There’s nothing scarier than a beautiful home covered in plastic jack-o-lanterns, spider webs, and Frankenstein statues. It can be very easy to fall into the plastic Halloween decor graveyard. Don’t get us wrong, we love Halloween and decorating for every holiday, but we think there is a way to stray from the childish and tacky decor and create a space that is sophisticated and spooky, think Haunted Mansion as opposed to Scooby Doo. Here are five ways to use sophisticated Halloween decorations:
One way to keep Halloween decor sophisticated is by leaning more into autumn with a wisp of eerieness. Autumn is all about the leaves changing colors, the temperature getting cooler, and trees becoming bare, which is why it's important to incorporate elements of nature into our decor for both fall and Halloween. Obviously, leaves are the first step. You can collect some with your kids to put in vases or buy artificial leaf garland to display on your mantel or table. Pumpkins are the most stereotypical of the fall nature elements, but when paired with a spread of dried foliage, pinecones, and other gourds, they can make a gorgeous centerpiece for your dining table. You can also use Halloween flowers such as chrysanthemums, black and red roses, ivy, ferns, and sunflowers. Pairing your flowers with pampas grass or dead branches can create a stunning yet haunting addition to your foyer. You can't go wrong with tall black trees on either side of your fireplace or hallway for the ultimate haunted forest aesthetic.
Creating a haunted mansion vibe means not oversized plastic or inflatable decor; instead, think vintage. When shopping for your Halloween decor finishing touches, head straight to your nearest thrift store and look for unpolished/ rusted candelabras, old hardcovered books (it be the perfect addition if they’re horror stories), antique chests, dusty vases, and worn lampshades. The newest TikTok craze this season is buying vintage photos of towns or homes and painting ghosts on them, which is a fun craft to do with friends and family and a simple way to add a ghostly feel to your home. Vintage pieces will not only bring the haunted mansion vibe but are great conversation starters.
When you think of Halloween decor, you’re probably blinded by the bright orange, purple, and green. We’ll be the ones to say that Halloween has the most horrific color scheme of any holiday. You’re probably thinking, how do I decorate for Halloween without using these colors? The answer is to tone them down. Burnt orange, deep purple, forest green, rich browns, and black will add a touch of autumn luxury to your decor. We aren’t suggesting you paint your home every season, but you can bring these colors in with couch pillows, throw blankets, curtains, and other decor throughout your space. Fall has one of the most beautiful color schemes; don’t let the tacky bright orange of most Halloween decor overpower it. Instead, we should be embracing the warmth and richness of the season. However, if you enjoy a bright color palette and get bummed out by the darkness of fall, you can always pull in purple and a newer trend for Halloween decor, mostly black decor with pops of pink.
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: lighting is the best way to set a mood in your home. What we love about Halloween is it is THE season for accent lighting, specifically candlelight. Turn off your overheads and light candles throughout your space to bring a mystical feel to your home. You can have one of your favorite fall-scented candles in each room and many tea light and taper candles throughout the space. You can't go wrong with a classic white candle stick, but you can also have a little fun and use a ghost candle. The soft glow and shadows produced by a candle are the perfect way to node to the scarier side of the season. You can also use other atmospheric lighting such as fairy lights, a fireplace, table lamps, and dimmers.
Halloween icons such as vampires, skeletons, witches, bats, crows, and spiders are tacky when overly used. Still, there is a way to elegantly sprinkle them throughout your decor and balance them with your other items. You can use gauze or fake webbing on your chandelier or place one stuffed crow on a branch in your vase. You can use unpainted or metallic skulls and skeletons on a side table. If you decide not to use real pumpkins, opt for tweed, velvet, or metallic ones as opposed to plastic. A witch hat, broom by your banister, or a few bat decals going up your staircase can add the whimsical Halloween spirit without being too cliche. A new trend in Halloween motifs is using black butterflies; you can put a few on your flowers or a swarm of decals on a blank wall.
We hope you enjoyed these tips to make your home spookily sophisticated. For more home decor and remodeling inspiration, follow us on Instagram, Tiktok, and Pinterest.