Halloween and Fall Decorating Ideas to Put You in the Spirit

Halloween is approaching. Like a broom-riding witch catching some serious tailwinds, it’ll be here before you know it.

Even if you aren't prepared for the impending holiday, fear not! The team at Houzz has been busy seeking some of the most ghoulishly glamorous, bewitchingly beautiful and spookily spirited ideas for decorating and celebrating All Hallows' Eve — as well as the rest of autumn.

Here are 13 ideabooks to get you in the right frame of mind. Click the link for each to see the full text and photos ... if you dare. (Insert menacing laughter here.)

1. Make a pumpkin family portrait (no carving — no kidding) and other simple, eye-catching fall tabletop and mantel arrangements.

Johanna Cookson found that painting pumpkins all over made them spoil faster. Instead, she paints a circle on the front with chalkboard paint, which keeps the pumpkin fresher longer while offering a canvas for drawing faces or writing Halloween messages on. See for yourself how easy this project is.

See the full ideabook: 7 Quick and Easy Indoor Halloween Decorating Ideas


2. Pumpkins, fall flowers and flea market finds put two Ohio porches in the seasonal spirit. You'll never look at an old toolbox the same way once you discover how lovely it can be filled with gourds.

See the full ideabook: A Peek at 2 Prettily Dressed Fall Porches


3. Get a load of these clever, crafty and downright creepy entryway decorations submitted by Houzzers. There's a particularly "cheeky" scarecrow and a great idea for dressing up a garage door using bat silhouettes.

See the full ideabook: Bewitching Halloween Entryways by Houzzers


4. Add mystery and intrigue to your home with some of these spellbinding Gothic adornments. After all, rubber snakes and spiders look so much classier (and even more menacing) when you display them in apothecary jars.

See the full ideabook: Goth Glamour for Halloween and Beyond


5. Don't fret, minimalists: You don’t have to go over the top to show off your Halloween spirit. Sometimes one perfect pumpkin is all the embellishment your front yard needs. Seriously, just a single pumpkin.

See the full ideabook: Mercifully Minimal Halloween Decor


6. By adding black mondo grass, ornamental millet or purple ruffle basil to your garden, you can turn an everyday flower bed into a seriously sinister place. Take a gander at some of the other inky, dramatic and eerie plants that will set the Halloween mood.

See the full ideabook: 10 Boo-tiful Black Plants for Halloween


7. Dig inside a decorator's bag of tricks to see some concepts for trendy (and good-humored) jack-o'-lanterns. A Missoni-inspired design, anyone? Or perhaps you'd like to spice up the porch with 50 shades of gray? Yep, artist Molly Brandenburg's got a pumpkin idea for that as well.

See the full ideabook: 8 Designer Pumpkins to Haunt Your Halloween


8. Get inspired with fall container gardens that can be adapted to offer year-round interest, courtesy of landscape designer Karen Chapman. Learn how to dress up your beloved summer gardenia plant with white pumpkins for Thanksgiving, then silk magnolias and silver-dusted cones for Christmas.

See the full ideabook: 5 Container Gardens for the Holidays and Beyond


9. Hang your wishes and gratitudes on a heartfelt arrangement of branches and leaves. This clever DIY project makes giving thanks an important activity that's not reserved for just a single day.

See the full ideabook: DIY: Create a Dream Tree for Fall


10. Design an effortless tabletop with the naturally beautiful colors and shapes of fall. Houzz editor Sheila Schmitz shows the beauty of combining succulents with gourds for a rousing display. Don't have a table runner to anchor your handiwork? Try a row of placemats.

See the full ideabook: Your Easiest Fall Decorating Ever


11. Sugared skulls and bright paper flowers help lighten a Texas home's macabre decorating style. To create a creepy, cadaverous laboratory, suspend doll parts, fake fingers and gummy worms in covered jars filled with water. Throw in a few fake brains, and you'll be in business. Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!

See the full tour: A Home Comes Alive With Day of the Dead Decor


12. After many years of inviting the entire neighborhood over for chaotic celebrations, one mom learned how much more enjoyable a smaller, structured kids' party can be for everyone involved. (Tip: Put fruits and veggies around the edges of the tables and the sweets in the center, so little ones are more likely to reach for the former.)

Read this veteran host's advice on how to throw a fun-filled kids' Halloween bash while keeping your house — and sanity — intact.

See the full ideabook: Throw a Calm, Happy Kids' Halloween Party— 5 Tips From a Mom


13. Get your home in the Halloween spirit (be it spooky or sophisticated) with DIY decorating ideas from contributing writer Corynne Pless.

Find some tin cans, cheesecloth, silk flowers and leftover paint, and follow along to make these easy (and supercheap) mantel arrangements. Would you believe the garland bats here are made of duct tape?

See the full ideabook: Easy Halloween Decorations From Stuff You Already Have

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