18 Halloween decoration ideas – these tricks will make your home look like a treat

As the weather starts to cool and we begin to spend more time indoors, what better way to welcome in fall season than by planning your Halloween decor?

Transform your home for spooky season and make your space look more frightfully festive than ever with our collection of creative Halloween decorating ideas. 

We explore everything from stand-out outdoor Halloween decor, to simple home-made crafts and enduring shop-bought decorations that can be used throughout the year and time and time again.

18 Halloween decorating ideas for both indoors and outdoors

'It's so easy to take your fall decor and repurpose it for Halloween,' says Lucy Searle, Editor in Chief, Homes & Gardens. 'I usually go full force for fall, then slowly add Halloween decorations to my existing wreaths, pumpkins, and so on. Then, I take it all away again so that I'm Thanksgiving decor ready.'

Whether you're a minimalist or maximalist at heart, our collection of Halloween decoration ideas have got you covered for spooky season.

Lucy Searle

Lucy Searle has written about interiors, property and gardens for over 30 years, starting within the interiors departments of women's magazines before switching to interiors-only titles in the mid-1990s. In 2018, Lucy took on the role of Global Editor in Chief for Realhomes.com, taking the site from a small magazine add-on to a global success. She was asked to repeat that success at Homes & Gardens, where she has also taken on the editorship of the magazine, which is the UK's oldest interiors magazine at 103 years old. Lucy is a serial renovator and also owns rental properties in the UK and Europe, so brings first-hand knowledge to the subjects she oversees.

1. Enhance your fireplace with seasonal decor

If you're unsure on where to start with your Halloween decor, there is no better place than a beautiful fireplace. Offering a sense of warmth, comfort and coziness, many of us will be gathering around lit fires during the cold winter months, and what better way to celebrate this natural focal point in a room than with eye-catching seasonal decor. 

From inviting candles to pumpkin decorating ideas, garlands and foliage, let your creative Halloween flair run wild on your fireplace.

We explore how to decorate a mantel for Halloween further in our dedicated feature.

2. Get your porch prepped for Halloween

Looking to go beyond the usual pumpkin carving ideas and Halloween door decor? Then go all out across your porch.

We love the contemporary white, green and orange color scheming of this Halloween porch decor, and how the pale palette perfectly complements the floral displays either side of the door.

You needn't buy a ton of pumpkins for this stylish look – simply carefully arrange a collection outside your door or across your porch steps, and if you wish, enhance them with gourds, flowers and foliage. Learn when to put your pumpkins out however, so they do not rot too soon before the big event.

3. Put your efforts into an expansive pumpkin display

Knowing how to carve a pumpkin to effect is one thing, but you can actually create way more of an impact with bold pumpkin painting ideas. Better still, these no-carve pumpkin designs need less effort and time to look fabulous. Simply choose a color scheme you love, perhaps one that matches your front door or your indoor room color ideas, and go to town.

'We are seeing a ton of pale blue coming through this year for fall trends and Halloween trends,' says Jen Ebert, Homes & Gardens' digital editor. 'It's a wonderful foil to all the fall colors you see around in nature and incredibly stylish, too.'

Jennifer Ebert

Jen is the Deputy Editor (Digital) of Homes & Gardens online. Before starting this position, she had completed various interior design courses at KLC Design School, as well as working across Ideal Home, LivingEtc, 25 Beautiful Homes and Country Homes & Interiors as an interiors writer.

4. Curate a stand-out Halloween tablescape

'Of course you can crowd your Halloween table decor with fun motifs, such as spiders, bats and ghouls,' says Jo Bailey, stylist and Homes & Gardens' print editor. 'But for an adult-only All Saints meal, why not be a little more elegant? I love this Midnight Florals table runner and the coordinating serveware from Terrain. With the glorious candelabra and pretty pumpkins adding the perfect seasonal touch.'

Jo Bailey

Jo Bailey is Deputy Editor of Homes & Gardens, overseeing all features for the print edition. Before joining Future PLC, she worked as an interior stylist for over ten years, specializing in commercial photo shoots for luxury clients such as; Design Centre Chelsea Harbour, Christopher Farr Cloth and Heal's. She has worked with Homes & Gardens for over a decade, having styled and produced editorial shoots and events over the years.

5. Get busy with flowers and foliage at Halloween

Floral Halloween decorations will make your home feel festive but elegant, too. 

Whether you make a Halloween wreath from fresh flowers to complement fall planters or make a pumpkin planter for a look that combines both fall and Halloween, you can't go wrong if you stick to burnished colors that complement the nature that's surrounding your home.

6. Bring Halloween decor into your kitchen

Usually we focus on Halloween decorating ideas in our outside spaces, living rooms and entryways, but who says you can't bring a taste of spooky season into the kitchen also? 

We love the new Le Creuset Autumn Collection, and think the pretty pumpkin casserole dishes, servingware and accessories will make for a perfect Halloween accent in a kitchen space – and they will be sure to fit in perfectly with your Thanksgiving table decor ideas, too.

