eery glow at night.

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Tip #4:  Fill some apothecary jars with curiosities and group in threes. I have collected various jars in different shapes and sizes over the years.  If you haven’t noticed by now, skulls and skeletons are kind of my thing. Love them in all shapes, colors and sizes.

Get creative when filling your jars.  This year I added some simple brown moss and this black moss from Michaels. Other filler ideas are candy corn, Halloween ornaments (yes, like Christmas ornaments), bones, mini skeletons, spiders, bugs…be creative!

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Next week I’ll be doing a halloween tour of our home.  EEK! Stay tuned!

Do you want to learn some more ways to decorate for Halloween? Head on over to KariAnne’s fabulous farmhouse at Thistlewood Farms!  Click on each image below to be taken to each home.

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