Halloween is just around the corner! Here are thirteen of our favorite affordable DIY apartment-friendly Halloween decor ideas to bring the haunted spirit home for the holiday.
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1. Make visitors think twice with a snake wreath
Simple, yet effective. To achieve this look, grab a stick wreath, wreath hanger, hot glue, and spray paint (if desired) from your local craft store along with some rubber snakes. Next, put down a tarp or old towel outside and apply a base coat of paint to your wreath and let dry. If you can get your hands on a black wreath, even better. Arrange your snakes as desired and glue into place. Lastly, touch up with additional spray paint as needed and you’re done!
2. Floating witch hats or invisible witches?
Invite a small coven of invisible witches in to achieve a spooky vibe this year! In case your local coven is booked up already, just hang a variety of witch hats from your ceiling with fishing line. Witch hats are available at everyone’s favorite: Spirit Halloween or any other place that sells costumes.
3. Set the mood with creative candlesticks
Halloween decor never feels complete without candles. An easy way to add seasonal flair to your apartment is to use wine and sauce bottles, or secondhand vases as candlesticks. Using a mix of paint and Mod Podge to coat the interior with color creates additional personality! For the ultimate Halloween aesthetic, allow the wax to drip over the bottles.
4. Bring on the magic with levitating candles
For all the minimalists out there who want the candles but despise clutter: remove the candlestick. Snag some fake candles from your local craft store and hang them from your ceiling at varying heights with fishing line. The effect is chic and effortless but affordable. As a bonus, you can also use the fake candles throughout year as non-seasonal decor.
5. Bats galore
Another hallmark of Halloween decor is bats. Due to their black coloring and recognizable shape, they are a great entry point for DIY novices. To achieve this look we’d recommend using black construction paper and using a template to draw and cut out your bats. Or you can go the super easy route and pick up some pre-made bats at your craft store or online! Lastly, arrange your bats as desired and hang with painter’s tape.
6. Scare your favorite arachnophobe
Ignite fear in your guests (or yourself) by hanging spiders on your wall! Spiders of varying shapes and sizes are widely available and are pretty much all equally creepy. Adding fake webs creates another layer of creepiness that is sure to get a reaction this Halloween.
7. Bats in captivity
This is similar to hanging bats on the wall, but this is one step further. Start by finding glass containers that fit your apartment’s aesthetic, some of our favorites are glass apothecary jars or glass cloches. Then just arrange your bats, stick, and you’re done! Generally the more cloches you use, the impactful the display will be. Like the levitating candles, the beauty of this idea is in the reusability of the glassware.
8. Double double, toil and trouble
“Fire burn and cauldron bubble”, as Shakespeare wrote. Cauldrons are often featured in Halloween decor, and for good reason. For hundreds of years, they’ve been associated with witches and therefore no better to reason to add one to your apartment this Halloween. Find a cauldron that suits your style, there are many options online as well as in stores. You will also need hot glue and various sizes of clear glass ornaments. Then arrange and glue your ornaments together to make a bubbling effect that spills out of the cauldron. For added personality, you can tie a ribbon or sash around the cauldron.
9. Create a skull centerpiece (spooky edition)
Almost nothing is as creepy as a skull, but one skull alone can feel a bit lazy. However classic, it’s time to add some style to your fake skull this Halloween. Applying butterflies, moths, or spiders and posing it with books makes the vignette feel thought out and also incorporates more elements of your own style while keeping the craft affordable.
10. Create a skull centerpiece (chic edition)
As simple and chic as our last skull centerpiece was, it’s time to get simpler…and chicer. A skull bowl or vase gives you flexibility on how you style it. In this case dried white hydrangeas create texture while maintaining the monochromatic look that gives it its chic feel. The white books also carry this through and the seasonal titles adds another subtle nod to Halloween.
11. Literary ghosts
If you have books you like to get rid of, this one if for you. However, if you don’t, you can always source a book or two from your local thrift store. Draw and cut out ghosts from the book pages, or if you’re not artsy, there’s also templates online. Lastly add faces and attach and hang them from twine or fishing line. This is one of the most flexible and affordable options and is a very beginner friendly DIY Halloween decor.
12. Gothic maximalist tablescape
For all of the Halloween decor maximalists out there, this one is for you. Almost any vignette looks gothic when it’s in all black, and that’s the target here. Elegant candles and flowers take on an eerie tone when paired with black painted skulls. Start by selecting and painting your vase and skulls, then choose your flowers, birds, candles, and runner. Candlesticks aren’t a requirement for this setting, tower candles will have a similar effect. Adding a variety of textures and paint finishes helps keep the tablescape interesting and visually engaging.
13. Same same, but different
The last idea we have for you today is doing one or all of these ideas, but in a different color scheme. This example is in white and gold, which lends the design a very different feeling than if it had been in traditional black and white.
Using color schemes in line with your personal decor aesthetic allows you to reuse pieces you already have but in a new way. White candles, candlesticks, and vases all take on a spookier vibe when paired with skulls, white bats, and skeletons.
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