7. Enhance your decorations with lanterns for a cozy feel

Welcome guests and visitors with a beautiful Halloween decor display on your porch and add a touch of the cozy – to balance out the scary – with plenty of warming, inviting lanterns. 

This stand-out Halloween porch has been adorned with foliage, wreaths, garlands, pumpkins and more. Finished with sleek Caleb Lanterns from Pottery Barn, which will illuminate the steps as well as the beautiful decor, these lanterns can also be used to make your home's entrance feel cozy throughout the year.

8. Opt for a more simple, natural look with a Halloween wreath

Make a Halloween wreath the center of your Halloween decorating ideas. Ideal for Halloween front door decor, wreaths can also be hung on doors and walls throughout your home, bringing beautiful seasonal texture, color and charm to your interior space. 

If you're looking to create a more subtle Halloween wreath, then explore our beautiful fall wreath ideas for inspiration.

9. Embrace Halloween decorating ideas you can use all year round

There is no better time to decorate your home with plenty of candles than during fall, Halloween and winter. 

Candles can not only help to make a house look cozy and warm, there are plenty of wonderful scents to choose from that can also make your home smell like fall, too.

Invest in stylish, enduring candle designs that can be used and enjoyed all year round, like these striking Orange Twisted Taper Candles from McGee & Co, and pair them with a beautiful holder, like the Rosario Taper Holder shown.

10. Have fun with a Halloween craft

Halloween decoration ideas, if made at home, should be fun, and something the kids can get involved with. 

The simplest of these Halloween craft ideas has to be bats cut from black paper. Perfect as Halloween window decor, they can be hung from tree branches outside or added to garlands, too; creating a spooky, easy-to-create display.

11. Create a cute Halloween scarecrow

Looking for no carve pumpkin ideas? This is a fun Halloween decoration project to do with the children, and there really are no rules for how to create it or how it should look. We have used a pumpkin for the head, and fabric scraps and card for the clothes and hat – but you can buy kits and ready-made pumpkin scarecrows if you need a quick fix. 

12. Turn sugar cookies into Halloween decorations

Want more than pumpkin recipes this Halloween? Gingerbread men and plain sugar cookies can quickly become Halloween decor-themed with the addition of some simple icing. 

Bake them yourself or cheat with ready-made cookies and enjoy the decorating. Use them as decorations, place them on a plate on the porch... or simply enjoy them at home.

13. Pick out elegant Halloween lighting ideas

Halloween lights needn't be garish – there are plenty of sophisticated lighting ideas, such as this gorgeous golden glass pumpkin light decoration, perfect for placing on a dining table, coffee table or in a window.

14. Create a warm welcome with rich, autumnal shades

Want to make more of an impact with your Halloween decoration ideas? Pick out pumpkins in bolder, deeper colors and in different shapes and sizes. Combine them with painted pumpkins – or faux pumpkin decorations – flowers, lanterns, and even autumn leaves, and arrange until you are happy with how they look. 

Beautifully show on this front porch by interior designer, Liz Marie Galvan.

15. Hang a Halloween garland

Halloween garlands come in all shapes, sizes and styles. From home-made paper garlands, to rustic designs filled with beautiful fall foliage and flowers, like this faux design from Pottery Barn, there really are options to suit all spaces. 

This Happy Halloween garland from Anthropologie is simple yet highly effective, and is a quick and easy way to switch up your home decor for the Halloween season.

16. Look for more unique pumpkin decorations

These pumpkin decorations from Etsy are made from upcycled books – how clever! They can add a wonderful touch as a table centerpiece, and will certainly serve as a conversation piece while providing that cozy fall look. 

You can even use them to decorate your fire mantle, end table, hutch, book case, or give them away as party favors.

17. Uplift real pumpkins with Halloween stickers

Another lovely project for children to be involved in – if you want to do something a little different to carving your pumpkins this year, why not add a scary sticker? These fun stickers are available to buy at Not on The High Street.

18. Or, opt for colorful, painted pumpkins for a fresh look

Of course, you cannot go wrong with the glorious natural color palette of pretty pumpkins, but we understand, these autumnal tones are not for everyone. 

For a more fresh, colorful and contemporary look, learn how to paint a pumpkin and use colors, patterns and design that beautifully complement your interior style. 

Shop Halloween decor

FAQs

• Cut out bats, witches and crows from black paper and stick them at your windows with soft lights behind. 
• Paint golf balls as bloodied eyes and scatter them around the front yard or put them in a bowl.
• Create a front yard cemetery – Amazon sells plenty of graveyard decor with battery-run lights. 
• Add fake cobwebs around windows and the front door; again, Amazon sells fake cobwebs. 
• Lastly, hire a fog machine, swap outdoor lightbulbs for red or green ones, and play a scary soundtrack: Halloween Howls is a good one.

Want to keep your Halloween decorating ideas subtle? One way to do so is to simply set pumpkins around a fireplace; if you want to create a cute display that can be seen from outside too, some simple bat shapes cut from card and hung at the window with fine thread will do the trick.